Godzilla’s Japanese Website Would Like To Play With You
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If you have even an inkling for that sort of thing, that first proper trailer for Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla most likely kicked your salivary glands into over drive. We have to wait until May to finally see the King of the Monsters stomp the crap out of major urban centers, but now, thanks to the Japanese site for the movie, you have a nice little taste to hold you over, or at least keep you occupied for five minutes or so.
Godzilla.jp has launched a simple videogame for you enjoyment, or to allow you to waste some time at the office. And when I say simple, I mean very, very simple. You control Godzilla, or at least a silhouette of him, with a single key. Use the right arrow to propel him forward, laying waste to cities, including a collection of iconic international landmarks. Eventually you make it to the other side and wander back into the sea, only to reemerge and do it all over again. I stopped after a ravaging a handful of cities, so I don’t know if there’s an end, but it feels like one of those games that just sort of goes on and on as long as you’re still entertained. I do hope that, as the movie approaches, the game gets some add ons, maybe an expansion pack or two, otherwise, even though it’s awesome, it wears out before long.
Not to spoil anything, but if you press the correct keys, you just might discover a few extras. For one, you get to shoot flames, though you’ll have to figure out how on your own. You may also come across a couple of cameo appearances from familiar Kaiju faces, or at least familiar Kaiju outlines.
One think I hadn’t realized before is that Edwards’ revamping of the Godzilla franchise marks the six-decade anniversary of the giant, city-crushing lizard, and I have to say, he looks pretty good for a 60-year-old, very spry.
This is only Edwards’ second feature as director, and his first with any sort of budget to speak of. His previous film, the 2010 creature feature Monsters, kept the monsters off screen most of the time. Partially due to money constraints, Edwards uses this to great effect. For the bulk of the movie you only see the creatures obliquely, and more than anything, you base your emotional responses on the reactions of the characters. From the trailer, it looks like he’ll employ a similar strategy, at least in part. You see pieces of Godzilla, but it takes a while to reveal the creature in totality. If nothing else, he has a sense of when to show and not show his monster.
In addition to the giant monster of the title, Godzilla stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, Sally Hawkins, Victor Rasuk, David Straithairn, and Ken Watanabe, and opens in 3D and IMAX on May 16, 2014.
