Zone of the Enders Critic Reviews

Finally a game that boasts graphics that we have been promised would come out of our PS2s.

This is one game that is not afraid to lay it all out on the table and let the chips fall.

It's innovative, intuitive, engaging and, best of all, comes jam-packed with action that's fast, furious and totally fresh. It's the first genuine opportunity for anime fans to bring their robotic dreams to life.

Short and to the point, Zone of the Enders is a beautifully presented and entertaining, if shallow, action game.

An enjoyable action title that's easy to pick up and play. If you can get past the preachy narrative and dialogue, you'll be immersed in intense combat and cool weapons.

It's kind of brilliant - but it's also a bit of an underachiever, considering what could have been.

Unhappily then, ZOE is a novel, yet overly hyped PS2 game that ranks alongside "The Bouncer" as one of the biggest disappointments of the year.

Maneuvering Jehuty is about as intuitive as you can get with the use of a single analog stick. Every combat option from firing your weapons and thrusters to raising your shields becomes an extension of your hand.

We dare you to find a game package that gives you more bang for your buck—both literally and figuratively.

The graphics were amazing and the smooth controls made me really feel like I was in control of a very agile, very large machine, but the poor voice acting, the annoying main character, and the very short length of the game takes this out of the realm of a must-buy.

A remarkable new mech combat/fighting game hybrid that -- while gorgeous to look at and often wickedly addictive to play -- offers a surprisingly fleeting overall gameplay experience.

The 3D engine and control scheme they have created are absolutely marvelous, and the game's visual designs are top-notch. It has flashes of brilliant scenario design... So I hope their next game builds on those strengths, and does something about the problems I've already discussed at length.

But although it introduces some exciting new concepts into its gameplay and environment, some of these don’t seem to be as well thought out or tested as they ought to have been, and a few other important game elements seem to have been sacrificed altogether.

An entertaining, but shallow, experience. This game has some sweet graphics and some fun combat, but not a whole lot else.

Fails to live up to the lofty Kojima standards but delivers a technically sound and smooth-playing experience.

A beautiful and entertaining title that falls just short of the initial hype.

When it clicks it's such a magnificent marriage of concept and execution (particularly the control) that we wish everything in it had been as well thought and designed as the portions which were given more attention (like the graphics).

Puts a futuristic twist in the high tech tale but is its storyline constructed like a Chicken Royale or a piece of nouvelle cuisine?

While Zone of the Enders is very arcadey and lacks the depth that will lead to much replayability, it does offer some very good and nicely-rendered mech mayhem.

It is a fantastic ride, to be sure, but a shallow, all-too-brief and ultimately unfulfilling one.