The newest incarnation of Godzilla due to hit cinemas soon there are people all over the world queuing up to see this
epic movie with a stellar cast. With anticipations for the movie high Warner Bros have decided to release an app to accompany the movie. But the app isn’t as epic as the movie. But don’t let that put you off.
The free app is intentionally small with a key objective to draw more people into the Godzilla experience through a short of mobile advert. The app is fun to play and is more than just a marketing tool. The app has great visuals and the creators have chosen a good narrative to base the game on.
The player plays as one of the soldiers sent into the city in a HALO jump to rescue civilians from Godzilla and to protect the city from further destruction.
Acquisition – With an app based on a movie you would expect download times to take around 5 minutes but with this it was closer to 5 seconds. The player is immediately put into the action and play starts quickly. This makes the jump from starting to activation short. This speed is good but without a great deal of instructions it left this player slightly confused to begin with. When jumping from the aircraft the gameplay switches from 1st person to 3rd without warning which caused me to die several times thinking I was falling behind the characters I saw when in fact I was one of them. But this may be my issue.
Gameplay – the first mission is controlled solely by tilting the device. This works well for controlling the movements of the character while falling and using parachute. The narrative for the gameplay is well chosen and is clearly the point of the movie players would wanting a mobile game (obviously without ruining the plot of the movie). The gameplay brings reminders of Call of Duty and a little bit like playing a Cloverfield game. But that’s probably just the monster link here.
Mission are short, so don’t expect hours of play from this pocket sized Godzilla. Although short the levels are fun to play again but I doubt many players would keep it on their device for more than a week or so. However it has made me want to go see the movie more so maybe it has had the desired effect.
Once on the ground players must navigate a maze of broken streets while avoiding falling debris to rescue civilians.
Look and feel – The graphics are good, akin to PS2 quality. The soundtrack is also good. It is clearly taken straight from the oficial soundtrack and you get a few snippets of movie voiceover too to narrate your gameplay.
Social – At the end of each mission players have the chance to share a screenshot from their gameplay with friends via Facebook. A nice way to get friends interested and trying the game.
Monetisation – This game is FREE with no micro-transactions!! It also contains no adverts which is a pleasant difference from any apps in the app store which are crammed full of money making mechanics.
Verdict
This is a great free app and fun to play for a sort while, if you are a fan of first person shooters or military based games this is the app for you at the moment. Give this app a try if you are a fan of the film or are just considering watching it. It’s a nice short free app which won’t keep you busy for hours but will keep you hooked for a while. Although it won’t have me returning too much to the app it will have me playing starting and selecting the Godzilla movie.
Play, Start, Select 