Godzilla: Save the Earth (2004) Online

Keep in mind that I am reviewing this game for X Box. I have not played this game for other consoles so just keep in mind that my opinion is solely for the X Box version.

THis game is a lot of fun. Playing as a variety of monsters from the Godzilla series you fight against other monsters. Controls are pretty simple to master. If you beat a monster you move on to fight another and another until you have beaten enough to gain points that you can use to buy new monsters or other items like new cities or photos.

The graphics are pretty good. SOme of the monsters look great, namely Godzilla 2000, Gigan, Anguirus, Ghidorah, and Rodan. Others look somewhat pretty good like Godzilla 90's and Mechagodzilla 2. Overall I was happy with the selection of monsters they put in. I nearly fainted when I found out that Baragon was a playable character as he is my favorite kaiju. I always wondered why they would put in Mechagodzilla 2 and 3 but choose not to put in the original Mechagodzilla.

The playable monsters in this game are Godzilla 90, Godzilla 2000, Megalon, Gigan, Anguirus, Rodan, Ghidorah, Mecha King Ghidorah, Mothra, Megaguirus, Baragon, Jet Jaguar, Mechagodzilla 2, Mechagodzilla 3, Destroyah, Space Godzilla, Moguira, and Orga. In my opinion King Ghidorah, Mechagodzilla 2, and Gigan are the most powerful but my favorite to use is Baragon.

Battra appears in the game in the background firing his prism beams as you battle. Ebirah appears in a mini game.

You will play a variety of different mini games while going through the levels. Mini games in this game are off and on. Most of them are very difficult while others are far easier. Depending on which monster you are playing as depends what mini games you will play.

Locations that you will fight in include San Francisco, Monster Island, Seattle, Osaka North, Tokyo and many others.

A great variety of different monsters and good controls make this game a lot of fun. If you are a Godzilla Fan you must play it.

(This review is for the Xbox version)

Godzilla: Save The Earth is the long anticipated Godzilla game for the Xbox and PS2, to coincide with Godzilla's fiftieth anniversary. I had watched this game for a while, and was eagerly waiting for its release. Unfortunately, while GSTE makes good use of the Godzilla license, I left the game more disappointed than satisfied.

The plot of the game is nothing really noteworthy, but interesting no-less: Human scientists uncover "Godzilla Matter,' which is indestructible material made from Godzilla's DNA. The leader of an alien race called the Vortaak (From Destroy All Monsters Melee) hears of this, and wants to use Godzilla Matter for her own purposes. So, she sends a battalion of monsters down to Earth to get the G-Matter, and Godzilla (Or any monster of your choice) is the only thing that can stop the monsters.

GSTE is a fighting game in its most basic form: Beating the living hell out of your opponent. However, GSTE spices things up by adding Godzilla characters (Including the likes of Jet Jaguar, Mothra, and Spacegodzilla), environments filled with fully destructible buildings, and monster enhancing power-ups. There's also the ever-present military, which always makes futile attempts to stop the monsters. The arenas are modeled after real-life cities from around the world, from Manhatten to Tokyo, each just waiting to be annihilated by the battling monsters. But while the game is fun to play, it falters in several areas.

The game-play is arguably the game's strongest aspect. The controls are solid, and each monster adds different strategy elements to the battles. It's also fun to see how many different attack combinations you can make. The new beam-lock feature also adds some nice strategy. However, the game-play stumbles in the A.I. It can range from pathetically easy to cheaply (Is that a word?) difficult (And I mean very cheap. Mothra....) Also, the randomly targeted military attacks can interrupt your throws and the charging of your beam weapons, spawning maximum annoyance.

The graphics leave some to be desired, especially on the Xbox. While the monsters are highly detailed and do their film counterparts good justice, the environments lack that great detail, looking rather bland sometimes, but still stay true to the real-life cities and film locations.

The audio is also lacking. While the environmental and monster sounds are as close to the films as possible, the music is definitely not anything that would fit with Godzilla (IMO). Custom soundtracks would've been much appreciated.

The single-player is basically a traditional fight through several battles with other monsters, as well as mini-games. Most of the mini-games, while interesting (With names like Monster Bowling, UFO Attack, Jet Jagaur Clones), lack polish and can be a real pain in the ass. The multi-player is perhaps GSTE's saving grace. There are the traditional versus, me-lee, and popular destruction modes, as well as system link and online play. Up to four players can brawl as their favorite monsters. There are also several unlock-ables to discover, including concept art from the game and Godzilla: Final Wars. With all this, the longevity of GSTE is probably the only thing to keep people playing.

GSTE, other than offering us yet another monster fighting game, introduces almost nothing new as far as Next Generation goes.

Overall, Godzilla: Save The Earth is a disappointment. Several aspects of the game lack polish and feel very rushed. I've been a life-long Godzilla fan, and it pains me so to have to write such a negative-sounding review for a Godzilla game I found very fun. I really wouldn't recommend this game unless you're either a hardcore Godzilla fan or a gamer that is looking for an introduction to the fighting genre. However, if you're looking for a good weekend of crazy, monster brawling fun, then I recommend a rental. Don't get me wrong here, GSTE is a fun game, but it just doesn't have what it takes to compete with the greats of fighting games. And with Final Wars not being received very warmly by critics and fans alike, Godzilla's career may not be ending on a good note....

Gameplay: 8/10.

Graphics: 7.5/10.

Audio: 7/10.

Longevity: 8.5/10.

Next Generation: 5/10.

Overall: 7.2/10.

Say what you will about my review, but this is how I truly feel about the game.

This is one of the best video games ever. In this game you get to chose from a list of monsters Godzilla 2000 Rodan Mohtra Jet Jaguar Gigan Godzilla 90's Mecahagodzilla 2 Mechagodzilla 3. And lot more. And you get fight other monster. It is fighting game like mortal k.o.m.b.a.t or street fighter. This game is start forward action. The way a video game should be. Play it. It is awesome. It is a very fun game. Jet Jaguar is my favorite character. Play this game it is awesome. You will have fun playing this game. It is awesome. I like most of the Godzilla movies. I like 28 out of the 30 Godzilla movies. And I like this game. It is a fun game.