Genre: Fighting
Developer: Pipeworks Software
Publisher: Atari
# of Players: 1-4
Memory: 4 blocks
ERSB: Teen
Released On: October 15, 2002
Also On: XBOX
Features: Dolby Pro Logic II, Progressive Scan
Website: http://www.godzillaoncube.com/
If you weren’t a deprived child then you know who Godzilla is; the King of the Monsters and to many grown men across the nation a hero (despite crushing thousands of people without knowing). Long ago, in the 60’s, a Godzilla movie that went by the name of Destroy All Monsters featured some of the greatest monsters in Toho’s monster movie history at each others throat’s in order to save the world from an evil alien race. Inspired by the monster movie classic, developer Pipeworks, created Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee. Godzilla fans have waited far too long for a game worthy of the Big G’s presence, and thanks to Pipeworks the wait is finally over.
Presentation:
Destroy All Monsters Melee is Pipeworks first GameCube game, and these guys did an excellent job. So much work has been put into this game; each monster is true to their movie counterparts. Their moves, taunts, their designs, are right on the mark; every Godzilla fan will appreciate the amount of detail put into this game. The B-movie feeling synonymous with Toho’s monster movies are intact and almost bring a tear to the eye. Framerate is rock solid at 60fps and that is one hell of an achievement especially with amount of chaos going on onscreen. Load times are short but noticeable…
Oh boy, those alien invaders are just too funny!
Gameplay:
“The Vortak, alien invaders from a distant galaxy have revealed themselves to the people of Earth. Their goal it to seize control of the planet and plunder its resources while using us as their slaves. To strike fear into the inhabitants of Earth, the Vortak have taken control over Earth’s powerful monsters through mind control devices and sent them to wreak havoc on Earth’s heavily populated areas. But perhaps one of these monsters can break free of the Vortak’s control.”
Godzilla: Destroy All Monster Melee is a 3D fighter featuring 11 monsters from Toho’s monster movie history. These monsters come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, some short and quick, others massive yet powerful, and a handful with the ability to fly. Each monster features its own distinctive strengths and weaknesses. Take Destroyah for example; long range attacks such as Godzilla’s atomic breath can devastate him but when fighting close range Destroyah’s attacks are extremely deadly, quick , and powerful. The only way to win battles is to know your opponents weaknesses, strengths and as well as your own.
The fighting scheme is rather simple and is easily learned after 4 or 5 match-ups; it’s comparable to wrestling game in a way minus the grappling. Long rage attacks such as King Ghidorah’s laser beams are executed by pressing the Z-button. Though,
"The only way to win battles is to know your opponents weaknesses, strengths and as well as your own"
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these attacks can only be used if there’s enough energy in your attack bar. The attack bar is a yellow bar located beneath your health bar, it slowly refills during battle. Every time you execute a long rage attack it diminishes the energy from the bar; the amount of energy used is determined by how long you hold the Z-button. A quick yet powerful Z-button attack can also be unleashed upon your opponents; to use this attack all you do is tap the Z-button. This attack is very useful since it does not give much of a chance for opponents to attack you when your guard is down.
Aside from your standard punch, kick, and long range attacks these monsters have the ability to pick up their opponents as well as buildings by pressing both the A and B buttons at the same time. From there, they can throw their opponents into to buildings and wherever else they please. Three different types of various throws are available each representing a different attack; for example Godzilla can toss his opponent up in the air and then do a tail spin, catapulting his opponent into the ocean.
While on the battlefield items appear onscreen, these items are: a Mothra assistance power-up, a health power-up, an energy power-up, and a Rage power-up. When you collect a Mothra assistance power-up, Mothra (a huge moth) comes to your assistance by firing laser beams at your opponent(s) , the health power-up restores a bit of your health, the energy power-up causes your attack bar to fill at a faster pace, and the Rage power-up gives you the ability to unleash a devastating attack. This Rage attack is used by pressing both the A and X buttons at the same time, this unleashes an attack that hits everything around you and is very useful during close match-ups.
The cities these monsters battle in are full of obstacles such as buildings, and military forces. You may catapult an enemy into a building with on of your attacks or use them as weapons and throw them at your opponent, but nothing is better than watching them crumble. Military forces though are a pain in the arse, they attack you and take some serious damage and sometimes can
"This game is easily one of the best multiplayer games for the GameCube and in my opinion better than both Bomberman Generations and Super Smash Bros. Melee"
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be the factor of whether you win or lose. The most annoying thing that the military may do is shoot you with one of those tanks that freeze you for a short period which leaves you defenseless. You’ve been warned…
Destroy All Monsters Melee features your standard modes of play that were accustom to in a fighter, but it does feature one that we are not. That mode is Destruction; in Destruction you wreak havoc on one of the games’ locales leaving cities in ruins.
DAMM is a blast to play; it’s a challenge and an unusually fun party game for a fighter.
Visuals:
At first you may not realize how amazing this game is visually, but after time the small little details will begin to stand out…
The character models in Destroy All Monsters Melee are true to their movie counterparts to the smallest detail, not only that but on an average each monster is made up of 10,000 polygons each. On top of that there is amazing texture work present on
"DAMM is an excellent example of what the GameCube can do in the hands of the right developer"
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each beast. The arenas are spectacular, comprised of numerous buildings ranging from small to enormous, towering above the monster’s head at times. Now for those little details I mentioned about before… The more you play Destroy All Monsters Melee you begin to notice many different little things. Such as, automobiles drive down the streets which happen to be covered in the ruins of demolished buildings, the firearms of the military and alien space crafts being fired at you. These little things show how Pipeworks goes the extra mile. Visual effects such as lighting are stunning, especially when battling at night time (Godzilla’s radioactive glow while charging his blast is stunning!), particle effects are jaw dropping as well. I was amazed when two giant buildings fell to the ground; all you saw was a monstrous cloud of smoke and dust covering the entire screen, soon it began to diminish and the monsters rose from the ashes. When this entire visual splendor comes into fruition, you realize that DAMM is an excellent example of what the GameCube can do in the hands of the right developer.
Audio:
Go, Go Godzilla! (I love that Blue Oyster Cult tune!)
Godzilla movies have always featured great soundtracks, featuring orchestrated masterpieces from Japanese composer Akira Ifukube. Ifukube’s Godzilla have always kicked ass and I am a bit disappointed that his music isn’t really present in the game other than in the ending credits. The battle themes that are present during fights aren’t too bad though but they don’t manage to get you into that fighting spirit like how Ifukube’s music would.
The sound effects in DAMM are nothing short of amazing. Each monster has their own unique roar and screams which happen to be ripped straight out of the Godzilla movies; personally I wouldn’t have had it any other way. Other sound effects such as crumbling buildings, firearms, explosions, laser beam, etc… all sound top notch.
Lasting Appeal:
This game is a blast at multiplayer and as long as you have friends you’ll being playing this game for the longest time. This game is easily one of the best multiplayer games for the GameCube and in my opinion better than both Bomberman Generations and Super Smash Bros. Melee. Single player lasts for a lengthy time as well, mostly because the game only starts you off with 3 out of 11 monsters playable leaving the others waiting to be unlocked while playing Adventure mode with various characters.
Final Thoughts:
Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee is one of the best GameCube purchases you can possibly make; its fun for all ages, a great party game, and a blast to play on your own. Godzilla fans, this is what you’ve been waiting for who those many years, an amazing title starring your favorite childhood monsters. Fans of the Big G will scream in joy while playing this game, trust me I know…
The good: Best Godzilla game to date
Destroying cities kick ass!
You can tell lots of hard work was put into this game The bad:
Not enough monsters. Where’s King Caesar?
Akira Ifukube’s music isn’t featured enough
Hard to distinct who is who when playing as the same monster The stupid:
I’ve caught Anguirus running around in circles on a few occasions*GamersMark.com reviewed this game with a copy of the title purchased from retail
