When it comes to Halloween, slasher flicks starring masked killers are undoubtedly a major staple. As evidenced by Luigi's Mansion, however, so is absurd ghost comedy. But we couldn't possibly forget one other major element of the candy-filled holiday. That's right: monster movies. Oh, but I'm not talking about regular human-sized monsters. No, I'm talking about crazy creatures the size of buildings. Ya know, monsters like Godzilla. (Weak segue coming in three… two… one.)
Speaking of Godzilla, the gigantic monster has actually been a part of a few games. One of the more critically successful titles to star the behemoth beast was Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee for the Xbox and GameCube. So let's keep the 31 Games of Halloween going by stepping into the, uh, scales of Godzilla in this faithful representation of the iconic monster.
Why it stands out
Up until Destroy All Monsters Melee hit the scene in 2002, North America had been deprived of a proper — and good — Godzilla game. Sure, the NES got the aptly titled Godzilla, which was okay, but it was still plagued with frustrating time limits and poor gameplay setbacks. The Japanese market would eventually get Godzilla: Kaijuu Daikessen (which translates to Godzilla: Monster War), a 2D fighting game starring several monsters, but that game never made it to North America.
Destroy All Monsters Melee managed to remedy the curse of bad Godzilla games in a sense. Despite the fact that it isn't exactly a deep fighting experience (especially by today's standards), the game is still quite fun. The single-player campaign won't hold your interest for that long, but if you can get together with some buddies, jumping into the multiplayer component makes for a blast, at least for a handful of hours.
Specifically, if you're a Godzilla fan looking for a quick fix, Destroy All Monsters Melee definitely delivers. It's pretty rad being able to battle throughout multiple city environments. Even more awesome is watching the city crumple as you stomp all over buildings. Or hey, if you're feeling especially monstrous, you can even grab your gargantuan foes, lift them over your head, and toss them into buildings.
Is it scary?
Like the actual Godzilla movies, Destroy All Monsters Melee isn't the least bit scary. I mean, sure, if you imagine how things would be if huge monsters were destroying everything around you, that would be terrifying. Simply playing this game, however, won't freak you out in any way. In a sense, it remains faithful to the source material, because monster movies are in no way scary either.
Why play it on Halloween?
You should play Destroy All Monsters Melee for the same reason you would watch a Godzilla movie on Halloween. Not necessarily because it's scary — because it most certainly isn't — but because you appreciate good ol' kaiju flicks. These monster movies may not give you the creeps or make you jump, but they're good fun, and they go extremely well with a bowl of candy. The same can be said about Destroy All Monsters Melee.
So invite some friends over and grab a couple of Godzilla movies — anything but the 1998 movie, as that's easily the weakest one of the bunch and nowhere near as memorable as the rest — and watch the heck out of 'em. Then load up a copy of Destroy All Monsters Melee and have some good monster-sized competitive fun. This is probably a more unorthodox way of celebrating Halloween, but hey, no one said there had to be one definite way to enjoy one of the coolest days of the year.
Want to talk about indie games, Kirby, or cheap pizza? Follow me on Twitter @dr_davidsanchez.
