This is a review for Zone of the Enders HD Collection for PS3.
Introduction
This is a HD Collection of two remastered Zone of the Ender games by Konami. It was developed by Hideo Kojima and his team, and this collection includes two games that feature robots with high speed action in space.
Games
i) Zone of the Enders HD
This is the first game in Zone of the Enders series. It features a rather unique gameplay back on it's first release on the PS2 console, but it is plagued with a number of gameplay problems. First of all, this game has very short completion time, where the game can be completed within 3 hours by skilled players. It also has too linear progression, poor voice acting, backtracking issues, and generic area exploration. However, this game's combat is pretty good, with myriad of weapons to be used as well as some good boss fights. The game's background story and mythology are pretty interesting as well, but I feel that both areas are not fully explored in the game thoroughly. CG cutscenes are bit dated, so they are not entirely remastered in high definition. Thankfully, the second game is what saves this collection from being a total disaster.
Zone of the Enders HD remastering score: 7/10
Zone of the Enders HD quality score: 6/10
Pros
- good HD remastering work
- good combat
- intense boss fights
Cons
- short completion time
- boring area exploration.
- forgettable characters.
- poor voice acting
- many backtracking
ii) Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner HD
This is the sequel of the first game, with lots and lots of improvement. Improved combat system, increased variety and usefulness of sub-weapons, improved story exposition, more likable characters, great soundtrack, and challenging gameplay. Unlike the first game, it does not have backtracking as you will be travelling to new areas as you progress. It still has short completion length, but it is a bit longer than the first game. Progression is still linear, but the ways to progress in the game can be varied at various points in the game. The boss fights are intense, where many different bosses required different strategies to beat.
There is a common complaint that this game has many technical issues such as frame rate problems and glitches. Fear not, as the patch is readily available to download to fix all of these problems. After installing the patch, this game is one of the best looking and one of the best HD remastered game that I have ever played.
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner HD remastering score: 10/10
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner HD quality score: 9/10
Pros
- one of the best HD remastered game
- fast paced and awesome combat.
- fantastic soundtrack
- incredibly great graphics after installing the patch
- more variety in mission progression
- intense boss fights
- good replay value
Cons
- technical issues before patch
- voice acting quality ranged below average to average.
- short completion time compared to other action games.
Bonus Content
There isn't much content included in this collection, other than a demo for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Other new content includes Trophies sets for both games.
Conclusion
Final Score: 8/10
Pros
- has great action robot games.
- interesting futuristic mythology
- great remastering job
Cons
- seriously lacks bonus contents like many other HD collections.
- the second game was plagued with technical issues before patch.
Introduction
This is a HD Collection of two remastered Zone of the Ender games by Konami. It was developed by Hideo Kojima and his team, and this collection includes two games that feature robots with high speed action in space.
Games
i) Zone of the Enders HD
The worst game in this HD Collection.
This is the first game in Zone of the Enders series. It features a rather unique gameplay back on it's first release on the PS2 console, but it is plagued with a number of gameplay problems. First of all, this game has very short completion time, where the game can be completed within 3 hours by skilled players. It also has too linear progression, poor voice acting, backtracking issues, and generic area exploration. However, this game's combat is pretty good, with myriad of weapons to be used as well as some good boss fights. The game's background story and mythology are pretty interesting as well, but I feel that both areas are not fully explored in the game thoroughly. CG cutscenes are bit dated, so they are not entirely remastered in high definition. Thankfully, the second game is what saves this collection from being a total disaster.
Zone of the Enders HD remastering score: 7/10
Zone of the Enders HD quality score: 6/10
Pros
- good HD remastering work
- good combat
- intense boss fights
Cons
- short completion time
- boring area exploration.
- forgettable characters.
- poor voice acting
- many backtracking
ii) Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner HD
The best game in this HD Collection.
This is the sequel of the first game, with lots and lots of improvement. Improved combat system, increased variety and usefulness of sub-weapons, improved story exposition, more likable characters, great soundtrack, and challenging gameplay. Unlike the first game, it does not have backtracking as you will be travelling to new areas as you progress. It still has short completion length, but it is a bit longer than the first game. Progression is still linear, but the ways to progress in the game can be varied at various points in the game. The boss fights are intense, where many different bosses required different strategies to beat.
There is a common complaint that this game has many technical issues such as frame rate problems and glitches. Fear not, as the patch is readily available to download to fix all of these problems. After installing the patch, this game is one of the best looking and one of the best HD remastered game that I have ever played.
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner HD remastering score: 10/10
Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner HD quality score: 9/10
Pros
- one of the best HD remastered game
- fast paced and awesome combat.
- fantastic soundtrack
- incredibly great graphics after installing the patch
- more variety in mission progression
- intense boss fights
- good replay value
Cons
- technical issues before patch
- voice acting quality ranged below average to average.
- short completion time compared to other action games.
Bonus Content
Not much content other than Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance demo.
There isn't much content included in this collection, other than a demo for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. Other new content includes Trophies sets for both games.
Conclusion
Worth buying to play the second game only.
This HD collection is divisive quality collection of two games by Hideo Kojima. The second game by far is one of the most highest quality of HD remastered games, while the first game pales in comparison with the second game. I would highly advise anyone who wants to buy or already bought the collection to download the patch before playing it. Although I dislike the first game a bit, I felt the second game is the saving grace of this collection and I personally feel that it is worth buying the collection just for the second game.Final Score: 8/10
Pros
- has great action robot games.
- interesting futuristic mythology
- great remastering job
Cons
- seriously lacks bonus contents like many other HD collections.
- the second game was plagued with technical issues before patch.
