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RATING: (weak) 1 2 3 4 5 (awesome) (No Rating Assigned)
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IN BRIEF
Pros: Great combat system, great lighting effects, fast action. Cons: Annoying script and narration. Becomes redundant. In a nutshell: A solid game on its own, *ESRB rating: M (Mature) |
FACTS
Game Title: Zone of Enders Platform: Playstation 2 Developer: Konami Publisher: Konami Release Date: March 27, 2001 Price: $49.99 |
THE REVIEW by Steven Kent for Gamers Today
KONAMI BRINGS OUT GIANT ROBOTS WITH STYLE
Life is not so great for the "Enders" -- a community of miners living in a domed community in space. Contrary to what the name implies, Enders do not want to die.
When the main character, Leo Stenbuck (who appears to be a pre-teen Ender) finds his colony under attack, he flees into a hanger where he stumbles into a little firepower of his own. Inside the hanger is a super mech, a giant robot with a willing computer. With the computer's help, young Leo powers up and takes on the enemy in multiple stages.
Do not mistake Zone of the Enders, a new game from Konami for PlayStation 2, for a remake of Virtual On. Except for the fast-paced real-time battles and Japan-tech robots, the two games could not be more different. Virtual On is an one-on-one combat, sort of the Street Fighter 2 of robot games. Zone of the Enders, which takes place in a 3D space, is more reminiscent of Streets of Rage, with armies of enemy robots attacking in packs. One of the tricks to survival in this game is setting up the enemy so that you can attack without getting hit in the back.
Producer Hideo Kojima (best known for his Metal Gear Solid games) and director Noriaki Okamura have fused intelligence and interactivity throughout Zone of the Enders. This is a game about protecting, not just fighting. One of the things designers overlook in most giant robot games is that innocents are likely to get squished every time a giant robot shoots, falls, or throws something in the middle of a city. This is not ignored in Zone of the Enders, however. Leo, after all, is an Ender, and his goal is to save his people. So players will often have to decide whether to win battles the easy way and accept mounds of casualties, or find a way to protect the buildings and people while taking out the enemy.
Whether you try to preserve the helpless around you or use the buildings as protection, the world of the Enders is highly interactive. Throw an enemy into a skyscraper, and it gets crushed and stays crushed -- and a counter on the edge of the screen tallies how many people got crushed with it.
Zone of the Enders also has a great combat system that encourages combination attacks. You can play the game with the same old shoot from a distance, then slice 'em up close philosophy; but the game looks and plays better when you zoom in and out, vary your attacks, and try new things.
Finally, Zone of the Enders takes good advantage of the lighting and polygonal abilities of PlayStation 2. The robots are great looking, the scenery is moody, and the combat is fast. The shields and various weapons tap into PlayStation 2's great lighting effects, adding more punch to everything on the screen.
The biggest news about Zone of the Enders is that certain stores are giving free demo disks of Metal Gear Solid 2 with the purchase of Enders. While Zone of the Enders is a great game, nothing can compete with the excitement currently surrounding Metal Gear Solid 2. So go to the stores that have the demo, purchase the demo for $49.99, and you'll be impressed with Zone of the Enders -- the free game they're giving out with it.
*For a complete explanation of ESRB ratings, check out the official ESRB Web site.
