At its Global Gamers Day event in Las Vegas last week, Bandai Namco Entertainment released a new trailer for its upcoming Godzilla game and gave press, including PSU, the chance to play as the iconic Japanese monster.
Producer Shunsuke Fujita was on-hand to give a short presentation providing some background before I received hands-on time with Godzilla. The decision to port the game over to the PlayStation 4, he said, was made in favor of Western players, since so many have moved on to the new consoles and no longer play their PlayStation 3. Given the new improved hardware, Godzilla on PS4 contains various graphical improvements, more monsters, and online versus multiplayer.
One of the most interesting tidbits, Fujita-san told, was a humorous anecdote about how the game ended up adding in more monster characters than intended. A lot of the staff are big fans of the original films, having grown up with them, and naturally everyone has their favorite monster. Fujita-san would walk by and notice an unplanned monster already modeled and animated on a colleague’s screen. Since so much progress was made on those unexpected characters, he figured the team might as well put them in. Hence why there are some more obscure characters like Jet Jaguar in the game.
The goal during development was to create a faithful experience that would resonate with longtime fans of the kaiju (monster) franchise. With that in mind, Fujita-san’s team crafted a game that is full of simplistic fun, without much depth, because that is the nature of the original movies. Your goal is simple here: destroy as much of the city and other monsters to make Godzilla grow and reign as King of the Monsters.
Godzilla controls like the lumbering beast he is, which is an aspect of the gameplay I had to get used to after being conditioned by the rapid pace of contemporary AAA games. Pushing forward on the left analog stick moves the giant lizard stomping forward, but turning is instead controlled by the left and right triggers, adding more heft to how he feels. Many of the attacks you’ve seen Godzilla perform can be found here, with more of them unlocked as he grows. His basic moves like stomping, slashing, tai-spin whacking, and signature atomic breath were readily at my disposal.
When I destroyed buildings, the structures would combust and collapse in a floor-by-floor detonation rhythm like how the old films’ models on set exploded. The final game will include a Diorama Mode where fans can build their dream grounds for destruction. To further the cinematic experience, the camera angle can be switched to classic perspectives such as from nearby building windows or on the street. Paired with the PS4’s recording capabilities, I am sure there will be those that make Godzilla machinima that re-create classic battles or features the battles fans have always wanted to see.
Since the monsters don’t speak, a cast of basic human characters, such as military personnel and the Japanese prime minister, add dialogue and narration as the events unfold. The human military serves as one of Godzilla’s enemies, but are not much of a challenge. The real threat comes from the other monsters, and at times Godzilla must face more than one. In the demo I played, Godzilla faced off against Space Godzilla and King Ghidorah and once both arrived, the challenge came from juggling attacks between the two. Since Godzilla is so slow, I had to always be aware of where the other monster was while I was attacking one and avoid being double-pounded by attacks from both.
Godzilla is not a game that everyone will love, but fans young and old will likely find themselves roaring with enjoyment while playing it when it releases on July 14, 2015 on PS4 and digital-only PS3.