Zone of the Enders (PS2)

As a fan of the Metal Gear series, I inevitably came across the title Zone of the Enders. While this 2001 mecha game did sell well enough to warrant a sequel, Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner, it’s best known for coming bundled with the demo for the highly anticipated Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty in its initial release. As such, it developed a reputation as “the free game” that came with a full-priced demo, but still attracted a cult following of its own. I’ll admit that part of my attraction to this game was the fact that Hideo Kojima produced it, but a good amount of it was just to see what Zone of the Enders actually was. When I finally got my copy of the game, which, of course, came without the famous MGS2 demo disc, I played it at the first opportunity. I could definitely see the potential in the series, but this first game is definitely rough around the edges.

Metal Wolf Chaos XD

If you hadn’t heard of Metal Wolf Chaos before, no one would blame you. The game, developed by FromSoftware of Armored Core and Souls fame, was originally released in 2004 as an Xbox-exclusive, but never made it outside of Japan. Its increasing cult status would eventually warrant a remaster, named Metal Wolf Chaos XD, courtesy of Devolver Digital. Now, nearly 15 years later, Americans finally have the chance to play what is perhaps the most American game ever made. While I was excited to play it and enjoyed my time with it, I have to admit it’s certainly rough around the edges.