I'll just get it out of the way now. Incog knows how to make a gem of a game. War of the Monsters is phenomenally fun. I've been a fan of this type of game for a long time. For instance, one of the classic games that I used to play over and over again when I was a kid was The Movie Monster Game by Epyx for the Commodore 64 computer. I used to think that game was the end all be all of games when I got it. All kinds of monsters, with big cities to smash up and all kinds of things to do. I've played a lot of games since then, and I can safely say that this is the monster mayhem game I have been waiting for.

On the surface, War of the Monsters could be considered an arena style fighting game. Lucky for us gamers, though, Incog decided to add a hell of a lot more to the game to make it feel like a fresh experience. A lot of people like talk about all of the features in the game and how it feels like a meld of so many fun games before it. There seems to be parts from Rampage, King of the Monsters, Powerstone as well as a handful of other games that share special places in gamers hearts. War of the Monsters really raised the bar in terms of flexible gameplay and fun. Incog mashed together a lot of ideas in this game, and, surprisingly, they all work pretty well.

I'll just start from the top on this one. The graphics in War of the Monsters are pretty exceptional overall. We have style, we have technical merit and we have a smooth framerate. What more can you ask for? The monsters in the game feature incredible models and animate silky smooth. While the cities in this game are a lot smaller overall than the landscapes in Incog's last PS2 title, Twisted Metal: Black, they feature a lot more geometry and are also a lot more destructible than the previous game as well. Buildings shatter into rubble, dust and particles that tend to remain exciting, even after you see them for the 100th time.

Not only do the monsters all have unique looks, but so do the environments. The levels in the game really span a lot of different types of terrain which range from a secret desert military base to a standard city to even a UFO. Each level features a ton of destructible objects as well as host of environmental effects that can be triggered such as tidal waves and volcanic eruptions.

The sound is also exceptional in War of the Monsters. The music is orchestrated classic sci-fi style music and the sound effects have a punch that isn't found in a lot of lesser games. The monsters all have rich sounds from their steps to their screams, in addition to the wonderful cacophony of destruction that surrounds you as you just unfurl hell across a hapless city and any other beastie that decides to get in your way. The sound won't disappoint as it is certainly one of the high points of the game. Hell, even the sound of selecting a menu item has a thumping sound to it that is enjoyable to listen to.

The gameplay in War of the Monsters really covers a lot of ground. Not only can you fight hand to hand with some simple and not so simple combos, but there are also ranged projectile attacks for each character as well as a couple different super moves. The standard fighting engine of the game isn't bad at all, and the game would be pretty damn good if that was all we had, but, Incog was aiming for more. Pretty much anything can be used as a weapon in the game allowing for so much freedom in how you choose to fight any situation. For instance, you could combo a beast and dizzy him, then grab him and throw him into a building which blows apart in a shower of debris, then pick up a girder and start swinging away as he gets back up. Not only can you club a guy down with something you pick up from the ground, but you can also choose to throw it at them or even use it as a shield.

Different items can also have different effects. For instance, a spear like object, such as a radio antenna will temporarily stun an enemy while they have to take time to remove the object. Power transformers will explode in a ball of electricity, and fuel trucks will explode and engulf your monster in flame which will slowly sap away at your health. (You can put out the fire by jumping in water as well.) To give you an idea about how much is lying on the ground for you to use and throw, I choose a 2 player unlimited free for all in the smallish first level and started to smash up all of the buildings and chuck every piece of debris I could find. After about an hour of doing this, I was still finding chunks of buildings to use. That's not including the traffic which seems to always be present. Basically, you should have enough to last you through a couple rounds.

The character selection in the game is diverse and pretty much covers all of the classic style giant monsters and then some. You have the Godzilla knock off with Togera, a Mazinger style robot called the Ultra-V and what monster game would be complete without a giant ape like Congar? Add in some bugs, a dragon, some aliens and you have yourself a party and a half. If you still have your game save from Twisted Metal: Black with Sweet Tooth's mission mode completed, you automatically unlock Mecha Sweet Tooth, which is actually Agamo's fourth skin. It's a nice little bonus for people who showed patronage to Incog in the past.

Some people have complained about the AI in this game as being cheap or just downright annoying. Most of the complaints seems to stem from two things: 1) The multiple monsters against you in one player mode and 2) the tendency of the CPU to try and refill their life bar when it starts to get low. First of all, all you have to do is play the game for more than a half hour to realize you can block and manuever. Sure, the two or three on one battles can be annoying at first, but, with just a little bit of practice you should be able to hold your own nicely. The second complain which I've heard over and over again is the most annoying. People, seriously now, what the hell do you do when you are low? You try and get some energy, right? You can also snag the energy before the enemies do. It's really not that hard. I suck at video games and I didn't have a difficult with it.

The presentation of the game is old style 1950's crappy science fiction all the way. Each level is introduced with a movie poster representative of the level ahead with cheesy names and art style which really fits the playful mood of this game. If you're looking for serious story, please look elsewhere, that's not what War of the Monsters is about. As a matter of fact, the quick 'origin' FMVs you get at the end of the game for each character may not be reward enough for a lot of people who enjoy big endings.

However, there are plenty of reasons to go through the game more than once, or at least hammer through the Endurance mode. As a reward for progressing through the game, you collect points which can be traded in for extra characters, mini-games as well as extra skins for your character. The extra skins are a nice surprise in that they are not just simple pallet swaps like you might think. The first two skins are usually just color changes but the last two tend to vary drastically, such as Kineticlops, who is the floating eyeball wrapped in electricity. His last skin is of a sea monster. It's a nice touch that didn't need to be done. Most developers would have taken the easy way out. Nice going Incog.

The mini games are Big Shot, Crush-o-Rama and Dodgeball. Big shot is pretty much like Monkey Target from Super Monkey Ball. Please allow me to contain my excitement. I don't know, maybe some people will like it, but it just doesn't strike me as something I was glad to spend the points on. Crush-o-Rama isn't bad. Basically, you go against a buddy and see who to smash up the town more. It's not bad, but it's not terribly exciting either. Dodgeball is by default the best game but it is actually a lot of fun and pretty self explanatory. Big game of dodge ball with monsters. The mini games are overall ok, most people would probably be better off unlocking them last.

War of the Monsters is an exceptionally fun game. Incog really knows what they are doing as far as making extremely playable games with plenty of mayhem. In my book, they have two of the top PS2 games between Twisted Metal: Black and War of the Monsters. The best thing about them is that the single player mode is a lot of fun which is a nice change of pace since a lot of games like this skimp on single play in favor of beefing up the multi modes. Picking up this title, especially since there isn't a lot of competition right now seems like a no brainer. It excels in fun and playability, making it my first big hit of 2003. Hopefully this is only the start of a stellar year in gaming.