Z.O.E and Metal Gear Solid 2 demo hands-on impressions

[03.03.01] » --You packaged a quality game with my demo! --And you packaged a quality demo with my game! Hmmm...

   Known to most gamers as "that game with the Metal Gear Solid 2 demo," Hideo Kojima's Zone of Enders (Z.O.E) has finally hit Japanese shores. Though most gamers will go straight for the demo disc and leave the game itself for later, Z.O.E is an excellent title in its own right. Z.O.E would be a runaway success for Konami even as a standalone game.

   If there's an overarching theme for Z.O.E., it's "mecha combat should be sexy." Anime has always portrayed battle between giant bipedal robots as graceful, explosive ballet; unfortunately, videogame renditions are usually clunky and awkward. Z.O.E. manages to bridge this impossible gap, creating a seamless gameplay experience in three dimensions that looks very, very good.

   Your mecha, the Jehuty, can move forward, backwards, left, and right with the left analog stick; on the vertical axis, triangle moves up, and x moves down. You have a shield, a variety of attacks: spread shot, sword slash, heavy shot, spinning sword, and a variety of special weapons. Jehuty can also fire a burst of speed in any direction. Movement is either free or enemy-relative; when it comes time for combat, Zelda-style targeting is the order of the day. The camera is incredible, reacting quickly and smoothly to the rapid shifts in orientation and movement. The game itself also does a good job of adjusting your altitude, if necessary, in order to lock-on to an opponent.

   The automatic camera work and intelligent targetting makes the impossible possible; these robots manuever around each other and engage in deadly combat with all the precision and beauty of a choreographed anime series. Robots explode and buildings crumble under the control of an immediately intuitive interface. This grace comes at a price, however; the gameplay is somewhat simple. Regular opponents usually take little more than some rapid bursting and a few well placed strikes. Boss encounters are more engaging, however, requiring pattern recognition and agility on a larger scale.

   Gameplay consists of flying through environments, destroying enemies, and unlocking passwords and weapons. The game is very plot-oriented and mostly linear (for more about the story, read our preview). Early reports out of Japan also peg the title as remarkably short. Fortunately, there are four levels of selectable difficulty, so gamers should be challenged for quite a while. The title is truly a wonder to behold; though occasionally simple, the gameplay is always enjoyable. The polished presentation and large-scale mecha battles are sure to please many gamers.

   The Metal Gear Solid 2 demo is also highly impressive. You can type in an URL at random these days and read somebody's Metal Gear Solid 2 demo impressions, so I'll spare you the details. Suffice to say, it's better than anything you've ever seen before, tons of fun, near-infinite flexibility in gameplay, packed with Kojima-level detail, etc. etc. etc. After playing the demo, the PlayStation and Dreamcast finally seem last-generation. In other words: if you're going to buy a game just for a demo, you could do a lot worse than Z.O.E and Metal Gear Solid 2.