Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner

There was a huge influx of “must have” games coming out within the past month, ranging all genres on all consoles. There is one game that I personally, have been waiting for, salivating at every screenshot and video, since the end of the first game: Zone of the Enders (or Z.O.E. for short). This game totally changed the way that game developers looked at creating a mech game for any console, with its tight controls and presentation. With the good there always is bad, the first one was too short, gameplay became a tad tedious, and the ending really was awful. Can this sequel correct the mistakes of its predecessor? Read on to find out!

Z.O.E. 2 picks up two years after the first game ends. To get a better understanding of what is going on in the second game; here is a quick summary of the first game. In the 22nd century humans were finally able to go out into space and set up colonies on Mars and even as far as Jupiter. After a while a rift grew between Earth and her colonies, and the Earthlings were now calling anyone who didn’t live on the mother planet Earth, an “ender.” Soon a new type of energy is discovered and given the name Metatron, this new power source has the potential to power up many different items. It was not long before the military found new uses for it, and thus humanoid LEV’s (robots/mechs) were developed. To counter act the tyranny of the Earth the Marians developed a new kind of mech, called an “orbital frame. This frame was vastly superior to the LEV’s and the Marians finally had a fighting chance against Earth.

In the depths of Jupiter, on the Antilia colony, scientists were creating two new Orbital Frames that are vastly superior to anything ever created. Soon the Earth’s military caught wind of this, and they captured these two frames and took control of the colony. The BARHAM army (the main group who are against the Earth) captured one of the frames: Anubis, but a young boy named Leo accidentally got in the other, named Jehuty, and after much deliberation took it to the Atlantis spaceport. Fast forward two years, and we meet a person by the name of Dingo, who lives as an ice harvester on Mars. One day he picked up a giant Metatron reading, when we went to go see what it is, found Jehuty in this capsule. Suddenly he is under attack by the BARHAM army, but what will he do? You will choose his fate, and see if you can lead him to ultimate victory!

One of the things that plagued the first game was the repetition and the lack of the variety of enemies to fight against. This game now has many more enemies to fight, that are smarter, faster, and more aggressive. Now players have a wider variety of weapons to use, and they can even pick up items thrown throughout the level and use them against the enemies. If that isn’t enough, Jehuty’s default weapons have been expanded upon, and they are more effective and easier to use. Players now have the ability to grab an enemy unit and fling them against a wall of even an enemy unit. One of the best things to do is grab an enemy unit and use them as a shield, so players will be able to use that additional energy that they would to shield themselves for extra firepower.

Another bad thing about the first game is that the entire game took place in the Jupiter colony. All of the levels become repetitive, and the same look and feel to them. This time, players will fight in canyons, cities, and even in space. This brings the game into a whole new playing field and really expands upon what was shown in the first game. Nothing can beat trashing up the enemies in the cold, dark depths of space.

The game is flat out gorgeous, that is the only word to really describe it, and yet that word still doesn’t give it full justice. When I saw the original Z.O.E. and Metal Gear Solid 2, I thought to myself that this was the pinnacle of the Playstation 2. Now that two years has passed by, we see that this is not true, and that Konami once again proves that there is a lot of power that can be tapped out of this console. The particle effects will blow your mind, they will shine out and just ooze full of eye candy. All of the mechs have an extremely high polygonal count and looks extremely well. The texture use on everything is exceptional.

One of the best effects the game has is the use of cel-shading. Z.O.E. 2 is not a complete cel-shading game such as Dark Cloud 2 or Zelda. Instead it is used to outline explosions, and various other things to make it stand out. This effect is really great to see in action, still pictures do not give it any justice. With this new effect that is used, this game brings players much closer into thinking that they are in an actual anime, fighting off the hordes of incoming enemies.
What is amazing is how there are a lot more things going on in the backgrounds, and how many more enemies can be on the screen at once. There are literally tons of enemies on screen at once for players to defeat, but if they have the skill and understanding of the orbital frame, it will be nothing.

The pace of the game is much faster than the original, which is a feat in itself. The game always stays at a constant high frame rate. There was a few times when it dipped down, but there was a multitude of enemy mechs on the screen. The camera control is better than in the previous game, but it is not perfect. There are a few times when I lost my bearings, but it never became that much of a hassle.

Everyone who was hopping for the original Japanese voices will be disappointed, since there is no option to listen to them. Even though this is the case, the voices are a million times better than what was used in the original game. These voices are really good, some of the best I have heard in any game. All of the actors put true feelings behind the words, and make the game truly come to life. Even though there is not option to listen to the voices, I believe that Konami did a great job with choosing the voice actors for this game!

The music used for this game really compliments the voices and the entire aura of this game. It is a fast upbeat, “technoish,” that plays throughout the game, and it really brings players into the mood to do what they have to do. The sound effects even further push this game ahead with its blasts, explosions, and laser fire. Konami put a high level of production into this game and it truly shows!

Another thing worthy of mentioning is the game contains a lot of anime cut screens. These help make the game progress, and make players feel that they are really in an anime. The production values on these are high as well, and make the game that much better!

Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner is rated M for Mature and contains blood, gore and violence. It will take up 140kb on your memory card.

Gameplay: 9.6
BIGGER. BETTER. FASTER. These three words are located on the back of the games' DVD case, and I fully agree with it. The games' environments are extremely bigger than the previous game, with a wide variety of enemy mechs players will have to fight. The gameplay is a lot better with more weapons to use, additional attacks, and more maneuvers that players can perform. Finally the game is a whole lot faster than the previous game. There is so much going on at the screen at once, it might be hard for players to keep up, but that will never be the case. Jehuty moves a whole lot faster than before, which can only be a good thing for you and a bad thing for any enemies in your path.

Graphics: 9.6
Gorgeous, Beautiful, Stunning, and Magnificent! The game oozes with graphical prowess; words cannot even fully describe what you will be viewing. The use of cel-shading is phenomenal, all of the enemies on screen at once, and particle effects; this game really pushes the power of the Playstation 2 to new heights. If anyone thinks that the Playstation 2 is dead, tell them to view this game once, and see what they have to say then!

Sound: 9.1
Konami didn’t leave in the option to have both English and Japanese voices. This might upset some people, but the English voices are really good here. They bring actual feeling to what is going on in the game, unlike the first. The sound effects and music used is also really good!

Difficulty: Medium
The game can be a little overwhelming for people who did not play the first one. But the learning curve is not that hard. There will be some enemies and bosses who will give you a run for your money, but what is a game that does not have any sort of challenge?

Concept: 9.4
The game takes a lot from the original game, than expounds upon it making it better. There have been a lot of mech games, but none of them have been as fun, or high quality as this franchise. Konami has taken this genre into a new and bright future!

Multiplayer: 9.0
Konami included a verses mode. This mode is not as great as a full fledge fighting game, but it is a great incentive to continue playing and beat the game to get all of the mechs and stages. There are a lot of different mechs to choose from, even enemy mechs.

Overall: 9.5
Why are you still reading this? Go out and pick this game up immediately! The game is that good, and it would be a shame for you not to have this in your Playstation 2 library! The game gives you a really good story line, and when you beat it, there are always the extra missions and the verses mode to keep you occupied for a long time. Enjoy!