This Underrated PS2 Classic Deserves A Modern Reimagining

The PlayStation 2 remains one of the gold standards for console gaming, in part due to the truly massive library of titles that came out for the console. Ranging from bizarre indie one-offs to some of the biggest franchises of the era, the sheer volume of games available for the console means there were going to be plenty of undersung classics. One of the most memorable, however, remains one of the games with the biggest possible playable characters.

Released January 14th, 2003, War of the Monsters was an attempt to bring all the goofy thrills of kaiju films and 1950s sci-fi to life on the PS2. Thanks to colorful graphics, a self-aware tone, and strong gameplay design centered around turning a metropolis into a battlefield, War of the Monsters became one of the most inventive fighting games on the console. While it remains something of an underrated cult classic today, a remake of the game might be a perfect fit for modern players.

War Of The Monsters Was A Building Bashing Good Time

Developed by Incognito Entertainment, War of the Monsters was one of the most entertaining fighting games on the PlayStation 2 and deserves to be a more well-known entry in gaming history. Set in a 1950s retro sci-fi world, Earth has been invaded by aliens. While human scientists are able to bring down the flying saucers, the toxic material from the ships spreads and quickly transforms several beings into kaiju-sized monsters. Instead of taking place on a standard 2D fighting space, the game utilized large, destructible stages with massive urban environments that could be brought down in the battles.

Combat could take place with up to four characters fighting at the same time, lending the battles a chaotic touch that made them especially entertaining and unique from other fighting games of the era. With a surprisingly deep roster of B-movie archetypes to choose from, players got the chance to enact all of their Godzilla fantasies in a title that is self-aware enough to have fun with the concept while being bombastic enough to be charming. The maps were the real appeal of the gameplay, with players capable of climbing buildings to leap off towards others, using vehicles and rubble as weapons, and even pushing over skyscrapers to take down enemies with instant kills.

It all plays out with a goofy tenor that keeps the action from ever becoming overwhelming or frightening, ensuring it all remains an entertaining experience. Each chapter of the single-player opens with a “movie poster” for the upcoming battle, and the game’s emphasis on a wide range of concepts (going from standard ideas like a giant ape or a colossal robot to more absurd concepts like a mutated praying mantis and a sentient energy current with a single eyeball) fills out the playable roster. Critics at the time were largely positive about the game, although the difficult CPU and slow camera got it knocked down to a respectable 80/100 on Metacritic.

Why War Of The Monsters Deserves A Modern Revival

War of the Monsters was a thoroughly enjoyable and uniquely designed fighting game, especially for the era. Unfortunately, it was gradually overshadowed by other entries in the genre. While it has been re-released on other subsequent PlayStation consoles, the decent sales never generated enough interest to turn the one-off fighting game into a series. War of the Monsters was a fairly impressive title for the PS2, but it has the potential to be something even bigger, given the power of modern consoles and the scale that developers can take their projects to. Gaming has advanced a lot in the last twenty years in terms of the sandbox settings that can be created, which a modern War of the Monsters could take full advantage of.

The massive battles could embrace the aesthetic and tone of the previous game and lean even more heavily into the slightly campy tenor of the sillier Godzilla movies. Larger creatures, fleshed-out battle arenas, and more impressive combos could make for a thrilling experience, especially if the gameplay retained a focus on multiplayer combat from the previous game. Especially if multiplayer took full advantage of online capabilities to create massive urban sprawls and giant monster fights, a sequel to War of the Monsters could be a lot of fun.

Developers could go another route as well, showcasing the monsters as something terrifying and awe-inspiring while letting players duke it out to become the king of the monsters. Approaching it like that could add an element of horror to the experience, while also potentially giving it a greater thematic weight than the more lighthearted retro parody vibes of the original. The success of the MonsterVerse reboots of Godzilla and King Kong proves that there is a place for that genre in the modern landscape, and gaming might be a great way to experiment with the style.