Giants Take Over the World, Be the One to Save it in “Godzilla: Save the Earth”

By Louis Bedigian

“One of the things we're most proud of with Godzilla: Save the Earth is the variety of strategies created by our monster attributes.”

The monsters are coming, the monsters are coming!

They’re big, green, and one of ‘em has a baby riding on its back!

Oh no, now an even bigger monster has arrived!

The horror, the horror!  Can no one save us from this outrageously atrocious monstrosity?

Yeah, it’s Godzilla!  We’re saved!

Godzilla: Save the Earth charged to retailers this month.  Tons of new features were expected, as were new playable monsters and the addition of online multiplay.  Did the final version deliver the goods?  Dan Duncalf, Pipeworks Software’s CEO, reveals all that this game has to offer.

Just to clarify, is Godzilla: Save the Earth an all-new chapter in the series, or is it an enhanced version of Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee?

Dan Duncalf: Godzilla: Save the Earth is a new game with a story that is a sequel to the earlier game. We've almost doubled the number of playable monsters to 18. We've added two new, exciting cities to fight in (New York and Boston) and have given all the other arenas a fresh face-lift.

There are new game modes. And it's the first online Godzilla fighting game ever! We've added a lot. Real terrain that will change your fighting tactics. And better monster AI - if you thought that Destroy All Monsters was tough when you cranked up to "Difficult," wait until you try Save the Earth.

Fighting's changed, too. We have tons of new moves. And monsters can face off in long-distance beam fighting. Fight your breath weapon against your enemy's. It starts slow and ends with a bang!

See the helicopter?  Humans can fit inside it. 
That’s how much bigger these monsters are than us.

It looks like there are some pretty sickly monsters to battle in Godzilla: Save the Earth. Care to share the details?

DD: We have some real sickies! To our original lineup we've added quadruped earth god Baragon, G-Forces's Anti-Godzilla robot MOGUERA, benevolent Size-changing Jet Jaguar, the alien insect queen Megaguirus, peace-loving Mothra, and Godzilla's ultimate nemesis-Space Godzilla! We also have Kiryu (MechaGodzilla3) in the game, who missed the American GameCube version last time around, but was included in the Xbox version.

What are the strengths and weaknesses of each character?

DD: One of the things we're most proud of with Godzilla: Save the Earth is the variety of strategies created by our monster attributes. We have small, fast monsters and large, lumbering monsters just like any fighting game might. But we also have literally dozens of different ranged attacks, each with their own uses. Monsters deal 10 different types of damage with their attacks, which can have huge impact on the course of a fight. With that in mind:

• Baragon is resistant to heat, can burrow underground, and has special mid-air attack combos.

• MOGUERA has a totally different control scheme from the other monsters, because it rolls around on treads.

• Megaguirus starts with no energy, and must leech energy and health from her opponents. She's also immune to sweep attacks, since she's always airborne.

• Mothra is actually 2 characters in 1. Mothra Larva is a ground-based fighter with great resistances and quick attacks, while Adult Mothra is a flying fighter with some pretty severe limitations to offset her increased firepower.

• Space Godzilla is unstoppable when he's powered up with his space crystals - he can telekinetically grab opponents from almost a full screen away and toss them for tremendous damage - but without energy he can't grab at all!

• Jet Jaguar is the most complicated new monster, as he actually has three separate fighting styles, depending upon his size.

Are any of the characters being given new attack moves?

DD: Yes. Every single monster has had their attacks re-designed. 5 or 6 monsters (the strongest monsters in G:DAMM) escaped with only minor tweaks. Others (MechaGodzilla3, Anguirus, Orga, Mecha King Ghidorah) were changed significantly, with less effective attacks removed and new attacks added in. Every monster now boasts at least 25 attacks, as opposed to G:DAMM's minimum of 15.

Attack from above.

How much damage can be dealt to the environments? How much destruction is possible?

DD: As in G:DAMM, almost every single thing in the city can be destroyed. Our new rolling terrain system means we don't have to cheat things like freeway on-ramps (a visual sore point from the first game). The way buildings take damage has also been improved. Many weapons in G:DAMM did not damage buildings in proper proportion to their strength. In Godzilla: Save the Earth, weapons are the best way to destroy the city for most monsters.

The graphics look a little sharper this time around – are you guys using a different engine?

DD: Pipeworks is still using its own Spigot Engine, as in G:DAMM, but we have made a lot of improvements to it.  We added inverse kinematics to our character system, so that the Monsters can walk on hills, we have improved the lighting system, and particle system, which allowed the designers to go nuts with effects.  Check out the beam fighting to see what I mean.

Speaking of beam fighting, how does this work?

DD: Well, to offset the new, more powerful beam attacks we gave to the monsters, we had to give them a new way of avoiding beam attacks. We went with the classic "Beam Fight" mechanic where both monsters fire their weapons, and the weapons play tug-of-war before exploding in somebody's face. Once your beams are locked, you fight with your remaining energy bar by pulsing your weapon with the attack buttons. If you pulse correctly, you drain your opponent's energy faster than you drain yours. Whoever loses their energy first take the full impact of both beams! It's a gamble, but it can really turn around a losing fight, especially if you're behind in health but ahead on energy.

Tell us about the all-new Action Mode and how it's taking the series to the next level.

DD: Action mode is a combination of monster fights along with special bonus levels, like destroying a city within a certain time limit, or destroying an alien replicating machine. These bonus levels help you get big points, but they are pretty tough, so we don't make you finish them to move on to more fights. We know monster fighting is what everybody loves.

As for the story, the aliens have returned to earth to steal Godzilla's DNA in order to create a new, all-powerful monster. In addition to fighting the aliens and monsters, you're competing with the aliens to locate hidden "G-Cell" pickups to earn extra points.

Now THAT’S a kick in the head!

Another new addition we'd love to hear about is the online multiplayer mode.

DD: You can fight online with two to four players. We even support teams online! Godzilla's fighting system works great online, especially for four-player battles. The entire combat system was designed with online play in mind, and I think you'll agree that Godzilla's online experience is indistinguishable from actually playing with a friend on the same machine. It's a tremendous technical achievement, and we're quite proud of it.

What will the offline multiplayer modes be like?

DD: They're a lot like the popular multiplayer modes in Destroy All Monsters Melee, but with all the great new monsters and cities to choose from. The battles are more exciting now that we have terrain, too. You can use the terrain strategically to get out of the way of breath weapons and thrown buildings. We've also extended our destruction mode game to include Team destruction-very cool! We also fully support AI monsters in any online or offline mode, so you can experience a full 4-monster brawl with any number of actual human players.

In addition to everything else, Godzilla: Save the Earth will include some mini-games. What can you tell us about them?

DD: These are what we call "Challenges." Many of them are from the action game. But you can play them over and over until you perfect your gameplay. We even have an underwater adventure for Godzilla and a space flight one for Moguera.

Cool!

Thank you Dan for taking the time to answer our Qs.