Zone of the Enders

"Anime-based mech combat at its best"

Few game designers can be mentioned in same breath as Shigeru Miyamoto and Yu Suzuki, but one name that always comes up in conversation is Hideo Kojima, producer of Metal Gear Solid on PlayStation. Busy working on Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty for over two years now, Kojima began work on another project, Zone of the Enders. Designed as an anime-inspired mech shooter, ZOE gained a great deal of pre-release hype, thanks to the way it took advantage of the PlayStation2’s hardware. However, it wasn’t until it was announced that ZOE would ship with a playable demo of MGS2 that everyone really began to take notice. Sure, ZOE was a nice-looking game, but MGS2 was what had everyone salivating. I mean, this was the most anticipated PS2 title to date we’re talking about here. Well, the MGS2 demo is great (more on this in my preview of MGS2), but ZOE is a very nice game in its own right.

The PS2 has already seen two mech combat games: the exceptional Armored Core 2 and the fun yet ultimately shallow Gungriffon Blaze. The thing about ZOE, however, is the emphasis that is placed on story. You witness the adventures of Leo, a young boy that is unwittingly placed in control of Jehuty, a large Orbital Frame (ZOE talk for “mech”) on a mission to Mars. Despite this seemingly simple and trite plotline, ZOE actually manages to serve an awesome story, complete with great character development and intrigue. Leo is a very deep lead, and ADA, Jehuty’s CPU mainframe, manages to resemble a human on occasion. Leo’s female friend, Celvice, isn’t developed very well, but this is made up for by the antagonist, Viola. While Viola isn’t the villain that could ultimately be the end of Leo’s colony (not to mention the rest of Jupiter), her suicidal nature and desire for battle are balanced by her feminine side and painful past. The only problem I have with ZOE’s story is the ending; nothing is really resolved and upon completing the game, I felt like the whole experience was incomplete. Granted, this sort of open ending allows for a sequel, but the blatant, abrupt ending does leave the player with more questions than answers, which is something a story’s ending should never do.

As for the game itself, ZOE may not exactly be groundbreaking, but it is solid. ZOE’s control scheme is both fluid and intuitive; those turned off by AC2’s initially frustrating interface will love the simplicity of this game. The analog sticks are used to move, and the dash command, as well as the attack functions, can be executed with little, if any, thought. The game offers a tutorial at the beginning and although the tutorial is by no means necessary, it does add to the overall experience, as you’ll gain a better understanding of how Jehuty maneuvers and fights. The responsiveness of these controls is amazing, and playing this game literally becomes second nature within a matter of minutes. My only beef with the game’s controls is the fact that the triangle and x buttons are used to alter Jehuty’s elevation. This method is pretty awkward and in all honesty, it would probably have been better if the right analog stick had been used for that. Still, a minor gripe over what is ultimately a great control scheme.

ZOE’s missions are pretty straightforward, and the game manages to prove challenging while not being too frustrating. Unlike Oni and to a lesser extent, Onimusha, ZOE does not suffer from cheap, unintelligent AI, and despite the straightforward nature of the game’s missions, there are a few features to keep things from getting too old too quickly. There are times where a town will call in an SOS, and you go into the town to save them. However, while disposing of the enemy mechs, you need to be sure that you don’t damage buildings and kill the survivors. If you manage to do just that, you will receive a favorable grade at the end of the mission. If your grade is good enough, you’ll have a nice little something extra added to your ending sequence.

Also, completing ZOE unlocks the game’s two-player mode. This mode, which actually works a lot like Soul Calibur with energy weapons and on steroids, proves quite addictive and adds a good deal of replay value to the title once you’ve completed the one-player mission mode. In this mode, you can control not only Jehuty, but any of the game’s enemy mechs (with the exception of the bosses—can’t let you get an unfair advantage now…), each with their distinct set of strengths and weaknesses. The overall mechanics remain the same, and while the behind-the-back camera doesn’t exactly cater itself well to this style of one-on-one fighting, it never really becomes an issue in ZOE. The two-player mode is great fun, and although you may not be playing the one-player mode again, five months from now you’ll probably find yourself duking it out with your friends, 21st century Jupiter style.

Still, ZOE is not perfect. The game controls very well and there’s no denying how fun slashing through a group of mechs can be, but when looking at the one-player mode, there isn’t much depth or variety to be found. There are many alternate weapons to take advantage of in this game, but many of them are actually pretty useless and you can in effect go through the entire game with just your regular gun and light sword. With the exception of the bosses, there are three types of enemy mechs in this game, and with the exception of new, more powerful weapons, they don’t really differ in their approach. Also, the game pretty much relegates itself to nothing more than traveling from town to town, blasting your way through hoard after hoard of enemy mechs and collecting items.

ZOE can get repetitive and there’s little depth, but this is still a very solid and enjoyable game. One noteworthy addition to ZOE’s overall mechanics is the ability to level up. A watered-down version of the popular RPG feature, Jehuty levels up at various points throughout the game after fighting its way through the enemy forces. Leveling up in ZOE results in a stronger mech, much like it results in a stronger character in an RPG. Leveling up doesn’t add a great deal to the overall package, but it’s a nice feature nonetheless and maybe we’ll see it expanded upon in the sequel.

Jehuty’s world is a majestic one, full of breathtaking lighting effects and some impressive animations. The environments, while repetitive in nature, are well rendered and the detail sported by the mechs is very impressive. Also, while ZOE certainly won’t win any awards for its CGI production, it does do a good job of telling the story and captivating the player. The blurring effects are very nice and kind of remind me of The Matrix, but by far the most impressive thing about ZOE’s graphics is the fact that no matter how many mechs are on-screen, no matter how fast the action, the game never hits slowdown. It just never happens. It seems that developers are finally getting a handle of the PS2’s infrastructure.

As an anime fan, I found ZOE to be a lot like such anime favorites as Evangelion and Macross. The storyline borrows from both somewhat, and listening to the voice acting sort of reminds me of watching an anime. Like dubbed animes (animes that have English voices dubbed over the Japanese originals), ZOE suffers from overacting, underacting, and translation issues. The lines can get very wordy at times, and the acting can border on unbearable at times. Most of the time, though, it’s pretty decent, and it’s certainly not the worst game on the market today in terms of voice acting (Onimusha, anyone?). The music is very Japanese in nature, and the sound effects, while not spectacular, serve their purpose nicely.

Is Zone of the Enders fun? Yes. Can it get repetitive? Yes. Is it a short game? Well, that depends on who you ask. Many average players can complete this game in about six hours. To some, that’s too short. But if you think about the type of game this is and the approach it takes, six hours is plenty. I mean, would you really want to spend 20 hours flying around fighting the same mechs over and over again? Besides, the two-player versus mode adds enough replay value to keep you busy with this game for a while. The bottom line is that while Zone of the Enders can get repetitive and offers nothing new of merit to the genre, it is still a solid and enjoyable title. The MGS2 demo (which rocks, by the way) is just icing on what is already an incredibly sweet cake. Every PS2 owner should give this game a go.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 04/06/01, Updated 04/06/01