Godzilla: Unleashed

Godzilla: Unleashed
Developer(s)	Pipeworks Software, Inc.
Publisher(s)	Atari
Platform(s)	Wii, Nintendo DS, PS2
Release	North America: Wii: December 5, 2007 PS2: November 20, 2007 Europe: Wii: February 29, 2008 PS2: February 29, 2008 Japan: Wii: TBA 2010 PS2: TBA 2010
Genre(s)	Fighting
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer

Godzilla: Unleashed, abbreviated as G3 or GU, is a 3D fighting video game based on the Godzilla film franchise for the Wii, Nintendo DS, and PlayStation 2, developed by Pipeworks and published by Atari. The PS2 version was released on November 20 and the Wii version on December 5, 2007 in North America and both versions on February 29, 2008 in Europe. There are currently no plans yet to release Godzilla: Unleashed in Japan.

The game is set during a series of unnatural disasters across Planet Earth due to unexplained appearances of large crystals, where the Vortaak alien race are invading once again. The game features over 20 Kaiju and Mechas from all three Godzilla eras; Shōwa, Heisei and Millennium, as well as two newly created Toho approved creations; Krystalak and Obsidius.

Gameplay

King Caesar and Anguirus in battle

Like its predecessors Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee and Godzilla: Save the Earth, Unleashed plays as a 3D fighting game with the option to play with two to four monsters at a time, with or without teams. While the PS2 version involves button pressing for attacks and combos, the Wii version, along with button pressing implements its motion sensing control via the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. Basics punch and kick attacks are through the A and B buttons whiles more powerful and aggressive strikes require swinging of the remote up, down or side to side while pressing A and/or B. Movement is done by the analog on the Nunchuk and by shaking it allows players to jump, where combined with shaking of the remote allows nearby opponents or objects like small buildings and boulders to be lifted and thrown by shaking the Remote or pressing the A button. Weapon/beam attacks also return but are less powerful and accurate, but also can be sustained for a longer period of time. Rage Mode from the previous games is absent but in its place is "Critical Mass" where through destruction of energy crystals found in arenas monsters temporarily glow red (similar looking to Godzilla's out of control radioactivity in Godzilla vs. Destoroyah) and increase in size, boosting damage and endurance, but decreasing defense.

Monsters can also use one of seven "Power Surges", which are temporary abilities that can be used only once per battle, per monster. Surges increase certain traits, like for example the Fire Surge increases damage dealt and Speed Surge increases speed. They can also decrease abilities like Shield Surge, which increases defense while slowing movement. Others can improve and damage others like Radiation Surge that improves health regeneration while impairing that of nearby monsters. Before the Surge is over, monsters can induce a powerful shockwave attack. In the single player Story Mode, multiple Power Surges can be collected through defeating an enemy monster afflicted with the Surge. In multiplayer mode, the Surges are obtained by destroying Surge Crystals that pop up in the environment.

Along with destructible environments, Earth's Military or the Vortaak's Forces are present, depending on the arena/city. Both will attack certain monsters each time, while others can still get caught in the crossfire. Monsters are attacked on differing circumstances. For example Global Defense Force monsters will be attacked by humans if they go out their way to destroy human buildings and military units being on the same side. The same goes for Alien monsters and the Vortaak. Destruction of crystals and use of Power Surges and Critical Mass can also affect military attitude towards certain monsters. In Story Mode, the Atragon appears multiple times throughout but due to the personal attitude of its Admiral, it will attack regardless of actions or faction.

Story

King Ghidorah face-to-face with Gigan

Plot

The story of Unleashed, taking place 20 years after Godzilla: Save the Earth, begins with a meteor shower colliding with the Earth's surface, causing climate shifts and earthquakes. Simultaneously, the giant monsters of Earth begin to attack cities across the globe as a result of massive energized crystals growing from the impact points.

Four factions arise from the chaos of the scramble for control of the planet; Earth Defenders, Global Defense Force, Aliens and Mutants. Depending on the player's whims, alliances can be forged and enemies made depending on his or her actions during game. As the battles rage, Admiral Gyozen, captain of the Gotengo sets his own plans into motion to defeat the King of the Monsters, Godzilla himself. After Dr. Shiragami creates Biollante and after attempting to ambush the player on several occasions, a one-on-one battle in Osaka takes place towards the end of the story, before the battle in its first appearance the ship accidentally awakens Megaguirus.

The Vortaak, lead by their queen Vorticia, seek revenge on planet Earth and "their mutated monstrosities" by preparing a full-scale invasion, but are stopped cold by the approaching asteroid. After repairing their ship, they assault Earth with their own monsters, eventually arriving in the atmosphere over San Francisco. Fortunately, they are brought down by the Earth Defenders, and their crashed ship awakens Varan.

Though it is not revealed in-game, the new monsters Krystalak and Obsidius were created due to the effects of the crystal energies on Earth. Krystalak is born from a giant "egg" in New York City, and is a result of monster DNA combining with the crystal energies. The Vortaak, on their last legs, try to take the crystal egg's energies, but wind up releasing Krystalak instead. Obsidius, conversely, arose from the deep continental plates where crystal energies affected the magma deep within the planet. While trying to destroy the crystals turning Seattle into a volcanic wasteland, the GDF accidentally awaken the monster.

There are several separate finales, but fall into two categories: saving the Earth or destroying it. If you remained friends with the Earth Defenders or Global Defense Force and don't accumulate too many Power Surges, a finale takes place in New York City, where it is revealed that SpaceGodzilla sent the crystals to Earth in order to re-open the wormhole he became trapped in at the end of Save the Earth. After a vicious fight, Earth's monsters work together and manage to kill SpaceGodzilla once and for all. If you play as the Aliens, a finale will also take place in New York, however, once you kill SpaceGodzilla, you remove the only major obstacle left against the Vortaak and finally conquer Earth. If you accumulate too many Power Surges and/or are allied with the Mutants, you will become the new "Tyrant" of Earth and face wave after wave of monsters in your Critical Mass form, thereby allowing SpaceGodzilla to win.

Endings

There are endings in Unleashed for all four factions.

• Aliens: There is no hope for Earth while, Vorticia, the queen of the Vortaak laughs in victory.
• Mutants: Several cities are seen being destroyed by the crystals after the player claims victory, when suddenly SpaceGodzilla appears and roars in triumph.
• Global Defense Force: The GDF unit destroys SpaceGodzilla's army and saves the world.
• Earth Defenders: The monster the player chooses is thanked for their bravery against SpaceGodzilla while the world becomes normal again.

There are also two different sub endings, depending if your monster is in critical mass and defeats the final boss or not.

Characters

Human characters

• Base Commander Tagaki: The base commander is the man in charge when it comes to evaluating situations and ordering GDF's mecha forces into action. He's the cool head in chaotic situations—always keeping his emotions in check. Commander Tagaki began his illustrious military career as a young, hotshot G-Force pilot assigned to "Project-M" (Mechagodzilla). His mettle was put to the test during the Vortaak invasion of 2004 while piloting Mechagodzilla 2 into battle against the alien threat. It was then, in the heat of battle, that Tagaki witnessed firsthand how Earth's monsters seemed to join forces against the aliens to protect the planet. The experience changed his personal views on Earth's monsters being a threat to humanity.

• Specialist Kenji Miku: Miku is one of many GDF technicians who monitor the global defense grid and all monster activities. She reports directly to her superior, Commander Tagaki. Miku has been fascinated by monsters since childhood and has devoted her life to the study of them. Because of her knowledge and expertise, Miku has become the commander's top consultant and right hand in all monster-related matters. A mutual respect exists between the two. Miku is among those who believe that Earth's monsters are noble defenders of the planet who rage only when their fragile world is threatened by human arrogance or extraterrestrial forces.

• Admiral Gyozen: The admiral is a semi-retired, hardcore military man who serves as military advisor on the GDF council. But he is a bitter man, having fought and lost many battles with Godzilla and having the scars to show for it. The admiral lost command of the battleship Atragon after a particularly humiliating defeat that resulted in the death of his crew. As a result, he harbors a deep-seated hatred toward all monsters. He is the main human antagonist in the game. Though no longer in active command, the admiral has considerable sway within the council with his bombastic, overbearing nature. He is driven insane by his own hatred, which is amplified by the crystals brought onboard the Atragon to power a "Crystal Cannon" weapon, he was defeated during the fight in the Atragon while fighting a the player's selected monster.

• Dr. Shiragami: A GDF scientist and the world's leading expert on giant monsters, Dr. Shiragami makes some "fascinating" discoveries regarding the properties of the crystal formations and the alien radiation they produce. He accidentally makes a second Biollante while experimenting with combinations of G-cells (Godzilla's DNA), crystal radiation, and a bioagent designed to eat G-cells.

• Vorticia: 20 years after being defeated by Earth's monsters and Mecha units, the Queen of the Vortaak returns to Earth to "reclaim her prize". She leads the Alien monsters and commands the Vortaak forces into battle against the GDF, Mutants, and Earth Defenders. She is a secondary antagonist in this game. Her Mothership is damaged early on by a meteor, delaying the invasion, and Vorticia has suspicion about "someone or something is after her prize". Crystals appear, and Vorticia sends her monsters to steal them. Repairs on the Mothership are eventually completed, and the invasion is launched. The Mothership is brought down, however, by one of the monsters (generally, the player). Vorticia then utilizes the crystals to make King Ghidorah enter enhanced Critical Mass, unleashing him in Seattle, but he is eventually defeated. The fights still go on, and in the end, it is discovered that SpaceGodzilla, a former ally to the Vortaak, was also trying to conquer Earth.

Playable monsters

In Godzilla: Unleashed, there are 26 playable monsters in the Wii version, and 20 playable monsters in the PS2 version. Monsters are divided up into 4 factions: Earth Defenders, Global Defense Force, Aliens, and Mutants. In Story Mode, monsters of particular factions have different goals and so take a different order of missions. Each Faction also has different styles of play and what they consider friend or foe. Some choose to use the crystals while others intend to destroy them and so will reflect this depending on how the player chooses to act throughout. The total number and look of playable monsters differs between the Wii and PS2 versions. While you gain points with some factions for obtaining Power Surges, obtaining all seven Power Surges will null any allegiances the player has and unlock a secret level called "Tyrant", in which the player's chosen monster is given unlimited Critical Mass but is forced to brawl against several monsters which may or may not have been former allies. The "Tyrant" level is the default ending level for all Mutants, though you do not loose your Mutant alliances if you didn't accumulate every Power Surge.

Earth Defenders

These are natural monsters that are very instinctive and protective of their territory, Planet Earth. They see the crystals and Vortaak as threats and go out their way to destroy them, even if it means destruction of human cities. Earth Defenders ally themselves with monsters that destroy crystals but because of this, they will attack those who use them to attain Critical Mass. The Earth Defenders are:

• Anguirus (Showa/Millennium hybrid)
• Baragon (Showa/Millenium hybrid)
• Fire Rodan
• Godzilla
• King Caesar (Showa/Millennium hybrid, Wii only)
• Mothra (Heisei/Millennium hybrid)
• Varan (Wii only)

Global Defense Force

Human engineered Mechas, built to protect humanity from other monsters, the Vortaak and the crystals. They usually ally themselves with monsters that don't destroy human structures and those who fight Alien forces, and fight those that do the opposite. Due to their autonomous minds, Global Defense Forces mechas can fall victim to and become corrupted by the crystals energy. The Global Defense Force mechas are:

• Jet Jaguar
• Kiryu (Mechagodzilla 3)
• Mechagodzilla 2
• Mecha-King Ghidorah
• MOGUERA (Heisei)

Aliens

The Alien faction is made up of monsters that have allied themselves with the Vortaak invaders and thus their prime goal is to destroy the humans and conquer Earth. Alien monsters are driven by power surges and so attack monsters that destroy Surge crystals or Vortaak forces. They will on the other hand ally themselves with those who preserve crystals or destroy human forces. The Alien monsters are:

• Gigan (Showa version for the PS2, Millennium version for the Wii)
• King Ghidorah (Showa/Millennium hybrid for the Wii, Showa/Heisei hybrid for the PS2)
• Mechagodzilla (Wii only)
• Megalon
• Orga

Mutants

Monsters from the mutant faction are driven by lust for power more than anything else. Because of this they are drawn to crystals and so will destroy all in their path to get such power; monsters, humans and even Vortaak, and so Mutants will ally themselves with others monsters that do just this and attain Critical Mass. The Mutant monsters are:

• Battra (PS2 only)
• Biollante (Wii only)
• Destoroyah
• Krystalak (Wii only)
• Megaguirus
• Obsidius
• SpaceGodzilla (also the primary antagonist of the game)
• Titanosaurus (Wii only)

Secret characters

These monsters aren't playable in Story Mode or Training Mode and are much more complex to unlock.

• Godzilla 1954 (Wii only)
• Godzilla 1990s (Playable in PS2 Story Mode)

Scrapped characters

• Hedorah: Due to requiring complex cell-shading and being incompatible with the game's engine due to his blob-like form.
• Fire Lion: Beat by Obsidius in the original monster poll.
• The Visitor: Beat by Obsidius in the original monster poll.
• King Kong: Due to legal problems.
• Lightning Bug: Beat by Obsidius in the original monster poll.
• Zilla: Due to his initial lack of popularity among fans.

Arenas

All of the arenas have been altered by the bombardment of crystals.

• Tokyo (The city is underwater after being battered by tsunamis caused by the crystals).
• New York (The city lies in ruins from the meteor shower).
• Seattle (The city has gone through a lava flow).
• San Francisco (The crystals cause huge earthquakes that ripped the ground apart and created waterfalls).
• Osaka (A chemical spill causes the city to become engulfed in a toxic gas).
• London (The crystals affect the Earth's gravitational flow, causing London to be ripped from the Earth and starting to float in an anti-gravity vortex).
• Sydney (The crystals create a huge storm that freezes the ocean and causes the whole city to be buried under ice).
• Monster Island (Crystal activity is low, but there's still enough to cause the force field barrier to malfunction and allow the monsters to escape).

Secret Arenas

• Mothership (Crashed on to earth's surface after being brought down by one of earth's monsters).

Scrapped

• Los Angeles: Due to the fact that there weren't many cities outside of the United States in the game, Los Angeles was replaced by Sydney.

Development

An IGN interview with Pipeworks states that the title is completely new and is specifically designed with the Wii Remote in mind. There were also plans to use WiiConnect24 support for downloading purposes, but they seemed to never have happened. IGN has a development blog running, but it is updated irregularly. The Wii version of the game, while much more developed than the PS2 version, has been criticized in early reviews for somewhat unresponsive controls.

The Wii, PlayStation 2 and PlayStation Portable versions of Unleashed are in development by Pipeworks Software. The PlayStation 2 version has two exclusive characters unavailable to any other console apart from Double Smash. The PlayStation 2 version has 20 monsters, including the two exclusive characters. While the game was in early development, a screenshot was also shown with the press release on some websites, but it was revealed to be a falsely edited from screenshots of Unleashed and Godzilla: Save the Earth.

On September 14, 2007, two screenshots from an early build of the PS2 version of the game were released, revealing Godzilla 2000 and Anguirus with similar models to their Save the Earth designs, and crystals on a Monster Island arena. It has been speculated that the gameplay would be a rebuild of the Save the Earth mechanics.

On September 27, 2007, IGN posted a new PS2 video showing Godzilla 2000, Destoroyah, Orga, Anguirus, SpaceGodzilla, Moguera, Fire Rodan, Megalon, King Ghidorah, Baragon, Jet Jaguar, Mechagodzilla 2, Mecha-King Ghidorah, Megaguirus and Showa Gigan. This left five monsters to go. It also furthered the idea that it is a rebuild of Save the Earth as several characters are completely unchanged, including King Ghidorah, Megaguirus and Gigan, who were revamped for the Wii version. On the following day, Tohokingdom.com posted an area for PS2 holders to watch. They have placed a character confirmed list on it, which shows all of the characters that were seen in the PS2 video.

On October 10, 2007, it was announced that summonable monsters would not reappear, according to an interview. Two days later, IGN's development blog has revealed that Heavy Melody created the soundtrack for the game and that every monster has a unique theme song that ties to the overall feeling of their faction for the Wii version.

On October 19, 2007, IGN stated that the PSP version of Godzilla: Unleashed was canceled; however, if the Wii version of the game sells well there could be a PSP version coming out in 2008.

Atari stated that the Wii version of Godzilla: Unleashed would be released on November 20, 2007, the same day as the Nintendo DS version. Atari later stated that the PS2 version of Godzilla: Unleashed would be released on November 20, 2007, along with the Nintendo DS and Wii version.

On November 9, 2007, GameSpot posted its sixth and final designer diary with Simon Strange talking about the factions' importance.

On November 19, 2007, GameSpot put up a Monster Battles feature to have people vote for which monsters they want to face off. Also, Battra was revealed to be in the game, as he is one of the monsters in the character pool.

The PS2 version of Godzilla: Unleashed has 20 monsters. Beyond Battra (exclusive to the system) and Obsidius, the roster is completely lifted from Save the Earth, featuring none of the other new characters in the Wii version. The PS2 version is a modified version of Save the Earth only with Battra and Obsidius. However, Battra is just a clone of Mothra and Obsidius is just a clone of Orga.

On November 30, 2007, Atari put up a contest for the upcoming Wii version. The contest was a trivia game. If the players guessed the answers correctly, they would have a chance to win a poster of Godzilla: Unleashed, 10% off digital downloads at Atari, or Atari T-shirts. Also on the same day, all of the "monster cards" on the official website were revealed.

On December 16, 2007, King Caesar won the Gamespot Monster battles while Baragon was in 2nd place. Obsidius got the least amount of votes (9380 votes).

On December 23, 2007, Tohokingdom.com came out with the Godzilla: Unleashed Soundtrack.

It was revealed in an interview with one of the producers of the game that there are no plans for a PSP version.

Obsidius was selected from a roster of 4 original monsters created by Pipeworks. Under the working names Magmouth, Firelion, the Visitor, and Lightning Bug, IGN ran a poll for viewers to vote on which monster would be developed as a fighter. After attracting 6,000 voters, Magmouth was the winner. Later, second poll selected "Obsidius" as the chosen monster's new name while beating out alternatives "Dotoryo", "Kazango", "Pyrodorah", and "Volcanis". Obsidius was not seen on any official gameplay until September 12, 2007. He was briefly seen on the extended trailer for the game being attacked by King Ghidorah. Obsidius's official biography and character model was revealed on September 21 2007 in an animatic along with Megaguirus and Mecha-King Ghidorah on IGN. There is also a video of Obsidius fighting Kiryu at Gameradar that was revealed on October 9, 2007.

Reception

Reception

Review scores

Publication	Score
Game Informer	4/10
GameSpot	3.5/10
GameTrailers	5/10
IGN	4.9/10
Nintendo Power	5.5/10

Play Magazine called it "among the best fighters for the system" while GameSpot stated " Unleashed is the worst thing to happen to Godzilla since getting killed by Mothra's babies."

GameSpy praised the large lineup of playable kaiju as "ample fan service" while showing disappointment over the new original kaiju, Obsidius and Krystalak, being "a shame that these guys make the cut while classic foes like Hedorah and Battra are MIA (or confined to the PS2 version in Battra's case)".

The controls were criticized the most by critics, reportedly being unresponsive at times. Nintendo Power said that "though Godzilla Unleashed is fairly accessible, even casual gamers may wonder why their creatures don't always do what they want" while IGN experienced "a good deal of lag between when you swing the Wiimote and when your monster attacks". Game Informer, however more bluntly called them a "complete slop".

The visuals were also criticized with Game Trailers stating that "the films are often seen as classics because of their low production values and hokey monster designs. Still, Godzilla Unleashed is simply unattractive with its low-res textures and washed-out color palette",

The PS2 version of Unleashed was met with more disdain from journalistic reviewers. Games Radar claimed the PS2 version's graphics were its biggest handicap, being chuggy and jerky in comparison to the Wii, which supposedly runs "gracefully as a ballet dancer 99% of the time." It has also been noted that despite the PS2 version having an exclusive kaiju, Battra, some critics felt it was a re-skinned version of Mothra, also playable.

Fan and player reactions to the game have been much more positive, however, with reader review score averages nearly double the score average of critics. Fans praised the game for inclusion of fan favorites like Biollante, and Godzilla 1954, as well as the new story mode, which allows the player's action to direct the plot.

External links

• Official Godzilla Unleashed Site
• Template:StrategyWiki
• Toho Kingdom Godzilla Unleashed Wii site