Genre: Sci-Fi Action/Adventure
Publisher: Atari
Developer: Pipeworks
Release Date: Holiday 2007

No generation is complete, apparently, without giant monsters wrecking entire cities. When we’re unlucky, that role is filled by the Rampage series; when we’re lucky, it’s filled by a Godzilla game.

Godzilla Unleashed brings the giant monster back on the Wii for a head-to-head, monster-on-monster fighter that recalls 2002’s Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee. Unfortunately, this is going to be one of those maddening previews where the code is pre-alpha and the PR people are playing it close to the vest, but we’ve got just enough information that it’s worth reporting.

Up to four players can take control of sixteen different monsters from four different factions, ranging from members of the classic Toho Godzilla cast, such as Godzilla, Gigan, Megalon, Godzilla 2000 (the female Godzilla from the Matthew Broderick movie) and Mecha-Godzilla, to brand new monsters that Pipeworks and Toho have created just for the game.

You and your friends will compete against one another in a series of high-impact melees in a number of major cities, such as New York and, of course, Tokyo. The cities in question are surprisingly big and cluttered, and their buildings fall down very pleasingly when you smash another monster into them.

With a series of mysterious crystals appearing in major urban centers, monsters are coming out of the woodwork to battle it out. Godzilla Unleashed features an essentially nonlinear plot, so who you play as and who you decide to fight will determine the way in which you’ll progress through the game.

Fighting in Godzilla Unleashed uses a combination of the Wii’s functionality and standard button controls. You can punch, kick, grapple, and unleash a variety of special abilities, such as Godzilla’s atomic breath or Mecha-Godzilla’s laser beam, with each monster possessing a variety of special moves. Those special moves are powered by an energy meter that recharges slowly when not in use, preventing you from just spamming the atomic breath all day. Power-ups will also be available on the battlefield, allowing you to upgrade your monster on the fly.

You can also use the nunchuck and remote to pick up and throw objects at your opponents. These objects range from trucks and buses to entire office buildings, which take damage quite satisfyingly. There’s no win like the win you earn by breaking part of a skyscraper over someone’s head. At the same time, you’ll have to contend with the overmatched Earth Defense forces, who will apparently be far more numerous in the final version than they are in the pre-alpha.

A number of things about Godzilla Unleashed are still to be determined, such as the other monsters on the roster, the game’s online functionality, and just how much of a role the EDF will play. Right now, it’s merely in the stage of being promising. Naturally, as it comes closer to release, we’ll be bringing you more and better information about the game and its DS equivalent.