Godzilla Review

The iconic monster just can’t catch a break in the videogame world. Over the years, I’ve honestly wondered if the disappointing lack of quality in Godzilla games were simply a reflection of the cornball movies. Yes, those old films are comically ridiculous. They’re so bad that nobody really takes them seriously. So, perhaps we’re supposed to approach the interactive entertainment the same way; it’s bad, but it’s so bad that it’s actually fun. …but this isn’t fun at all and in general, poor video games aren’t entertaining. It’s probably because of the nature of interaction; if it’s less than mediocre, it’s simply not an enjoyable experience.

It doesn’t take more than a few minutes to determine that the production value is abysmal. I guess this is a PlayStation 4 game (I really don’t want to see what the PS3 version looks like); it says so on the box so I guess I have to believe it. Some of the more theatrical camera angles are kinda cool, I suppose, and those special effects can be mildly pleasing to the eye. Aside from that, this is a drab, uninspired visual presentation that shows no spark of creativity whatsoever. The cities you trash are littered with static, unappealing detail with virtually no life or movement on the ground. Where are the thousands of civilians fleeing in fear? Is that pathetic assembly down there – the one that never moves – supposed to be the army?

And the audio isn’t any better. Again, the production value is just way too low, as the soundtrack is generic and poorly balanced and even the effects lack punch and volume. Again, I wonder if the original goal was to recreate the corniness and ridiculousness of the movies. If that’s the case, mission accomplished. The audio is so far below par that yeah, I can see this as a low-budget movie featuring toy tanks and a Godzilla puppet. But if you’re trying to give us a slam-bang action extravaganza with ceaseless action, propelled forward by intense effects and a raucous score, you’ve failed miserably. This creature should have immense power and as a direct result, the impact should be huge from a sound standpoint. Yeah, nope.

Let’s try to make this quick and painful. The main mode is called God of Destruction, which is just a bunch of small maps that all have the same objective: Find the power stations and destroy them. Yes, that’s the only objective. No, there aren’t any optional objectives or side missions. You might get interrupted by fellow kaiju and the humans lamely attempt to attack – worthless stationary tanks and some silly dive-bombing planes – but other than that, it couldn’t be more straightforward. Hey, straightforward is just fine, provided the game was actually a blast to play, and we enjoyed progressing through the maps and wreaking havoc. Sadly, enjoyment is difficult to find.

You can finish this mode in about an hour, which doesn’t help matters. Now, you can go through it again to find all the “cinematic” areas of each level, but I seriously doubt even the hardcore fans will do so. Basically, the cinematic sections allow the camera to change perspective (and the government can magically gather new data from these new camera angles), but that’s about it. It’s not a bad idea and it might appeal to classic film buffs, but it has a nasty effect on the gameplay. You can’t keep playing with these cinematic camera angles; you just have to wait until the data collection is done. You can’t move at all because this causes the collection to stop. Not a terrible concept but like everything else in the game, it’s poorly executed.