If you owned a GameCube or an Xbox back in the early 2000s, you probably had a copy of Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee. Pipeworks Software delivered what kaiju fans had been seeking for years out of a Godzilla game; one-on-one monster fights, detailed cities to trash, and lots of loving care dedicated to getting the details right. It felt like you were in control of a Godzilla movie, and it was glorious.
And now, Bandai Namco is following it up with a spiritual successor, Godzilla. The basic idea is that humanity has been using “G-Energy” for decades as a cheap, limitless source of power. Guess who wants his energy back? As you control the big G crushing cities, your “G-level” goes up and bigger and badder monsters come to test their might.
We haven’t seen a full roster yet, but the trailer’s promising; in addition to the usual suspects like Mothra and King Ghidorah, more obscure kaiju like Jet Jaguar and Biollante make an appearance, and it looks like you can access multiple designs for the monsters that have them, including multiple Godzilla variants. There’s also a “Diorama Mode” where you can build a city to fight in, which is well overdue.
We won’t have to wait long to jack up Tokyo’s insurance premiums: Godzilla arrives July 17, although it’s only for PS3 and PS4. Preorders will get you 2014’s Godzilla, although one has to ask: If you use that character model, does the game cut away right when you’re about to fight?