Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner

"Remember, the average vanilla extract contains 35% alcohol."

The original Zone of the Enders was released with all kinds of hype behind it. ''Hideo Kojima's next masterpiece!'' ''Lifelike visuals!'' ''Chinese Food tastes like glue!'' How could it go wrong? Well, somehow it did, since consumers weren't exactly enthralled with it upon release. Only minutes long, devoid of weapons, and with just one of the boss encounters Konami are so highly lauded for... wait, I'm thinking of the accompanying Metal Gear Solid 2 demo, the only reason your average Joe bought the game anyway. Those of us who actually played the free game that came with our demos found a flawed but fun experience, with qualities ranging from amazing bosses to redundant fetch quests. After popping off off the radar for a bit, Konami announced in 2002 that they were bringing about a part deux to ZOE. I couldn't have been more pleased, as I knew that if they fixed the right things, a sequel could be spectacular. Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner saw release in early 2003, launching with minimal fanfare. Damn you, average Joe! Despite not having the same oomph coming out the door, Konami have done an excellent job of tuning up ZOE's gameplay and adding a veritable molasses spill of new elements, helping ZOE2 to become one of the best action games of this generation.

This game tells the story of Dingo Egret, a miner on Callisto. After piloting a crappy mining vehicle juuust long enough to piss you off, an organization from Mars that is the Rebel Alliance (but evil) to Earth's empire (sans Vader) attack your humble moon of Jupiter, searching for an orbital frame named Jehuty. As explained firsthand in the original, it's a bad-ass robot that has full movement on all three axes and a variety of moves that run the gamut from dashing to smashing to homing lasers. So yeah, you steal it. Of course, you'll immediately have to slaughter two enemy robots that try to put a stop to your rampage before it even begins. They shouldn't pose much of a problem, though, and as you work your way through the gorgeous ice valleys of Callisto and defeat hordes of enemies, you'll start to get the hang of the game's mechanics. The most prominent thing is the lock-on system, somewhat in the style of Zelda 64, except with the ability to switch targets quickly using the right analog stick. Depending on your range, Jehuty's main attack is either plain old energy shots or a one to four hit sword combo. Yep, that old sword combo is back, and now you can even use the ascend or descend buttons as the fourth hit to send the enemy flying in your choice of vertical directions. Like the ground. You'll need everything you've got, though, as even from the beginning you'll be assaulted by a metric ton of weaker enemies.

Yes, that's the plural of enemy. Unlike the original, this game actually has an assortment of foes that require various strategies, especially once their formations start to mix up. Examples include robots of the standard persuasion, robots that use a tractor beam of sorts to pull you closer, and even robots that seem to try and box with you. Insert uninspired Holyfield joke here. Get it? Inspired? Hol... *cries*. There's just one thing about your foes that doesn't work in the context of the game: their ability to guard frequently slows combat to a screeching halt. Also, ZOE2's camera system isn't exactly great, as it's a little difficult to see around you. This lack of visibility means that when you're taking on a pack of enemies, you can't afford to try and get in close with sword attacks due to the possible block. This makes me a saaaad panda. Methods of disposal gradually increase, however, as you acquire a variety of subweapons. Included are such things as a volley of homing missiles, a spread chaingun, and, my favorite, a decoy that actually works. These are implemented in a way far superior to that of the first game, as they use up a collective pool of subenergy instead of separate ammo counters. I never liked having to hoard ammo. And don't worry about pausing or fumbling through a menu in real time to swap your weapon du jour; holding L1 brings up a small menu in the lower-left corner of the screen while stopping the action. A nice implementation, since it operates fluidly.

As opposed to its enemies, which needed a swift kick in the rear, ZOE had some spectacular bosses. I was especially fond of the massive domed jellyfish robot thingy that spewed fire everywhere, and the final boss was stylishly done as well, if anticlimactic. Its sequel manages to continue this short tradition of great bosses, frequently even one-upping the previous encounters. Bosses are varied, and learning the patterns of each takes time and skill. Most noteworthy is Nephtis, in the valley area. At first she uses a rather simple pattern of assaulting you with a spinning blade, but then she backs off to try and ram you. Your task is to figure out a way to damage her, as she's shielded, and then implement your strategy. Once you get her to half of her life, she smashes you into a city area boxed in an electrical fence, where your battle continues. The fun part here is that to attack her, you can try to lure her into the field, push her in by guarding against her swipes, or utilize the ever-so-classic dashing out of the way as she tries to ram you. Just about every boss battle is this unique and cool, from one whose sword attacks have to be parried to one fought in a room enshrouded in darkness. In fact, there's only one boss battle that just doesn't work, which is an excellent track record compared to the majority of games. Bosses aren't the only unique points of gameplay in ZOE2, however, which throws a massive variety of challenges at you. These include stopping a five car train, participating in a battle with dozens of friendlies and hundreds of enemies, and taking on a fleet of enemy warships on your own. Suffice to say, this game is not the cakewalk that other Konami games tend to be on Normal.

Not everything works, though. Especially the camera. The lock-on system does its job, but frequently you can't even hope to glimpse anything that's not in front of you. Turning the camera with the right analog stick is so slow that it's useless, and the auto-center is way too fast. If you turn right for even a third of a second and stop, the camera will immediately swing around ninety degrees. It's disorienting, annoying, and harmful. In addition, ZOE2 is entirely too short. Not as horribly as the first game's four hour romp, but my first time through on Normal (which you should play - Easy is a total snooze) took me seven hours. Including the continues and story sections. Ten hours would've worked so much better, although it's not a game that climaxes too soon or too late. Alright, har har, climaxes too soon. But really, the ending doesn't seem out of place where it is, I just think there should've been more stuff in between. Kind of like MGS2, but that's a whole other story. Fortunately, there are some EX Missions you can play after winning the game, which are a fun way to kill an hour or two when you don't feel like playing Contra or Rez or any of the other good hour-killers. That's more that can be said for the throwaway versus mode, however. It's no Virtual On.

You'll quickly forget these mostly technical flaws, however, since ZOE2's stunning graphics are... I already said stunning, so I'll go with fantabulous. Konami have obviously mastered PS2, as they pump out great looking games faster than Economy Fuel pumps fuel when they're days late on dozens of customers. *checks calendar* Anyway, everything has a layer of polish to it that many modern games, especially on PS2, lack. Enemies are fluidly animated, even the throwaway ones that swarm you by the dozen. Larger foes also maintain this fluidity, from double laser beams sweeping across the battlefield to multi-hit blade combos that flow in every direction. The more ''central'' characters are even better: Jehuty has tons of graphical detail, and its movements look so great that you might think you're watching a CGI movie. Every mech has its own style to make them different from the norm, too. My favorite is Anubis, whose five-part ''wing'' set and sickle give him an almost Grim Reaper like appearance to go along with his already high level of evilness. The environments also keep their end of the bargain, as not only are they well textured and detailed with things like miniature cars, but you can interact with a surprising amount of things. Battles + exploding buildings = cool, and is that rare use of graphics to compliment the gameplay.

The standard video-game style techno soundtrack is partially represented here, along with a splash of other genres, and like the graphics, the music here goes hand in hand with the gameplay. Boss music always conveys the mood of the fight, from one piece that sounds much like Super Metroid's eerie miniboss music to a speedy track with bits of vocals (but not lyrics, thank Jebus) during the aforementioned Nephtis battle. It also works in the main sections, too, from a well done orchestral theme during the enemy fleet part to a piano-driven tune while you speed along a train tunnel. On that oh-so-dreaded other hand, the sound effects are rather poor. All of the action noises like shooting, slashing, dashing, and all that are very stereotypical, and many things such as the onboard AI telling you the enemy is defeated begin to grate. Remember when I mentioned that there are hundreds of enemies at once? Yeah, you'll grow to hate that voice. Besides, it's not like I couldn't tell that I won, since the lock-on already disengaged, not to mention the fact that the enemy robot is now a FLAMING PILE OF DEATH. On the other other hand, the voice acting is pretty good. The characters seem to fit their roles well, and it's really only brought down by the crappy translation. Crappy. It's like they used twenty dollars of their translation budget to get it done by ''Do My Homework Dot Com'' or something, and spent the rest buying fertilizer and paying people to smear it on the translated script.

All things considered, ZOE2 is an example of a sequel done right. Everything good from the first game was brought over to this iteration and improved upon, while the bad elements were left on the cutting room floor. Not only that, but it boasts some of the finest graphics and music to grace the PS2. Despite a short length, questionable sound effects, and a problematic camera, ZOE2 manages to rise above its handful of flaws and land firmly in a pool of chocolaty goodness. It may even worth mentioning in the same sentence as Devil May Cry, although definitely after a comma; maybe even the dreaded semi-colon, which no one ever uses in a grammatically correct fashion anyway. Now if only it had sold well, we might get a ZOE3. Damn your icy heart, average Joe.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 05/01/04