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Maximo Vs Army of Zin Review
Chris Leyton
02/02/2004
Fun and challenge are the order of the day for Maximo's eagerly awaited return to the PS2...
To the uneducated eye âMaximo Vs Army of Zinâ could be considered as a generic hack ânâ slash, that relies on the tired story of saving a princess and collecting as many coins on the way through extremely linear designed levels - however that would be completely missing the point of this little gem from Capcom.
âMaximo Vs Army of Zinâ is the sequel to last yearâs popular âMaximo: Army of Darknessâ, which was widely considered as the spiritual follow-up to the Capcomâs classic âGhost and Goblinsâ â“ a game that virtually created the âsaving the princessâ storyline back in 1986.
In this day and age of advanced physics engines and the continued march for realism itâs nice to play a videogame such as âMaximo Vs Army of Zinâ; making no bones about being complex or realistic, but offering a strong and charismatic experience that will keep you both taxed and entertained throughout the entire game.
The story takes place eight months after the original; best of pals, Maximo and Grim (death) have still been searching long and hard for Sophia but sadly to no avail. Their search is interrupted when they are attacked by a strange âclockworkâ monster and realise it is being powered by the captured souls of the dead. Maximoâs quest to uncover the secret of âZinâ and finally rescue Sophia takes him through Crystal Mountains and Dead Seas, making new alliances and taking on terrifying enemies along the way.
Although we would have been happy enough to see a straightforward sequel, the guys at Capcom Studio 8 have been working hard to ensure this isnât just a tired cash-in.
Whereas the original used a HUB system to access each of the different levels, âMaximo Vs Army of Zinâ reverts back to a more traditional linear progression through the levels. This has allowed the developers to implement a storyline to greater effect, whilst it should be noted that the actual levels themselves offer a fair degree of non-linearity with a wealth of hidden areas for the player to go off and explore.
The fundamental combat system remain largely unchanged; Maximo has two different attacks, a fast yet weak horizontal slash and a slower yet more powerful overhead thrust; combining these open up a wide variety of combo moves whilst you can unlock more as you progress through the game. Once again Maximo can make use of his shield as a projectile weapon, whilst in true âGhost and Goblinsâ fashion you can unlock more weapons as you progress through the game.
Perhaps the most memorable aspect of âGhost and Goblinsâ was finding yourself in just your boxer-shorts when youâve been hit a few times too many; âMaximo Vs Army of Zinâ takes this one more, by allowing players to unlock or purchase a variety of âspecialâ boxer-shorts alerting you to hidden treasure and other such helpful acts. Not too far into the game and youâll find yourself equipped with a mighty hammer, as with Maximoâs sword you can upgrade this throughout the game with a variety of new moves and attacks. Combat is certainly the main emphasis of the game, and like last yearâs offering itâs thankfully a lot of fun. The sequel introduces a âcomboâ meter, rewarding the player with treasure based upon how many hits you string together - itâs a relatively simple system but it works.
One particular neat introduction is the appearance of villagers scattered throughout the various levels, which you have to rush to and save before the legions of Zin slaughter them. Successfully saving villagers often rewards the player with treasure or information about secret areas on the stage, whilst youâll often find two helpful merchants that provide you with items and weapons in similarly precarious situations that you have to save them from. This dynamic certainly gives the game a nice upswing in tempo, as you race around to save the villagers â“ once again itâs nothing ground-breaking but it suits the game perfectly.
The developers have certainly spent a fair degree of time polishing the experience from the original, and as a result itâs fair to say itâs more accessible to newcomers then its predecessor. Thatâs not to say theyâve made it any easier, in fact âMaximo Vs Army of Zinâ could well be one of the most difficult games youâll play this year, however such new introductions such as the ability to thrust your sword into ledges which youâve just missed, make the experience far more forgiving and certainly less frustrating. One other change to the original formula is the ability to save the game from any point, a useful feature that certainly saves a lot of frustration and certainly will result in less hair loss.
The fact that itâs so damn difficult is certainly testimony to its old-school game design concepts; players have three lives and thatâs it - no continues, important items disappear when you loose a life, no nothing. Naturally you can collect extra lives by collecting enough souls from vanquished enemies or purchase them at a cost from the friendly merchant that follows you throughout the game; however you canât count on this as itâs both time-consuming and expensive. If like us you find the challenge in most action games a little less then satisfying, or perhaps fondly recall the likes of âGhosts n Goblinsâ then chances are youâll love the difficulty presented by the game. At the end of each of each of the 21 stages the player is ranked on their performance based upon enemies killed, villagers saved and how many secrets youâve found; itâs possible to truly master a level and gain the âMasteredâ stamp, allowing you to rest easy in the knowledge that youâve seen everything that it has to offer.
Although the visuals arenât the most technically impressive weâve seen on the Playstation2, the fact that theyâre chocked full of charisma certainly helps to overlook such faults. All of the characters have been beautifully crafted with impressive animation, whilst the deranged and evil appearance of the new clockwork army of Zin certainly suits the game brilliantly.
