User Reviews (1 - 11 of 23)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Tons of fun, but even more frustrating at times

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 13 / 17
Date: April 23, 2003
Author: Amazon User

First off...this is the BEST Godzilla game that has ever come about. The only one that came close was probably the old Japanese Godzilla game for the Sega Saturn. But this is not only the best Godzilla game ever, it also blows its Gamecube predecessor out of the water.

Lets start by comparing the two:
I'll be honest. The reason I bought a Gamecube was because of Godzilla and Resident Evil. I've been a Godzilla nut all my life. But when I heard the Xbox version was coming out, I couldn't beleive it. I traded in my Gamecube copy immediately and bought the Xbox version.

The Gamecube version looked ok, but the XBox version completely blows the cube away. Graphics are crisp, sharp and clean. The monsters are very heavily detailed. The environments never looked better, and the effects are awesome. The sound is also alot better, with Dolby Digital support. There is considerably less slowdown and the monsters all move fluidly. The Xbox version also lacks the graphical distortions that plagued the GC version. And of course, it lacks the infamous gamecube exclusive graphical anomaly 'pixelation distortion', which causes shiny or detailed objects to turn black and extremely pixelated, as if playing on a 16-bit system.

Exclusive to the XBox version, which just completely makes the Gamecube version inferior, is the addition of all game modes available for single player. In Gamecube, you could only play Adventure or Versus mode. To access any other mode, you MUST have 4 people playing. For the Xbox version, you can play any mode you want with computer controlled 'bots. Not only does the Xbox version have more game modes, but it also has new levels, larger levels, and even a new monster: Mechagodzilla 2003, a truly awesome monster. There is also XBox live capability.

There are a few problems though.... For starters, the difficulty in this game is outrageously insane. The A.I. in the game can be very smart at times, but the problem with that is that it anticipates your every move and blows you away before you have a chance to pull it off. Also, the inclusion of power-ups in this game only hinders it. Whenever a power-up appears, the computer player automatically knows where it is, and makes a b-line straight for it. 99% of the time, the computer will get the power-up, leaving you at a major disadvantage.

Other issues include balancing. Some monsters, namely Destoroyah, are so powerful that they simply throw away any fun factor in the game. Destoroyah has a series of uninterruptable and unblockable moves that can literally take half of your lifebar away in little over 3 hits. And once the computer gets a hold of the 'rage' power-up...forget it. You'll be knocked into next Tuesday.

Control is another issue...the control is so clunky that you won't even know whats going on. Reactions are delayed so much that you'll be mashing the controller and having your monster swing away at air while the computer charges up a beam attack. However, I blame this mostly on the Xbox controller, which is quite possibly the worst controller ever conceived in the history of video games, only second of course to the gamecube controller.

Those issues aside, once you get some pals over, this game is just a ton of fun. Team Battle mode and Melee battle modes are so much fun that you'll be sitting there for hours hammering away at each other. There's nothing more satisfying than hurling two giant monsters at each other and watching them collide in mid-air and hit the pavement like a ton of bricks. All in all, the game would have definitely benefit from an option to turn off power-ups, mainly because it would balance the game more. But overall, this is the best 'zilla game ever, and is tons of fun to play.

Lots of fun, but has some drawbacks

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: May 13, 2003
Author: Amazon User

First and foremost, Godzilla:DAMM is a lot of fun for anyone who is a fan of the movies. The developers obviously spent a good deal of time creating the monsters - they all have their distinct advantages/disadvantages and are rendered beautifully in the game. This is a great party game once all the monsters/arenas have been unlocked.

Gameplay:
The game plays as it is expected: a) big giant monsters are not going to be nimble characters (like in DOA:3 or MK:DA) b) it takes a lot more than a few combos to take an opponent out c) throwing buildings and other monsters at your opponents is a given.

The game offers a variety of modes (Adventure, Versus, Destruction, Melee). While Destruction is pointless, the other modes should give the game some longevity. The addition of Bots for the Melee mode boosts the replay value well above the GC version.

The drawback to the gameplay is the collision detection. At times, your character can be standing right next to a building and not be able to pick it up. Even more annoying is getting hit when you should be out of the opponents sites.

Graphics and sound:
The sound is superb - hands down. All of the yells and screams the monsters make in the movie are represented perfectly.

Graphics are a mixed bag. The monsters look great, but the arenas are often bland and look unfinished. The most disheartening aspect of the graphics is the building destruction - they fall down as if they were precision dynamited, not stomped on by a giant lizard.

Not the worst game ever, but not the greatest either

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: March 20, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Being a heavy G-fan, I rented this sucker the minute I saw it at my local Hollywood Video. I brought it back to my room and popped it into my roommate's X-Box, which was at first to much his dismay. However, within an hour him and two of our buddies were all battling it out as four of Toho's finest. We even played together on the storyline mode to unlock more monsters to make the one-on-one more enjoyable. So, after all that, what are my final statements on the game? Well, there are a lot of good things about this game that I like, but there are also some things that disappointed me.

First lets talk about the storyline of the game. Aliens come down to earth and announce to humanity that they are unleashing all the monsters from Monster Island, and its up to you as one of the selected monsters to stop them. OK, sounds fair enough, that was the plotline of most Godzilla films in the 60's and 70's (even harkens over to the "Destroy All Monsters" movie). I have to say I'm a bit turned off at the stupid, overused humor they gave the aliens ("Am I still on?") as well as the cheapness those CG scenes had. The alien hits a button on the table before him...except there's no button! Also, after defeating all the monsters on earth, the aliens throw MechaGodzilla at you. That's cool, and its fitting with the Godzilla universe as well, but I wish they could have thrown in some more Godzilla monsters on other difficulty levels, or maybe even unlock villains to fight. I know Biollante would have made an awesome boss, or even SpaceGodzilla.

As for regards to gameplay, this was a pretty decent melee game. Every one has their own blasting ability, especially Godzilla 2000 who has one mighty breath-of-death! Arguilas can roll (and if you hit his spiked back your monster will cry in pain). Rodan and King Ghidora, as well as his mecha counterpart, can fly. Megalon can burrow underground and pop up under his enemy, spinning them with his drill.

And yes, you can destroy the city. Buildings take damage either by being stomped or touched by monsters, or some parts can even be picked up and thrown by one of the fighters! There are plenty of stages to fight in, each a major city with day/night choice of time. If you destroy too many buildings in one area, the military will start to target you (although I never saw how that did too much damage).

There are other ways to get the upper hand, though. You can get power ups (Rage) that will increase hit damages, and of course the mandatory HP restore power up. You can also select some items that will bring in other monsters to aide you: one has Mothra swooping in and shocking your opponent, while the other has Hedorah in flight-mode pretty much farting over your opponent (I don't know what else to call it, it doesn't do much except steal the opponent's dignity). If melee is boring, they also have contests where who ever does the most damage in a city wins the round. Never played that too much though, unless I wish to practice a move or some thing.

Despite all this, I think some game issues weren't thought over before this was released to market. For one, some of the moves by the monsters are downright cheap - and their cheapness is exploited by the AI while you may have trouble figuring out how they work. The Megalon AI will continue to try and burrow under you, and there's no way you can attack them back. You're only hope is to run and hope eventually their power will go down. Also, once Megalon gets under you, you can't block - its an automatic drill attack. Rodan also has an incredibly cheap attack with his massive wing-span slap. Most of these monsters move pretty slow, even in their run, so its almost impossible to get to him especially since he flies. Also, I seem to notice the AI for Rodan and Ghidora seem to have unlimited flying abilities while I can barely stay up for more than five seconds.

I also wish they had had some original Godzilla music in there. The music in this game is no where near as memorable as the one from the films - where's my Akira Ifukube? Even "Godzilla 2000" remembered to have the original themes that highlighted Toho's 1980's revival of the G-man.

So what's my final conclusion? Well, I would rent this first. I'm sure most fans will read my complaints and go, "I don't care, I can overlook that." If you can, then by all means buy this for your own. If you get annoyed by this too, then rent it and decide for yourself. Just remember I said it was a "decent" melee game.

The good, the bad, the....sequel?

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: February 12, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The good:
Anyone who gets even the slightest pleasure from watching the cheezy 60s and 70s Japanese movies about giant intergalactic monsters wreaking havok on Tokyo will enjoy this game. You get to crush cities as Godzilla or your favorite Godzilla foe. The monsters look like you remember them (probably better) and sound good too.

As an added bonus you get to fight in melee mode - four monsters, one city - it's chaos! YES!

I appreciate the strange way the action in this game works - your monster is trying to save the earth by battling the other monsters but sometimes the military starts trying to kill you. There's also some weird flying saucer hovering around. Stuff like that, which adds to the feel that you are playing an updated version of the movies, just makes it more fun.

The bad:
In order to play as any of the monsters other than Godzilla, Anguirus, Megalon or Gigan, you have to beat adventure mode, which is an eight battle game. Every time you defeat adventure mode you unlock another monster. The problem is there is no saving during a game so you either play all the way through or give up and start all over again next time. Same things with cities. It can be frustrating.

The damage to cities and buildings is pretty unrealistic - sometimes you fall right on a building and nothing happens. Sometimes you walk over a building and it turns to dust.

The controls are a little tough especially with the camera angles - you can't always see where you're going or what you're doing.

The sequel?
If they could fix those things that are "bad", and maybe add a couple of other monsters - King Kong, maybe Gamera the flying space turtle, and some of the more obscure monsters - that would make a game well worth buying.

Bottom line: this does what Rampage, a fun game in its own right, tried so hard to do - captures the feeling of those cheezy 60s monster movies with class.

Great game. Superb graphics. IMPOSSIBLE to play.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: February 09, 2006
Author: Amazon User

This is the best Godzilla game. PERIOD. It's loads of fun. Really, it is. It's really fun to control all the monsters you've seen in the movies. My personal favorites are Destroyah, Mechagodzilla, and Megalon. The only problem is that the game is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too hard. Megalon has got to be the biggest problem monster. He will be underground 80% of the time you fight him, and it is extremely difficult to run from(But is possible, I know). And if he gets right underneath you, he'll come up, grab you, and throw you in one fo his special throws. To make things worse, his energy attack is magnetized right towards your monster, and the attack is brutal. Why Megalon is one of the starting monsters I'll never know...but thank God because he is one of the best characters of the game. King Gidorah is another good monster and one fo the best. Even his(their)none energy attacks are quite brutal. Gigan is quite possibly the funnest character to control, soley because he has the coolest throwing moves(like the buzzsaw throw). It's also fun to use his special teleport move. Gigan may not go far, but it's definately cool to watch. The Mothra airstrike power..I'll say this..GET IT FIRST. Mothra has got to be the most annoying asset of the game, as she continuously zaps the opposite player with ridiculously painful results. Mechagodzilla is the toughest monster here. Not to mention he's totally cheap. His rocket fingers do a lot of damage-ridiculously brutal damage-but fortunately, he is limited to 3.

So, all in all, it's a solid game. It can be impossible 80% of the time, but it's still fun and worth the difficulty.

The Big Green is Back

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 4
Date: April 21, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I was really excited to pick this game up, as I am a huge Godzilla fan.
The problems I find with it are that the controls are a little stiff and difficult at times. It seems that the monster you pick can do great when you're going against it, but when you control it, it's spastic.
But, I love Godzilla, and I can get used to the controls, so overall, I give it 4 stars.

took me by surprise

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: August 04, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I'm not really a fan of the Godzilla movies or the games, but when my brother got this one and forced me to play it with him, I was actually pretty impressed. Graphics are pretty smooth, not the most gorgeous thing ever, but nice to look at. The controls are kind of clunky and take some getting used to, but once you have the hang of it, everything goes smoothly. The levels are all large and VERY interactive. Every building is destructible, and some can be picked up and thrown. Powerups litter the environments, enhancing your character's abilities. There are several hidden characters to unlock, including the Japanese take on the American Godzilla that was featured in Godzilla 2000. Anyone into non-linear brawlers with highly interactive environments should also check out War of the Monsters, as it is very similar to this game.

A True Creature Feature!!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 9
Date: April 28, 2003
Author: Amazon User

All you need is a mono-tone narrator and subtitles!! The only drawback I can see with this game is that there is no "save" feature. After defeating 4 monsters, then I croak, you gotta start from the beginning if you shut the game off.. The Melee camera angles could be much better instead of an aerial view...

Oh Man.....

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: August 31, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is my dream come true. I can remember as a child, sitting on the floor with my hundreds of Godzilla toys (which i still have, mind you) and stacking up dominos, chess and checkers pieces and re-creating and inventing my own battles. Now, I can leave thoose figures on display and not get on my hands and knees and scare my wife - and just plug in my XBox and destroy/battle all I want. Great, large landscapes that are very realistic to stomp around on all i want, and awesome graphics. The monsters are all of my favorites, with the exception of Ebirah and Space Godzilla. All 4 modes are great, and my favorite is adventure and destruction. I have all of my battles recorded on VHS and keep records of my win-loss count (I always play with Godzilla 90 or King Ghidorah). The sound is excellent, just what the doctor ordered. This is definetly the best Godzilla video game to ever be released and hopefully there are some sequels in mind, featuring some favorites like Ebirah, Space Godzilla, Titanasaurus, Biollante and Mothra (a playable mothra, as in this game she sometimes swoops down in your time of need). My only complaint is the way the buildings fall. They should be smacked around easily and topple over and crumple, not sink to the ground and flaten out. Sometimes the controls are a bit clunky, but i can forgive that. Some real neat cheats are available for this game as well. All in All - this is an AWESOME game. Essential for any Godzilla Fan (Hell, I bought the XBox just for this game! Now talk about a Devoted Godzilla Fan...). A Must buy. Hopefull Atari has some sequels planned. Godzilla - Free of Charge Power Line Destroyer since 1954. Long Live The King!

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAR!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: April 15, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I've always been a Godzilla fan but never knew just how much until I met Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters (GDAM). I almost bought the Nintendo Gamecube just to play it. I'm glad I waited.

I've been playing giant monster games since the 80s. I loved Crush, Crumble & Chomp! and immediately took to Rampage. What can I say, I like the idea of stepping on people. Wait, that didn't come out right.

Taking its name from the insane movie title of the same name, GDAM stays true to its roots: this is a flat-out battle for the title of toughest, baddest giant monster. And you can play all of them:

· Godzilla: In both 90s and 2000 incarnations. Godzilla's breath weapon causes his spines to glow and he rears back, just like in the movies. Godzilla can also puff out small fireballs.
· Anguirus: An ankylosaurus with a horn. Probably the most challenging opponent in the game. CURSE YOU ANGUIRUS AND YOUR SPIKED HIDE!
· King Ghidorah: A three-headed dragon that can blast electric rays from his eyes. He also has a very distinctive cry that sounds like a bird chirping through a Wurlitzer organ.
· MechaGodzilla: A mechanical version of Godzilla, complete with finger missiles, chest ray, electronic breath weapon, and those annoying heat-seeking missiles that pop out of his sides.
· Rodan: A pterodactyl with eye rays. Sure, he had his own serious movie. But in GDAM, everything's fair game, so every single special power any monster has ever displayed is here in force. Thus Rodan shoots eye beams, `cause he did it in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II.
· Destoroyah: It's hard to describe this thing. Put big wing-like ears on Godzilla, a pair of stubby wings on his back, lots of spikes on his joints, a weird forked tail, a big honkin' horn and you've got Destoroyah. This monster's most irritating ability is its horn, which it transforms into a sort of laser lance that can dice up opponents. I quickly learned to keep my distance and throw buildings at it. Come to think of it, that's also how I beat MechaGodzilla.
· Megalon: What amounts to a humanoid beetle with drills for hands, Megalon is certainly funky looking enough to make for an interesting opponent. Megalon can burrow, which makes him difficult to attack from a distance.
· Mecha-King Ghidorah: What happens when King Ghidorah loses his wings and middle head? Why, he gets a cybernetic replacement of course! He's pretty much the same as King Ghidorah only he has a force field that occasionally pops up to inconvenience you.
· Gigan: Another cyborg bird-type thingy, Gigan has one eye, blades for hands and a fin on his back. And he makes weird shrieky metallic sounds. He can also teleport and has a blade in his chest. He's up there with Megalon for the freakiest monster award.
· Orga: You only get Orga if you beat the adventure mode with every monster and Godzilla 2000. A big, hunchbacked beast with nasty claws and a shoulder cannon, he's from the Godzilla 2000 movie.

Anyway, by far the best part of GDAM is just how perfectly the game captures the original characters. As a kid, I didn't notice the bad special effects; I was much more focused on the monsters beating the daylights out of each other. No zippers, wires, or guys in suits are visible.

And yet, the game captures the feel of the movies perfectly. The monster sounds are spot on (Ghidorah, Godzilla, Gigan, and Megalon all have distinct cries). All the special attacks are rendered in three-dimensional glory. When a monster stomps on Godzilla's foot (a common joke from the movies), he hops around in pain. When Godzilla punches something hard, like Anguirus' spiked shell, he shakes out his wounded fist in comedic agony. These are details that only a Godzilla fan would care about. Clearly Atari is a fan.

GDAM also has its flaws. When a monster engages his opponent, it's difficult to get away. The monster refuses to step away from combat, instead choosing to face his opponent. So if you need to run after a power up, which is quite often, you end up hopping TOWARDS your opponent.

And you do need to run after power ups, because the AI opponents will relentlessly pursue them. Power ups include the Rage ability, which gives your monster more lethal attacks as well as a special area-effect power. Problem is, after you use the Rage power up, the camera flips to the other side of the screen, reversing positions of the monsters. It's very disconcerting and unnecessary.

Other effects include the ability to summon Mothra, healing, and recharging your special power. In the background the military attacks whoever causes the most damage to the surrounding structures, which crumble in spectacular fashion. You can also pick up buildings and throw them at your opponent, which is strangely satisfying.

GDAM got me so excited about giant monsters bashing that I put Destroy All Monsters on my wish list. That's the highest compliment I can give a game I played over and over until I beat it.

Review Page: 1 2 3 Next 

Actions