Geek of Oz

THE SHORT VERSION I'm not sure if it'd be fair to call Godzilla a movie tie-in game, but it certainly feels like one. It's the kind of exercise in brand management designed to give the illusion of wish-fulfillment - "Wow, I get to play as Godzilla after watching him smash buildings for two hours? Awesome!" - and instead delivers an experience that admirably disappoints (I'll explain that odd dichotomy later). Godzilla is not the game I expected, nor was it the game I was hoping for. Other reviewers have already savaged it to kingdom come, but I don't feel as strongly as they do. It was definitely flawed, but in an endearing way, like a paperback novel scribed by a crayon-wielding Kindergartener. There have been worse attempts at monster-destruction simulators, and there have been better. Whether you'll want to play it or not depends heavily on that dichotomy I mentioned, which I'll endeavour to explain below. STORY You are Godzilla....

In 2010, Gareth Edwards (Godzilla, Star Wars: Rogue One) delivered Monsters, the micro-budget Sci-Fi film punching well above its weight. With a few clever tricks and evocative locations, the film superbly hinted at an environment much vaster than that portrayed on screen. I can’t recommend it highly enough; it’s an excellent example that art can flourish despite severe financial restrictions. Monsters: Dark Continent picks up the action 10 years after the events of the first film, shifting the focus from America to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East. If things weren’t bad enough already, American troops are not only battling insurgent forces, but now there’s the added risk of gigantic, multi-tentacled monsters hanging around and getting up to no good. Whilst the setting is nowhere near as interesting as the first film, I appreciated that it was at least distinct from its predecessor. Tom Green tackles directing and writing duties and does an admirable job presenting a ...