Zone of the Enders was a fairly short lived video game franchise created by Hideo Kojima that garnered a lot of respect and hype when it was released on the PS2 back in 2001.Since then a sequel, a prequel, an anime, and a newly remastered HD collection has spawned for gamers to enjoy. I remember that I got my first taste of Z.O.E when i wanted very badly to play the demo of MGS2: Sons of Liberty some random PS2 title offered up on the wall at some game store. I ended up purchasing Z.O.E with almost zero interest in the game itself, other than it's sleek robot combat appeal, I had almost assured myself that I wasn't going to like it before I had even opened the box. I'm not going to lie either, I played the shit out of the MGS2 demo before it had even occurred to me that Z.O.E was still just sitting there waiting to be played. At long last I had popped the game in, and to this day, treat it as one of the greatest treasures in gaming that I had the curtsey of discovering for myself.
Zone of the Enders was a fantastic game back in the day, and it is no exception by today's standards. It has sleek, stream-lined mech combat with a very fast pace, fun maneuverability, and top notch combat systems that make it easily the best mech game on the platform (opinion only). The game has aged spectacularly, the cheesy 3D cutscenes of the first game seem extremely dated compared to some of the breath taking cinemas current-gen consoles are capable of, but it isn't as though they are painful to watch...I think. Most of your time is going to be spent playing the 2nd Runner though. This game was a master piece by all accounts. It improved on the previous installment in almost every aspect. Combat was improved with new enemies, higher difficulty, more sub weapons, a better targeting system, and improved mobility; graphics saw a slight increase on the 3D side, but all the story related cutscenes were replaced by anime style animations which were beautiful and withstand age almost indefinitely. More mini-games, extra content, and a more dynamic story made this the game people wanted to play before they new there was a reason to wish for more.
The HD collection of this title is quite solid, for $40 you get both main entries in the series, plus a demo of MGS: Revengeance. Both games are quite good, but not too many people would deny that the second one is the reason the hyped up rumor of the third installment is so highly anticipated. Kojima stumbled upon a gold mine in the series, but the spin-offs haven't seen nearly as successful (these include an anime series and a GBA title). Even though the game was a critical success, and even a commercial one during its release, it is still considered a cult game, like psychonauts or eternal darkness. Its really unfortunate that these games haven't had more to offer the community that loves and adores the franchise. I am not really reviewing these games, I mean, if you haven't played them before, do it now before you waste away, and anyone who has even just seen the game played already knows what to expect and why it shouldn't be missed out. The 3rd installment that has only been claimed to be under development will certainly keep my interest and excitement peaked, but as it has been something like 8-9 years since the last game, we can only hope that the world hasn't forsaken it.
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