War of the Monsters PS2 Review

I’ve only had this game two days and it is already shaping up to be one of my favourite games of all time! The game is based on the style of old 50’s B-Movies so anybody whose watched them should appreciate the effort put in to replicating them. The story is very like B-Movies. Aliens have invaded Earth and are destroying the world with little retaliation. Us humans develop a superweapon and destroy the aliens. As the aliens crash, they spill their fuel and it mutates certain creatures into 100-foot monsters. There are (overall) 10 creatures and 14 arenas but some have to be bought.

Gameplay

The gameplay is very simple but very effective. Two to four huge creatures are put in an arena and have to slug it out. Sound boring? Well get this. Every building is destructible. Yes, every single one. So if a monster (or friend) hides behind a building, blow it up! This adds a lot of strategic playing options. Also, you can pick up rubble, cars, boats. Even giant swords in giant stones outside a casino for decoration! The main single-player game is adventure. You choose a creature and slug your way through levels up to a final boss. Every battle earns you battle tokens with which to buy costumes, creatures, levels and mini-games. A neat touch is that you get to see how each monster was created at the end of their adventure. The most annoying thing about adventure is that it is the same for every creature. Endurance is also good. You must beat as many other creatures as you can in order to win tokens but you only have one life. You also have free-for-all which is a single slugfest against up to three other creatures. Two-player is great. There is free-for-all (explained above) obviously and Elimination (each player has some lives and must kill the other player or bot before they kill you).

Sound

This is superb. The tracks in the background are typical B-Movie thunderings and the sfx are great. Every thump is heard as you maul your opponent.

Graphics

The main menu is done up like a drive-in movie if you’ve ever been to one, you’ll know what it looks like. The options menu is even a popcorn stand! Graphically, the game looks nice but sometimes glitchey. Objects occasionally stay floting in the air but overall, it is pretty good.

Conclusion

This is a great party game despite the lack of a four-player option. If you have loads of mates round then why not set up a tournament? With monsters ranging from a Godzilla-esque lizard to an alien reminiscent of the aliens in Mars-Attacks you’ll love this. Go out and buy it now!!

9 out of 10