|
Gameplay |
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6.5 | |
Graphics |
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6.0 | ||
Sound |
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6.0 | ||
Value |
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8.0 | ||
Distributor:
Mindscape Rating: M15+ Review Date: Dec 2012 Reviewer: Cameron Grimes |
6.5 |
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The recent surge of remastered editions of classic Playstation 2 titles has given faithful Sony fans hit after hit of nostalgia, and it continues with the release of the Zone of the Enders HD Collection. Not having played these games myself but having heard of their cult status, I was rather anxious to get stuck into this release. This collection comes with the original Zone of the Enders and its sequel The 2nd Runner, as well as a demo for the highly anticipated Metal Gear Rising. While the ZoE: HD Collection certainly is a beefy package, there's too much of a gap in terms of quality of the games, and even then both of the games have their own flaws, resulting in a sometimes inconsistent experience.
Gameplay The
ZoE games are all about robots shooting each other and little
else. The original game has you play as Leo, a little boy who happens to
discover the 'orbital frame' named Jehuty which assists him in fighting
off the evil corporation known as BARHAM on his home planet of Mars.
The 2nd Runner follows a somewhat similar premise, having you play
as Dingo, an ice miner who stumbles upon Jehuty two years after the
events of the first game, and is almost immediately attacked by BARHAM
forces who still want the frame for themselves. While both games start
almost the same way, The 2nd Runner is executed a lot better,
giving players control of the character almost instantly, whereas in the
first ZoE, there are some rather lengthy cut scenes to watch in
order to get a grip of the story. Even after that the gameplay is
constantly interrupted by conversations between Leo and Jehuty's
computer, which in turn makes the short amount of gameplay available
feel pointless early on.
Graphics In my opinion the quality of the visuals in the remastered collection has been quite remarkable. Unfortunately the ZoE Collection fails to live up to the rest of the releases. The first game in particular features some rather muddy and blocky textures, and the environments are so dark and confusing to navigate it can become quite frustrating. While The 2nd Runner features some rather substantial improvements in presentation, it’s bogged down by a poor frame rate which changes at the drop of a hat, making it difficult to take on a large wave of enemies in any sort of environment. What’s shocking to realise is that the game actually runs worse than the original Playstation 2 versions, which is unacceptable considering the age of the Playstation 3 and the already low quality of graphics seen in this collection. The most impressive thing about the game’s presentation is how the great anime cut scenes have managed to hold up after all these years; they’re extremely entertaining to watch. Audio There’s plenty of dialogue in the ZoE Collection but most of it is downright cheesy. Although everything the characters say is in context, the way it’s delivered results in some serious moments becoming rather humorous. Character’s say ”damnit” in an anything but serious tone when they die like it’s not that big of a deal, and some of the sentences the characters say are poorly structured as if the voice actors forgot that the sentence wasn’t finished. On the other hand the game’s soundtrack is done rather well. Fast paced electronic music is played as you fight off enemies, making combat a lot more engaging than it should be, and some of the orchestral pieces used in emotional cut scenes are quite spectacular. It’s just a shame that the bad voice acting kills the mood on more than one occasion.
Final Thoughts The Zone of the Enders HD Collection is once again a perfect way for fans of the original games to get a nostalgia fix, but this collection would have to be the weakest release thus far. A choppy frame rate, inconsistency between games and a lacklustre presentation prevent it from being as satisfying for fans as it should have been. |