Maximo vs. Army of Zin

"Maximo's back!!!!! (And easier than ever)"

Introduction-
You could easily make the argument that Maximo vs. the Army of Zin is more of a refinement of Maximo: Ghosts to Glory than a true sequel. Zin doesn't build upon the foundation provided by its predecessor so much as it takes what was already there and makes subtle improvements. Make no mistake, Maximo vs. the Army of Zin is an excellent game, but Zin isn't reinventing the wheel, it's just making it smoother than it already was.

Story- 7/10
We join Maximo and Grim in their quest to find Sophia. Along the way they encounter an army of mechanical baddies attacking a nearby village. Like any good hero, Maximo can't stand idly by and watch innocents be slaughtered by this newfound peril. Maximo and Grim pledge to put a stop to this threat to their land. Along the way they learn that these enemies are the legendary Army of Zin, who were sealed in the Great Vault of Hawkmoor 500 years ago. Nobody seems to know how the Zin escaped their eternal prison, but Maximo hopes to find out in an effort to stop them again in the present.

Gameplay- 9/10
Zin's gameplay is unquestionably its strength. The ultra tight controls from Ghosts to Glory, but this time they have brought deeper, more rewarding combat with them. In addition to his trusty sword, Maximo also acquires a hammer on his quest. The hammer is basically a slower, more powerful version of the sword. I personally found that the lack of quickness was not worth the increased power. As a result I really only used the hammer to smash walls and activate platforms, situations where the sword would not work. Combat is the most fun aspect of the game by far. The awesome controls make mowing down wave after wave of Zin baddies pure joy. As you progress and buy more upgrades to your sword/hammer the combat becomes that much more enjoyable as you unleash devastating attacks on your enemies.

The refined upgrade system is probably Zin's biggest improvement over Ghosts to Glory. Instead of randomly picking up abilities in the level, you now buy them from merchants. The downside to this is that if you don't have enough gold, you're plain out of luck. The upside is though, once you buy an ability it's yours forever. There's no limit to how many abilities you can hold, and you can adjust which ones you have active whenever you want. Gone also are the days of a newfound ability overwriting one you would rather have (one of my biggest complaints about Ghosts to Glory).

The biggest true addition to the gameplay in Zin is the ability to play as Grim. As you collect spirits you fill up your Grim Meter, which allows you to plays as the invincible Grim for a short period of time. You can buy upgrades to your Grim Meter to allow you to call upon Grim for longer periods of time. Personally, I barely used Grim at all until the final boss battle, but it's still a nice addition to the game. In hindsight, I probably should have utilized Grim more throughout the course of the game.

Graphics/Sound- 7/10
Maximo vs. the Army of Zin looks pretty much like Ghosts to Glory. The levels have different styles, but everything looks like in the original for the most part. I actually much prefer the levels from Ghosts to Glory over Zin's as far as style. The Graveyard and Frozen Pirate Ship Graveyard levels were both way cooler than anything you'll see in Army of Zin. The Sunken Sea portion in particular just doesn't really feel like it fits in with the rest of the world. The audio also feels more like leftovers from Ghosts than altogether new stuff. Zin sounds exactly like you expect a Maximo game to sound, for better or for worse.

Pros-
- Extremely tight controls
- Improved Power-up system
- Wide array of moves
- Awesome final boss battle

Cons-
- Not regaining health after levels
- Hammer too slow
- Grim underutilized

Final Recommendation
It might sound like I do not like Maximo vs. the Army of Zin, but that is not the case. I thoroughly enjoyed my time with the game. It just feels more like an expansion to Ghosts to Glory than a true sequel. If you took the original Maximo, fixed the camera and upgrade system, and then made it easier, shorter (Zin can easily be finished in around 7 hours), and added Grim and the hammer, the result would be Zin. I really enjoyed Zin, but not nearly as much as the original Maximo. My recommendation is that unless you are a hardcore Maximo fan, you should probably just give this game a rental. If I can beat this game in under a week, most people should have more than enough time to finish it off in less than 5 days.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/29/04