Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner

Developer: Konami Computer Entertainment Japan
Publisher: Konami Computer Entertainment
Designer: Shuyo Murata

Release dates:
February 13, 2003 (JP)
March 10, 2003 (NA)
September 26, 2003 (EU)

Basking in the sun of reviews bashing on the original Zone of the Enders for 2 years, Konami and Hideo Kojima decided to bring out a sequel to the series that was seeked upon since the concept first saw daylight. It really seems like that Kojima had decided to accept the challenge and make the game that the critics wanted to see originally with Zone of the Enders.

As a result of this everything got fine tuned that could be tuned.

For animation Konami decided to completely drop the GC produced anime and go out all anime. This still does not break the gaming mood at all, the animation is truly enjoyable and true eyecandy and it is hard to believe that any friend of anime would disagree in this.

Also the voice over acting is immensly increased on par of quality. Even Zone of the Enders protagonist Leo Stenbuck sounds a lot better and quite honestly almost great. However there are still some points that could be improved, but at least they are not as disturbing as they were in the first title.

The gameplay and especially the combat design had been simplified and made more convinient for the battle. Also some sub weapons were modified to actually have some use in battle. This allows a very rewarding gameplay as every player can choose the style of combat they feel like.

Also some battle controls were redesigned, for example in order to choose a subweapon the player no longer needs to go to the start menu, which really makes them a lot more convenient and usable. Using Phalanx, Halberd, or even Homing Missiles along side with the OF’s own Homing Lasers creates a truly magnificent arsenal for long-range battle.

For close combat grabbing is very efficient as one can even grab an enemy and use it as a shield and later throw it at another enemy. Also for those who prefer close combat Zero Shift is truly unavoidable and a truly precious subweapon that makes battle after battle easier than wiping ones nose, however this still doesn’t really reduce the joy of battle. In fact even playing the game over and over again still won’t make you bored of the fighting, it remains fun time after time.

However the plot is still left rather short and so is the game. Even if one does not skip any of the conversations the gaming time is still rather sadly short. However it still offers a very excellent directing making the game very cinematic.

Characters are mainly very well done, but there are some exceptions such as the runners of the ”Great Zakat” who remain fully anonymous throughout the game and this sadly also applies for the antagonist Nohman. Even after the game is over the player is left with questions as for why he did that?

Despite all of that however the replay value on The Second Runner is very high thanks to the Ex Missions that you have to find in the story mode in order to open them. Also the Ex-Missions in itself are also rather fun to play and they do offer lots of playing for those rainy days.

--Review by Caldera