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| Zone of the Enders,
For PlayStation 2 |
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| Games,
Richard Young,
02:00:00,
05 April 2001 |
Rating: F5
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Now that the PlayStation 2 has been out in the UK for 4 months, some of the more hotly anticipated titles are beginning to seep through no thanks to Sony’s stubbornly delay-ridden release schedule. Konami’s Zone of the Enders or Z.O.E, has nothing to do with a mysterious place where only the cast of Eastenders can hang out, but rather concerns giant flying robots. This is a good thing.
In the style of the best contemporary Anime, and with a distinct nod to Hideaki Anno’s Neon Genesis Evangelion series, Z.O.E. follows the story of youngster Leo Stenbuck who is caught up in the war that breaks out on Antilia, a vast colony orbiting Jupiter during the 22nd Century. While fleeing the destruction being caused by the invasion of the awesome flying robots (called Orbital Frames), little Leo runs into a giant hangar and stumbles into the cockpit of “Jehuty” an Orbital Frame with a sentient on-board computer. Cue the fun, as you go head to head with a mechanical menagerie of laser spitting bad guys.
The first thing that one notices is the astonishing level of detail and fluidity of the graphics. It is almost easy to miss the detail of the many bridges, roads and buildings that whizz beneath your feet as you fly around the various locations on the gigantic space colony. The effect of the landscape being on the inner surface of the huge ring of Antilia is clearly visible as the horizon gradually curves up and away from you. Streetlights twinkle in the distance, clouds float slowly below an endless glass-panelled sky while Jupiter looms ominously in black, star punctured space. Z.O.E. is definitely the current top dog in regard to visuals alone, but what of gameplay?
Thankfully, the man behind Metal Gear Solid is also responsible for this little number, and aside from a slightly complicated control system, the action heavy missions are fast, frantic and fun. Hideo Kojima and his team have obviously spent a lot of time working on exactly how you would pilot a giant flying robot in 3-dimensional space, and it doesn’t take long before you are zooming around, shooting down enemy mechs and retrieving various power ups and other items. This game is also aurally highly impressive, with powerful sound effects and soundtrack that covers pounding techno to lilting solo voices to futuristic J-pop.
If any PlayStation 2 owner is in any doubt over whether to get their hands on a copy of Z.O.E or not, then Mr. Kojima has included a special treat just for you: A fully playable demo of Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty! Yes, it’s true. While the sequel to the most original and playable PSone game of all time may have been delayed until 2002, Konami have decided to include a free demo version with every copy of Z.O.E. I plan to talk about the demo in detail in a future issue, but for now, I will say that MGS2 is currently looking like the best video game ever made. Ever.
I can heartily recommend Z.O.E. to those who love a bit of Japanese mech action, or those who enjoy a good sci-fi romp with an intriguing story line. But with the addition of the MGS2 demo disk? I think I can recommend that to just about anyone.
From Konami
Designed by Hideo Kojima
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