Maximo vs. Army of Zin

"One Ace After Another"

Any gamer can stretch back through the folds of time, or reach around in the pockets of their mind, and they don't have to look hard to find a treasure chest of sunken gold. Action games, golden glory, drowned in the waves of space and time. Gone, but not forgotten. Back when eight bits of juice were all you could squeeze from a lemon, the superpowers, Nintendo and Sega, used to push the limits of creation to design fantastic action games. Necessity, after all, is the mother of invention. Need I mention the great explosions of yore, Ikari Warriors, Contra and the rest. The milk of creamy youth, curdling to cheese in front of your TV screen. Boom, smash, pow, with Ninja warriors raining down like acid-jazz on nightclub ears. Alien beasts from X dimensions looking to take over the Earth for kicks. And music, greasy side-bars sliding down 2 octave scales, but staying filthy in our minds, like yellow in a white-shirt's armpit. Ring around the collar, they made them great in the old days.

For as much firepower as developers wield these days, they sure don't put out many great action games. If the old days were a toothpick, the days of new are broadswords, coming down on the weeds of rusted technology. But if not for a Devil May Cry thrown in the lot, or a Jedi game now and again, or the story busting, pulse pounding, cold selling steel of the Legacy of Kain series, the action game would be as scarce as oil come 2041.

They could make moves in the genre, and seldom, they do. Like with Shinobi and Ninja Gaiden. But movers and shakers are fewer and further then life in the funeral box. So needlessly said, I was excited, beyond measure, to see that Capcom... good old steady Capcom... was releasing a re-dub of the late, great, 8-bit hit, Ghosts and Goblins. As the sidescroller rolled, G & G was tops. Great music, great play and hard as my girl's best get-back-stare. But the new addition, Maximo: From Ghosts to Glory, came, and went. It was a great start, but a whole lot of, "Meh, what's next?" The combos were shallow, the save system backwards, the graphics, fifty over par. But the idea was there. Capcom had its finger on the pulse. Brett Favre was throwing the pass but nobody could rise to catch it.

Luckily, for you, for me, for any action gamer starved for something special, Capcom scrapped what was bad, and they dove into Maximo vs. The Army of Zin, still holding the plus side. You can tell right off the bat that you are in for a treat. Even the title screen screams of ancient days and old school ways. Full of extras and hidden gems, this game keeps on dealing out the cards, one ace after another, until it can give no more, and you sit back in your chair, let your eyes rise to the ceiling, and sigh out loud, "Yes! Yes! This game is great."

But I'm getting ahead of myself. It is essential that I start where the starting is good. Here at the beginning. The graphics. My big complaint, if it can be called as such, would be in the graphics department. The art is not bad. Not if you're a fan of cartoon violence. Me, I like them as juicy and real as early morning calls from your boss. These graphics were not the pushers that come around, pounding on the PS2's door, pushing it to the limit of its powers. But they get the job done. That's all I can really ask for in graphics. If the play is there, I always look at graphics and story as a nice plus, but nothing more. There's no reason to get your boxers in a twist over cartoons versus not. Games like The Matrix had fantastic graphics and story, but no real playtime value. At first, you might get a little down, especially if you've a hearty diet of eye candy. But you get used to it. The graphics are hardly a set back. They are not grainy, they will not cause eye sores, or pour salt in the wounds. Frankly, the are kind of sweet, like an innocent kiss.

The same could be said for the story. There isn't anymore story then there is food in Ethiopia. Turns out, our Hero, Maximo, is still looking for his lost love, Sophia. Him, and old pal, Grimm, a.k.a Death, have been searching high and low, the best of pals, yin to a yang. When trouble gets brewed up, like say, the dreaded Army of Zin, imprisoned in the great Hawkmore vaults, has resurfaced after a half century of slumbering solitude, and are understandably upset, Maximo and Grimm are sucked into the fray-- and it's a good thing too.

For the gameplay is phenomenal. It is what sets this game apart from the rest. Maximo II may look like a kid pleaser, but when you dive below the surface, it is full of a deep combat engine that, once mastered, is deadly and unrelentingly fun. You hit them high, you hit them low, you knock them into the air, follow them up, and blast them. The combo numbers rising higher then heaven, the coins and diamonds springing up from hell. The higher the combo, the more money you get. The combo system is weapon based. Dependent on your current arms. Maximo starts out with his trusty family blade, but ends up getting elemental axes and swords and shields to boot. The more cash you earn, the more upgrades you can buy for your weapons, the more powerful they become. If a game is to be successful these days, it absolutely has to have an upgrade system. Maximo has it in spades.

The powerful Army of Zin has been stealing souls from the underworld. Those little blue balls of ectoplasmic energy are how the Zin go, go, go. As Grimm's good buddy, Maximo is endowed with the ability to rescue wayward souls. Each one he collects, builds a little energy towards releasing the onslaught of Death himself. That's right. The going gets tough: on your left, are Zin, on your right, are Zin. You got the troops barreling up from behind, the birds swooping down from above. You fling your golden shield, maximum upgrades, it bounces from one Zin to another, the combo stats counting high like a pinball stuck on the dinger. But suddenly your skills are not enough. You can take any Zin one on one. But they gang up on you, and then, only then, they bring in the big boys, firing rockets, bringing that half ton haymaker, looking to tie you in knots. Maximo has souls for just such an occasion. Hit the trigger and poof! Grimm takes over, and there is no force, save God himself, or the power button, that is going to stand in his way.

Maximo II is an action game set up like a platform game, but it has got an old school feel fit for the refined palette. You race from one level to the next, able to shoot back to previous stages from a map screen, rolling up completion levels from nothing to 100%. And each level presents its own challenges, jumps that will have your skin crawling, new enemies. My eyes burned from being forced open, never blinking, watching, waiting, anticipating... and jump. I kept eye wash on hand. I poured it in when I had the chance, for every second counts. From ghostly phantoms in haunted corn fields, to angry sea creatures washed up on the shore, Maximo is tested to the limits. Constantly changing from his armor, to his drawers, to his armor and more drawers. His boxers come in all shapes and sizes, some with hearts, others with flames, all with a new ability to boot. This game-- I'm telling you, man-- this game has play to go around. You will not, could not, be disappointed with the gameplay. And if you are. If you find it too easy, if you're yawning and cursing my name, I dare you to switch to hard mode. Go ahead. Do it. You won't regret it.

And for your money, the music isn't bad. Fans of the original G & G will recognize some old favorites. But for the most part, it's got a new groove. The scores are sweeping tracks like Hollywood lays behind epics starring Orlando Bloom, or Irish guys with swords, yelling, "Freedoooom!" It varies from level to level, but within a level it can get a little monotonous. Myself, I usually played some fast moving metal in the background when I was cruising through the same level over and over again. But for the first time through, you get everything you need. No rat-a-tat-tat that you'll remember forever, but a good solid score. Something to sink your teeth in, a good rhythm for the sword swinging, jaw smashing, good times you're fixing to try.

And doubly for your money is the price. Maximo II came out some time ago. I got my copy used for twelve dollars. You add a few late fees in there, because you'll want to keep it for a spell, and you can not hardly rent a game for that price. If you can find it used, go ahead and buy it. There are plenty of extras to open up upon 100% completion. And beyond that, it's just a great game to have in your collection. It's a staple for any serious action fan drooling for some constant fighting. Let me tell you, constant fighting is what you get. There is never a dull moment. Not even if you work for one. This is Maximo versus the Army of Zin here... not Maximo versus one guy with a knife. Capcom does it right this time. I have to hand it to them. I guess that's why they've been around for so long. They took a good idea and they busted it wide open like a pipe wrench does a skull. Everything just spills out on your screen. You're booming through the levels at 100 miles per hour. Loving every last second of it, hoping that it will never end.

But it does-- end. And it is much, much too soon. Unfortunately, you could probably zoom through this game in eight to twelve hours. If you wanted to hit every last stop, it would probably take you twelve, but if you're looking for a rush play through, you could do it in eight. The game could've been at least twice as long, but hey, I'm happy for what I got. Maximo vs. The Army of Zin comes fully recommended by me. It got a few marks down for graphics and sound, but man, I can't split hairs here. The game was great. You'll love it.

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