Zone of the Enders: HD Collection

Game Info

This is not how you do an HD collection…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…and that’s where I almost decided to stop with this review.  This is easily the worst HD collection I’ve ever played, and that’s a shame.  Somehow, developer High Voltage Software, who is responsible for (or should I say, “should be held accountable for”) the HD facelift, took a fast-paced, reflex-inducing, hyper-kinetic robot action game and turned it into an unresponsive, slowdown-addled mess.  But first, let’s back it up a little bit, shall we?

Originally released on the Playstation 2 in 2001, Zone of the Enders was the game that everyone got for free when they bought the Metal Gear Solid 2 demo, and I’m not even joking. I seriously shelled out fifty bucks for a game demo.  Ah, the times have changed, haven’t they?  Wait, the ZOE:HD Collection includes a demo for Metal Gear Rising?  Maybe they haven’t changed so much…  But ZOE was decent.  It was unlike anything on the market.  Typically, games that feature giant robots have tank-like controls, so it turned a few heads.  Everyone said the same thing about it, though: lame protagonist, repetitive mission structure, anti-climactic ending.  That all changed two years later with the release of ZOE 2, which was a massive improvement on all fronts, despite its somewhat stilted English localization.  With its more varied mission structure and more likable protagonist, it easily made it on to my list of top 10 favorite PS2 games.  Which is why I’m so disappointed with this HD re-release.

When looking at screenshots comparing the original releases with the new ones, you might think to yourself, “Hey, whatchyou talkin’ ‘bout E-Z-E, these screenshots look awesome!”  And granted, this is definitely true.  Screenshots of the HD Collection look downright sexy.  It’s when you get your hands on a controller that the differences are made abundantly clear.  The framerate drops almost constantly and your Orbital Frame just moves much, much slower.  The decrease in movement speed really creates some unnecessary frustration during the intense boss fights where lightning-fast reflexes are needed.  So instead of zooming and skirting around the stage, deftly avoiding incoming assaults, you wind up eating beam sabers and lasers, and in most cases, resulting in more than a handful of some rage-quitting.

So the gameplay and the graphics have been lost in the translation, but at least the sound has held up.  Featuring one of the most iconic video game soundtracks of all time, ZOE is still a treat for the ears.  And those lucky enough to pick up a limited edition will find a surprisingly good remix soundtrack featuring new mixes by some of Japan’s top electronic dance music producers.  It also includes a decent sized 100 page art book as well.  But it’s a sad state of affairs when the best thing I can say about a game is that the limited edition of it includes a good art book and soundtrack.

The Recommendation

So, in the end, I’m having a hard time figuring out who I could recommend this HD collection to.  I guess if you have never tried these when they were on the PS2, go ahead and try it out, but keep in mind that you are playing the inferior versions of one good game and one really awesome game.  And curious series fans who want to see this train wreck of a video game port should give this a rental, at best.  For those that are itching to try out the Metal Gear Rising demo, just wait for the impending general public release, and know that it’s good.  Really good.  It’s easily one of my most anticipated games of 2013.  So in the end, the best thing I can say about Zone of the Enders is that it comes with a demo of a far superior game.  So it looks like it’s just like the Propellerheads and Shirley Bassey have said- just a little bit of history repeating.