Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner

"The best playing I've had in a LONG time..."

Everybody remembers the original Zone Of The Enders. You know, the one that was bundled with the ''Metal Gear Solid 2'' demo? Well, that was mostly what contributed to the sales of that game, great as it was, having a coveted piece of MGS2 for PS2 was a nice tie-in....what lied inside ZOE, AFTER you stopped paying attention to MGS2's disc, was an intense mecha fighter, with non-stop action, an amazingly simplistic control scheme, insane moves that you could PERFORM with said simple control scheme, a near-flawless camera, and a good story.....

......that ended after four hours of playing. ABRUPTLY. Not even an explanation why, just ''ADA! You can't go to Mars to blow up Jehuty!!'' ''This is my duty....this is the purpose, for those that have no life.'' and bam. It was over.

For shame, Hideo Kojima. For shame.

Thankfully, the open-ended STOP that ZOE came to has led to the full story, which comes in the form of Zone Of The Enders: The 2nd Runner. A continuation on its predecessor, with some GREAT adjustments...most notable of all are the amazingly fluid graphics, the anime-style cutscenes, the more than decent voice acting, and the depth of gameplay. No longer do you pilot Jehuty through waves of enemies that were grouped in squadrons of three, with their pitiful AI allowing you to make mincemeat out of them. Gone is the whiny and unbearable Leo Stenbuck. Replace him with the rash, disgruntled, and horribly named Dingo Egret, an Ice-Miner on Mars with some crazy OF piloting skills...add-in a big-chested, red haired babe, the psychotic Nohman, a much better Leo, and of course, ADA, everybody's favorite AI,...with a pinch of speed, lots of enemies, a hell of a good story, Let's break this down....

GRAPHICS - 10/10

The graphics on this game are simply amazing, and at times sport an almost cel-shaded look. The environments are fully interactive...now you can grab girders as weapons, large plates of metal as shields, and even use enemies against each other! Nearly everything in the game is breakable, be it a building, a structure, a mountainside...there is reasonable slowdown at some points, but it's not as bad as you might think, and the only time there is any at all is when there are too many enemies on-screen...these moments are rare-though. Every OF has their own characteristics and are easily distinguishable, and each attack has their own little special effects...everything from boosters heating up, to sword-trails, to light-effect glares coming off of certain weapons...impressive. VERY impressive.

GAMEPLAY - 9/10

The near flawless control scheme is back, just as good as the original. With the click of a couple buttons, a shove of an analog stick, and even newcomers to ZOE can fly like an Orbital Frame pro. The weapons have been given a GREAT upgrade since ZOE1, now everything you have at your disposal can be utilized to its maximum. Homing lasers now hit MULTIPLE enemies instead of just a bunch going at one, the combo slash is a new option, grabbing and tossing enemies at each other is a great feature, and Jehuty's speed is even faster than the original. These upgrades help in the boss battles, which, if you were still using the old ZOE 1 system, would be IMPOSSIBLE to beat. The only complaint is the camera is a bit more static than its predecessor, meaning you have to alter your angle MORE than a few times when you get disoriented. Also, Jehuty now locks-on by line of sight only, which means you have to manually cycle your locks in order to catch the enemies that sneak up behind you.

Enemy AI has increased tenfold, making fighting MUCH harder than it used to be. Enemy squadrons also have the ability to form parties, designating one as the commander as the rest move in formation and gang up on you, which proves to be VERY hard to get through if you allow them all to connect on the same wavelength...if they do, you have a slight amount of time to destroy the commander, but when you have 3 Raptors hacking away at you while 4 Cyclops rush in and out, getting their punches in...it's NOT easy at all!! But, it makes for a refreshing challenge, nonetheless!!

SOUND 9/10

With good voice acting, and good stage music, the soundtrack is great. The effects work very well too, from explosions to slashes, to ADA giving you support in the middle of battle. There are some times when you just wish Dingo had a better voice actor though...he reminds me of a badly dubbed anime character. Nonetheless, still great.

REPLAYABILITY/FUN FACTOR - 10/10

If you can beat this game, you are treated to ''EX MISSIONS'', an extra mission mode where you can achieve set goals to unlock more stages, more mechs, and more modes. Try your hand at Survival, Time Attack, Boss Battle Mode, and Versus, where you and a pal can go head to head, duking it out for future of Mars. With all this and more to come, you can easily become a ZOE2 addict.

FINAL WORD
Well, it's twice as long as ZOE1, but some gamers may be wishing for more...let's hope for a ZOE3. If you're looking for a hyperactive mecha game that'll leave you twitching and itching to keep pushing forwards, by all means, GET THIS GAME. It's a worthy investment, fun to play, even more fun to KEEP playing. Let's cross our fingers and hope that Hideo Kojima and the ZOE team can crank out another one in the future!!!!

FINAL RATING - 9/10 (Amazing)

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 04/06/03, Updated 04/06/03