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Godzilla may be “the king of the monsters,” but this game is no prince. It’s a shame that earth’s giant, cantankerous defender just can’t catch a break. As a kid, I had this awesome Godzilla figure with a spring-loaded shooting fist. I can’t tell you how many times I got grounded for hitting my sisters, the dog, or something breakable with it. That's Godzilla. Even in toy form, he rocks. So why then does developer Pipeworks Software have to disappoint us with a slow, uninventive brawler that tries so hard to do everything so wrong? Maybe Toho should commission Nintendo to add Godzilla to the next installment of Super Smash Bros. so he can finally get his dues in the videogame realm.
The story mode offers short missions where you have to defend the earth against Gigan, Megalon, and others bent on destruction. Winning missions not only advances the game, but also earns you store points that can be used to purchase additional monster factions for brawl mode. There isn’t much more to the story, so let’s get to the fight mechanics. While environments are destructible, it’s really only on a limited scale and spotty depending on which attacks you use. On more than a few occasions, I hit a building full-on with a beam attack only to have it remain unscathed. This can be a nuisance when trying to defeat an opponent from a distance and having the beam stuffed by a building.
Aside from the nostalgia factor, Godzilla: Unleashed doesn’t have much else going for it.
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While I get that giant monsters aren’t necessarily the most agile, Unleashed could have improved the gameplay by offering an adjustable game speed. Besides the combat being slow, it’s also repetitive and offers very little variety between characters. Added to it that are levels that fail to provide a giant sense of scale. I just don’t feel like I'm all powerful when playing as Godzilla, and that’s just wrong. The requisite regular punch and kick attacks are present along with fierce attacks, such as Godzilla’s tail swing, and throws. Smaller buildings and other objects can also be thrown. You can block, but who the heck is gonna use that? There a few other elements to the combat, but nothing that can save it from becoming tedious almost immediately.
A deep brawler such as Super Smash Bros. Melee works because it offers fast, diverse gameplay and levels that are fun and inventive. There are also tons of adjustable elements. None of these things happened to find their way into Unleashed. At least they could have tried to rip-off the best. Aside from the nostalgia factor, Godzilla: Unleashed doesn’t have much else going for it. After only a few minutes playing with friends, we were eager to switch to something else. Even the most hardcore Godzilla fans should stick to the movies, and look to better fighters to get their fill.
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