Piloting

With the glut of incomprehensible storylines, system-crashing bugs, and—most offensive of all—misspellings and bad grammar found in games these days, it seems as if in the mad rush to fill store shelves, a growing percentage of publishers and developers are getting increasingly lackadaisical.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood and Gore, Violence

Game Description: From Metal Gear Solid 2 producer Hideo Kojima, comes the sequel to the anime inspired mech combat game Zone of the Enders. In Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner, take control of a lightning fast mechanized robot and fight an evil militaristic force with new weapons, maneuvers, and tactics. Conflicts and settings of ZOE2 take place in cityscapes, enemy fortresses, and even in the depths of space! Sequel to the mech-powered combat game, with a new cast of characters and an epic story.

Loyal readers of the site may recall my less-than-favorable review of the original Zone Of The Enders back in 2001. Despite a great battle engine and the attachment of Hideo Kojima's name, it was a shallow bore that sold more copies than it deserved thanks to a massive wave of hyperbole and the Metal Gear Solid 2 demo disc it was packaged with. The project was massively unsatisfying, and I couldn't understand why an illustrious house like Konami would release such a half-baked product. Evidently, someone at Konami HQ must have been thinking the same thing.

As an unabashed admirer of the Panzer Dragoon series, I find myself in almost complete agreement with Gene's assessment of Panzer Dragoon Orta. Being intimately familiar with the previous three games, I found it difficult to imagine how they could improve upon the structure of Panzer Dragoon Zwei, which I regard as one of the best shooters of all time.

The fourth in the legendary series that began in the now defunct Sega Saturn, Panzer Dragoon Orta sticks with what made the first two games (the third being a role-playing game) so wonderful.

According to ESRB, this game contains: Animated Blood, Violence

According to ESRB, this game contains: Blood, Violence

There have been "Big Robot" games available as long as there have been consoles, but we've had a real bumper crop this year. I'm certainly not complaining, but the games in this genre typically share a number of traits, and with so many released in such a short time, it only magnifies their similarities. Don't get me wrong; I'm definitely a fan, but a greater amount of variety and divergence is needed.

I have to admit it. Had I not chosen to review Defender, I probably never would have played this game. As I saw it, this title didn't appear to have much riding for it. Brad commented that one of the reasons why Midway decided to give this particular game a modern age overhaul is due to the immense popularity the original amassed.