Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner Review

By Rob Fahey Published 13 October, 2003

Rob has another run at ZOE...

Version tested: PlayStation 2

There's no doubt about it - Hideo Kojima loves giant robots. From the earliest days of his career, he's had a fascination with them - okay, admittedly he couldn't find a way to fit big stompy mechs into his high school romance dating sim, Tokimeki Memorial (although given half a chance we bet he'd have turned it into Gunparade March...), but Policenauts was full of the things, and there's a strong case for saying that the lengthy exposition of Metal Gear (in all its various incarnations) is just an excuse for throwing around some really cool robots at the end of the day.

Given this, it's hard not to see Zone of the Enders as not so much a side project, but the game Kojima has always wanted to make. Giant robots battle it out among the stars in an epic space opera that combines themes of war, love and loyalty with the traditional anime-esque trappings of huge explosions, insane pseudo-science and crazy mysticism. It's a heady mixture for any Japanese child of the Gundam generation, and Kojima is exactly that. The first Zone of the Enders, however, suffered from two major problems; firstly, it was excessively repetitive, with extremely similar missions and enemies throughout, and secondly, it came bundled with a demo disc of Metal Gear Solid 2, which stole the game's thunder entirely - even if it did probably help to sell a few copies.

Gearhead

'Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner' Screenshot 1

The second serving of Zone of the Enders picks up broadly where the first left off - although this time the central character is a gruff ex-soldier called Dingo, replacing the somewhat weedy Leo Stenbuck from the first game. This time, the story is narrated using a combination of in-game cut-scenes and 2D anime video, rather than the pre-rendered 3D of the first game - a system which works extremely well, and fits the tone of the game perfectly. Following an introduction sequence that attempts to ease you into the fairly complex but powerful twin-stick navigation system, you're dropped straight into the action - sat in the cockpit of the immensely powerful Orbital Frame, Jehuty, and blowing seven shades of shit out of everything in sight.

So far, so similar to the original game - but very quickly, the huge differences in pacing and variety of gameplay become evident. Like the original Zone of the Enders, the game is mostly structured in a way that sees you dealing with several waves of minor enemies before having to take on a boss, generally in the form of another powerful Orbital Frame - unlike the original ZOE, however, there are a vast array of different enemies on offer, and you have a huge selection of different ways of disposing them at your fingertips.

The game calls upon you to master a variety of combat techniques, all of which result in spectacular pyrotechnics - from firing off huge charged bursts of homing lasers into swarms of low powered enemies, to deflecting enemy beams with shield power-ups, to picking up large girders and other objects from the scenery and battering your enemies into submission with them. A particularly satisfying trick is the ability to grab a damaged mech, swing it around your head and throw it with great force into the path of another oncoming enemy - usually resulting in a large explosion and a double kill.

Encounters in Space

'Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner' Screenshot 2

Boss encounters are another element which Second Runner has in spades, and again it doesn't skimp on the variety. Each boss has a certain trick to defeating it, and thankfully the game has achieved a perfect balance between allowing you the satisfaction of working out the trick for yourself, and having the game drop increasingly unsubtle hints about what's required from you in any given situation. As you might expect from the designers behind Metal Gear Solid, each boss is also full of personality and fantastically imaginative - imagination being something which the game as a whole has in abundance, be it in terms of the crazy plotline, the fantastic environments or the great enemy designs.

Imagination is a key factor in some of the most memorable levels of the game as well - the two that stick particularly in the mind being one where Jehuty, newly armed with a stunningly powerful cannon that takes several seconds to set up and fire, takes on an entire fleet of space battleships - hopping from one to the next in the midst of withering fire, and standing on their decks to pound their engines while listening to the panicked radio broadcasts of their captains. Superb, stirring stuff - and matched (or indeed topped) a few levels later where you get involved in a massive battle between thousands of opposed enemy mechs, rushing from one end of the battlefield to the other to support your comrades and minimise losses on your side.

Levels like these are an amazing experience to play through, aided by stunning graphics (the MGS2 engine being pushed to its absolute limits) and incredibly good music. Sadly the voice acting doesn't quite live up to the production values of the rest of the game, but it's not so bad as to detract seriously from it either - although in places, the dialogue is very stilted and seems to have suffered a bit in the translation from Japanese. Speaking of translations, it's worth mentioning in passing that despite the lack of a 60Hz mode in the game (that we could see), it runs at full tilt in 50hz mode and there are no borders - a completely perfect PAL conversion. Nice job, Konami!

Good things, small packages?

Indeed, as we said in our preview of the US version of the game back in July, there is only one key criticism to be levelled at Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner - there simply isn't enough of it. The game is packed to the gills with imagination, stunning design and addictive, hugely varied gameplay - but while it triumphs in quality, it lacks in terms of quantity. We managed to plough through the main story mode in just over five hours, and while there's plenty more to explore in terms of VR missions and a fair degree of replayability (finishing the game unlocks new modes), it's still a disappointingly short experience. However, anyone who liked the first game will absolutely love Second Runner - and for those who thought the first game had potential but found it lacking, this is definitely worth checking out, even if only as a rental. It's certainly left us gagging for a third runner - perhaps a decently long one next time, eh Kojima-san?

8 / 10

Read the Eurogamer.net scoring policy
Picture of Rob.

About Rob Fahey

Rob Fahey is a former editor of GamesIndustry.biz who spent several years living in Japan and probably still has a mint condition Dreamcast Samba de Amigo set.

Read more articles from Rob by visiting the Rob Fahey archive page.

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Comments (30) Latest comment 8 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • gravity0 #1 8 years ago

    Hmm, no mention of the camera. I played the demo and found it absolutely dreadful in indoor levels.

    Very pretty, though.

  • mustardkid #2 8 years ago

    i completed tekken by repeatedly pressing punch and kick

  • Rahul #3 8 years ago

    The camera is quite possibly the most perfect fast-action camera I've ever seen... they should build this thing into Kingdom Hearts or Mario Sunshine. And the lock on intelligence rocks everyone's face off.

    I love Konami Europe. Yay.

  • Dirtbox #4 8 years ago

    Some very generous scores being bandied about recently.

  • gravity0 #5 8 years ago

    "they should build this thing into Kingdom Hearts or Mario Sunshine"

    I must be the only person in the world who never had any problems with Sunshine's camera, barring of course the *evil* ferris wheel level, which I quickly found an alternative route to complete anyway.

  • Shinji #6 8 years ago

    no WAY should this game get the same score as Halo

    Two things;

    1) I didn't review Halo on Xbox, so direct comparisons are a bit pointless.

    2) Shut UP.

    Hmm, no mention of the camera.

    I didn't ever have any problem with the camera, so it didn't occur to me to put anything in there about it. It just worked for the most part - took a little bit of getting used to the fact that it needs a touch of manual adjustment, but that was second nature by the time I got Jehuty to Mars.

    Some very generous scores being bandied about recently.

    You reckon? EG's scores are still significantly lower than most other websites and magazines, and far closer to the "5=average" baseline. I just genuinely think that ZOE2 is one of the best action games of this type that I've ever seen, and fully deserving of a good score - with the exception of the shortness.

  • Roarer #7 8 years ago

    Been looking forward to play this one ever since I saw the drool-inducing screenshots a year and a half ago. I'm glad that not everyone seems to have a problem with the camera; it seems that a lot of games are accused of bad camera positions when it's really the players fault for not being able to manually adjust the camera (Super Mario Sunshine being a perfect example).

  • krudster #8 8 years ago

    EG generous with review scores?

    /dies laughing

  • Razz #9 8 years ago

    /Jumps on Krudster
    /Gives him mouth-to-mouth resussitation (sp)
    /Notices Krudster stirring... eyes open

    \o/ Yaay!

    OOMF!!!
    :o
    *Rubs black eye with cream*

  • bluebird #10 8 years ago

    I love the style in Hideo Kojima's games. Hard to pin down what it really is, but it has this high-tech look with the triangular missile lock-on and the dark green mech steel... well... anyway... :-)

    I noticed that since the EG make-over, the reviews no longer link to the screen shots of the same game. That was a cool feature, will it return? Please? Pretty please?

  • retr0gamer #11 8 years ago

    This game is a huge improvement over the first game. If you don't play it on the easiest setting then there is a fair bit of challenge in it (although it still feels rather short). The extra moves give it loads of variety and the subweapons are now quite useful (I didn't even bother with them in ZOE). The subtle use of cell shading really suits the game. Now back to the train level which is giving me no end of grief.

  • krudster #12 8 years ago

    Razz! Gerroff!



    Will ask the tech gurus to return the screenshot feature, and the 50 other *must do* items!

  • Rahul #13 8 years ago

    I had no problems with the KH or Sunshine cams either, but the critics apparently did, so maybe implementing something as tight as ZOE2's camera will help them be more forgiving. Admittedly we're speaking of two wholly different types of cameras here, with KH and ZOE being fixed behind the main character while Sunshine gives you full control (and expects you to make use of that control).
    Did I mention that not only does the ZOE cam system rock, but it also manages to give you full overview of both players in VS. mode? Seriously, what were Konami thinking when they coded this? Wanted to revolutionize the entire gaming sector all at once?

  • mrharvest #14 8 years ago

    I bought it last week and I'm stuck already. I must really suck at action games since I'm playing it on normal and died twice with the first boss.
    -_-''
    And what Kojima game is longer than a couple of hours (with the exception of Tokimemo possibly... That takes ages to complete properly. Is it really his work makes me wonder).

  • bluebird #15 8 years ago

    Krudster, thanks :-)

  • inpHilltr8r #16 8 years ago

    I completed ZOE2 in 4 hours by repeatedly pressing dash and shoot.
    Ha! Bullshit.

    Very pretty, some of the best particle effects going (well, in term of sheer number of particles anyway). Didn't like the controls though, but then I hated the controls for MSG2 as well. CyGirls has the same problem. Whoever designs the control systems for Konami needs a good kicking.

  • inpHilltr8r #17 8 years ago

    Sunshine gives you full control (and expects you to make use of that control).

    The problem with Mario Sunshine's camera, was that it never gave the player any help. Mario 64 would give the player a hand with the camera, and 90% of the time it was right. Sunshine was a step backwards, at a time when the competition was moving towards assisted follow cams.

  • Rahul #18 8 years ago

    Maybe Sunshine's cam was more about innovating the idea of a fully free camera system rather than doing what everyone else is doing. I thought it worked fine as long as you used it the way the designer's intended you to (which is, in fact, the only way to really enjoy any game anyway).

  • Cacophanus #19 8 years ago

    Rob it is nice to see that you are still a clueless muppet when it comes to mecha games. Seriously, when was the last time you even PLAYED the genre defining wonders of Virtual On?

  • gravity0 #20 8 years ago

    Hey Cacky. For some reason, yours is the last nick I'd expect to see on an EG comments thread.

    Can't quite figure why, myself.

    Incidentally, is Marz even getting a release over here? Probably for the best if it doesn't, I've heard. :p

  • mrharvest #21 8 years ago

    I completed ZOE2 in 4 hours by repeatedly pressing dash and shoot.
    That worked in the original ZOE but the dash+hit combo is significantly slower in the second installation and most enemies seem to guard against the microlasers. What I don't understand is how some say the combat has been simplified - to me it seems completetely the opposite since now you'll need to worry about swarms of little critters, plenty of bigger critters and there's the option of grabbing pieces of scenery and blocking with enemies and so on.

    Didn't like the controls though, but then I hated the controls for MSG2 as well.
    Funny, I hated the controls in MGS2 but the ZOE controls are splendid except for the hit and shoot button being combined.

  • Cacophanus #22 8 years ago

    Incidentally, is Marz even getting a release over here? Probably for the best if it doesn't, I've heard. :p

    I was referring to the original Virtual On in my first post, but Marz is getting an American release. In all honesty though it is the weakest in the series, mainly because they tried to force a locked on dash function over huge sprawling mission maps. Still, Marz has considerably more gamplay depth than Anubis and the versus mode does at least work properly (unlike Anubis' sorry excuse for multiplayer).

    The best thing about Anubis? Zoradius. Now that is just plain sad.

  • gravity0 #23 8 years ago

    Y'know, I'd probably get Marz if it gets released in Europe, but only if Sega decide to release PS2 twin-sticks. There were plans to release them in Japan, I think. Not sure if they did in the end.

  • Cacophanus #24 8 years ago

    Y'know, I'd probably get Marz if it gets released in Europe, but only if Sega decide to release PS2 twin-sticks. There were plans to release them in Japan, I think. Not sure if they did in the end.

    Very early on in the dev cycle I know they were planning USB TwinSticks but then president of Hitmaker (now president of Sega), Hisao Oguchi, vetoed it. So, there are no official PS2 TwinStick peripherals for Marz...but this didn't stop me from making my own.

  • inpHilltr8r #25 8 years ago

    Maybe Sunshine's cam was more about innovating the idea of a fully free camera system rather than doing what everyone else is doing.

    Innovating is when you do something other people haven't done. About the only good thing about the Sunshine cam, was the combining of zoom and tilt on the x-axis of the stick. That worked quite well. Other than that, the abandoning of any and all camera assistance was a step backwards. Many areas would have benefited greatly from the rotation being locked off. For example, there really only is one usefull angle to view the Pachinko level, and that's straight on.

  • inpHilltr8r #26 8 years ago

    Was there a demo of ZOE2 anywhere
    There was one on the OPM disk in the US.

  • Rahul #27 8 years ago

    Not necessarily. I think giving the player all control at all times was just a design decision that gave you much more freedom. It's up to you whether or not you wish to use the cam, right?

  • inpHilltr8r #28 8 years ago

    It's up to you whether or not you wish to use the cam, right?

    No, you can't just leave it alone, because it works it's way into terrible angles. There's a vertical cage maze round the back of the funfair level. If you don't keep tweaking the rotation of the camera, it works its way round to view the maze from the side on, obscuring all of the platforms. You can see Mario through the wall, but not the things he's jumping on. In similar areas on Mario 64, the camera would rotate to the best view, but you could still override it if you wanted too.

  • bluebird #29 8 years ago

    You guys finished this in 5 hours? Having bought and finished the game, the clock in the save-game is at 9 hours, and that's without the various retries for the bosses.

    Also, the Special Edition has a great extra missions mode with lots of replayability, kind of like how Rez keeps interesting, putting you into an almost trancelike playing state, trying to beat your best times.

    To me this is one of the most involving, enticing, adrenaline inducing games to have come out on the PS2. At the very least a 9/10.

  • renzo #30 8 years ago

    Absolutely stunning game, I just wish there was more of it. Finished it over the weekend, and the save game clocked in at 5:35.