Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner
by Konami
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Category: Video Games
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Product Summary
Brand: KonamiPlatform: PlayStation2
Publisher: Konami
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Video Game Reviews of Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner
Customer Review: 3.5; when destruction looks its prettiest
Summary: 3 Stars
Metal Gear Solid games were always fun to watch while playing them was pretty fun too but they always felt more like interactive movies with a huge emphasis on story rather than gameplay. On the other hand, Zone of the Enders is kind of the opposite: it's got a story, sure, but the bulk of it is centered around you and your mech smashing things up. However, the game suffers from serious nagging issues that prevents from being a stellar release. It's still fun in its own right but whereas most games have a great concept but never utilize it well enough, 2nd Runner has a great concept and solid gameplay if only for a few nitpicks.
Story: You play Dingo Egret, a soldier who stumbles on the Orbital Frame (another word for mech, really) and turns out the BAHRAM military wants it and so Dingo has to reluctantly join up with members of the Space Force to help bring down the leader Nohman and Aumaan, an impregnable fortress. There's more to it but I'd rather not spoil it.
Graphics: Anime inspired character designs with cutscenes that seem very reminiscent of Sons of Liberty, it's got a stylish feel to it. In gameplay, the graphics look kind of underwhelming with the locales looking at times just plain looking...that is until you meet enemies and things go boom incredibly purdy-looking and with the increased speed, it might scorch your corneas there's so much stuff to take in.
Sound/Music: To be honest, the soundtrack was kind of iffy. Like a lot of action games, the music helps with the pace of what you're doing but you probably can't remember anything about the tracks at all. The voice acting is not up to par as MGS stuff but its serviceable although it does suffer from that Saturday morning vibe where lines seem kind of overacted and overeager but it beats reading.
Gameplay: When in battle, there's not a lot that you can do but it's fun anyways. You can combo your opponents and depending on your last button choice for the combo you can send them up in the air or the ground. You can fire multiple shots from far away when there's too many little things to take on or you can go into Boost mode and deal a stronger attack. Also equipped are subweapons which can range from Grab (use enemy as a bat or toss them into other enemies) or one where extra damage is dealt if a shot knocks them into a wall, an incapacitator and others.
The biggest knock I have to give the game is the controls. At times it's frustrating to control mainly due to the always-annoying camera either being too slow or can't seem to turn of its own accord at times, or lock-ons you don't want to lock onto. However once you get past that, you got to admit how fun it is to send enemies ramming into each other and taking hordes of baddies by your lonesome. Control might be annoying at times and if this was changed, this would've been one of the funnest action games on the PS2.
Along with Ico, this was probably the hardest game on the PS2 for me to find. But whereas any flaws in Ico are easily overlooked, 2nd Runner is the kind of game that's one of those flawed gems where it is a blast to play and a pain in others.
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