Godzilla: Strike Zone Review—A Hyped Monster-Ravaged Franchise Stuck to a Disappointing Game
Waking up early on a Monday morning, autumn has continued to spread its chill over those traipsing to the university. As I start the day with my usual morning routine, my lips part in a grimace at the thought of how I had been forced to endure a Godzilla marathon painfully throughout the weekends (Sigh, why couldn’t it ever be a LOTR marathon?).
Ever since my first encounter with a Godzilla film, I, for one, have never been a fan of the monster franchise.
Now that their Godzilla obsession had become far too deep, I was even dragged by my cousins to join them in giving this game—Godzilla: Strike Zone—a whirl.
True to its namesake, the game involves Godzilla, and it’s a movie-themed game that appears to be a piece of rushed work and fails to hit the sweet spot of anything, really (as well as my heart). If anything, this entry to the Godzilla franchise highlights (what I’d say) a bizarre mashup of 3 distinctive gameplay, ranging from an interactive strategic game to first-person shooter (FPS). I’m sorry, but it just doesn’t seem to be sitting well with me.
At the outset, Godzilla: Strike Zone starts you off as a soldier on a perilous mission to face the god-sized monster. Much to my disappointment, Godzilla: Strike Zone is devoid mainly of encounters with the titular monster, apart from the occasional sightings or echoes of monstrous roars from a distance.
Before long, you’ll find yourself in an aeroplane, where you’ll begin your first mission—the Halo Jump. Just like in the film, you’ll have to jump out of the plane and make your way into a monster-ravaged San Francisco. While skydiving, you have to utilise tilt controls on your phone to navigate yourself away from your squadmates.As soon as you open your parachute, you’ll be manoeuvring yourself through the ruined city. I was left baffled by a lack of on-screen guidance for a brief moment, only to find that the directional controls here are pretty clunky. Even though the mission itself isn’t challenging, the number of times I have had to restart wears thin on the hands and patience (Tip: Do make allowances in your timing to ensure that you don’t make any mistakes in getting too close to the buildings).
The moment you arrive at the landing point, it signifies that your second mission has begun. Here, the FPS mode will be activated, and you will be free to investigate and save survivors within the area amidst Godzilla’s rampage.
Following on, I have realised that the third mission is merely a repeat of the second, only with different tasks that have you scurrying around the city. Though they may have nailed the music and sound design, I felt that the graphics and janky (or the lack thereof) controls in Godzilla: Strike Zone were still infuriating and somewhat lacking. On the whole, it seemed as though I had been playing an early Playstation 2 game.
If you happen to be a Godzilla fan with some time to spare, I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt to give it a whirl here. Who knows? You might just enjoy it (At least, far more than I did 😅)!
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