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Maximo Vs Army Of Zin [PS2 DVD English]
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General Information
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Type.................: Game
Platform.............: PS2
Part Size............: 50,000,000 bytes
Number of Parts......: 14
Compression Format...: RAR
File Validation......: SFV
Image Format.........: .iso
Image Created with...: ImgBurn




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Post Information
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Posted by............: Capcom
Posted on............: 20/01/2004

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Release Notes
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Capcom
3D Platformer
Release: Jan 20, 2004 »
ESRB: Teen

Maximo vs Army of Zin Review

It's not for the faint of heart, but if you're looking for complex and rewarding
action-platforming, Maximo vs. Army of Zin really satisfies.

The sadists who brought you 2001's Maximo: Ghosts to Glory are back for another
hellish go with a new sequel, Maximo vs. Army of Zin. These games are noteworthy
for two reasons. First, they're successors in spirit to the venerable Ghosts 'n
Goblins platformers of yore, and second (following the first point), they're
hard as all hell. Like its predecessor, Maximo vs. Army of Zin eschews modern
gaming conveniences, like ample save points and unlimited lives, opting instead
to make you sweat it out with only a handful of lives and lots of enemies and
pitfalls to overcome. If you can grit your teeth and get past the daunting
frustration factor, you'll find in Army of Zin a surprisingly deep and involved
hack-and-slash platformer with a quirky, endearing style and a lot of heart.

Maximo takes time off from searching for Sophia to battle evil robots in Maximo
vs. Army of Zin.

The story picks up some time after the end of the first game, with Maximo and
his pal Grim (y'know, the grim reaper) searching the wilds for Maximo's lost and
presumed-dead love Sophia. After coming to the aid of a village under attack by
ghastly, shuffling automatons, Maximo realizes that the Army of Zin, a mythical
legion of soul-powered robots, is again on the loose, though it was imprisoned
in a vault 500 years earlier by the Baron of Hawkmoor. So Maximo, the hero that
he is, sets out to protect the land from this new menace and to find out just
how the heck the robots escaped their tomb in the first place. The story evolves
through real-time cutscenes--and the occasional prerendered movie--throughout
the game's five major areas. The story's actually compelling enough to keep you
going, so even if the game wasn't any fun, the story would still likely keep you
involved.

Fortunately, the game is fun. If you played the original Maximo: Ghosts to
Glory, then Army of Zin will look pretty similar to you on the surface. Don't be
fooled, though, because Capcom has made a startling number of fixes and upgrades
under the hood. The fundamental mechanics are, of course, still the same. You
still run through a level, double-jump over obstacles, and swing your sword at
every malevolent being that crosses your path. Now, however, there's a lot more
meat to controlling Maximo's heroics because this time you can purchase a number
of upgrades from wandering merchants for your sword, shield, and even boxer
shorts. You'll also pick up a massive combat hammer early on, and then later
you'll receive elemental replacements for both this hammer and your trusty
sword. The weapon upgrades give you new melee powers, like a spin attack or a
dashing stab, which makes it easier to get out of tight spots in combat. Your
shield powers give you the ability to actually throw the shield, or you can use
it to suck up treasure. Finally, the various pairs of underwear help you to gain
additional armor or attack power, among other things. (Interestingly, they may
even help you find hidden treasure chests.)

There's a slew of new items and abilities at your disposal this time around.

The more you play Army of Zin, the more you'll discover how rewarding and just
plain entertaining the combat can be. Maximo can execute a basic horizontal and
overhead attack with his weapon, and these can be combined in different ways to
produce some really long combo strings. In fact, the game even adds a combo
counter to keep track of your hits, and the more you can get in one combo, the
more treasure you'll be rewarded with when the enemies are defeated. It's good
that Maximo is such a capable fighter this time around, since he deals with a
truly awful number of evil robots and other enemies. Once you get a handle on
the combat, it's pretty exhilarating to go buck wild with your sword combos to
clear an entire room's worth of the clockwork bastards in just a few seconds.

In terms of volume, Maximo vs. Army of Zin isn't the longest game. However, that
doesn't take into account the many inevitable times you'll have to retry a given
level until you make it through, so the game will definitely take you a while to
finish. As mentioned, the game's levels are split into five distinct areas, each
with a rampaging boss at the end. Each level is really pretty long, and they're
all densely packed with enemies, obstacles, and nicely varied scenery. You're
rated at the end of each level based on how many enemies you killed, how many
villagers you saved, and how many secrets you found. Once you've done it all,
the level is stamped with a "mastered" seal. The more levels you master, the
more trinkets you can unlock from an in-game art gallery. Finishing the game
will take you a decent amount of time, unless you have machinelike precision.
However, the sheer fun of the gameplay and the unlockables should keep you
coming back for a while afterward.

If all this talk of white-knuckled difficulty makes you squeamish, or skeptical,
perhaps an explanation is in order. What makes Maximo vs. Army of Zin so hard is
the way the game handles your lives and saving your progress. You start out with
three lives at the beginning of the game, and that's it. There are no continues.
There's no nothin'. You can gain extra lives by collecting lots of souls from
enemies (which is time-consuming) or by buying them from merchants (which is
expensive). Basically, though, you'll have to be very, very careful, and you'll
have to prevent yourself from dying too often if you want to make it to the end.
The game is just punishing in a lot of its little gameplay touches. For
instance, you never, ever get your health and armor restored between levels. So
if you're down to your underwear and only a sliver of life left when you finish
a level and move on to the boss, too bad--that's how you're fighting him. As
another example, if you collect important items (like extra armor) in one area
and then die, when you respawn at a checkpoint and go through the area again,
these items will be gone. Pretty hardcore. If you like your action games
unforgiving, this is about as hard as it gets these days.

If you like your action hatefully difficult, Army of Zin is the game for you.

Army of Zin's presentation is a little mixed, but its endearing humor and style
shine through the occasional murk. The graphics are improved over the previous
game but are still not quite on par with the very best the PlayStation 2 has to
offer. The character models are reasonably detailed, and they animate quite
expressively. Additionally, the environments are diverse but could use a little
more geometry in places. Any technical shortcomings are made up for by the
game's quirky style, though, which is led by the great design for the Zin. The
robots have a really cool clockwork look, and their gaping metal maws and beady
glowing eyes make them appear downright evil. The other enemies and bosses have
a lot of personality too, as does the steely and heroic Maximo, who once again
can be stripped of his armor and forced to run around in his undergarments.
Amusingly, the underwear upgrade you currently have equipped is the one that
will show on your character model when you're in the buff. These kinds of
humorous stylistic touches really make Army of Zin a pleasure to look at while
you're playing.

Maximo's sound design is generally quite good as well, with plenty of
appropriate sounds scattered all over the place to enhance the feel and
atmosphere of the action. There's all manner of clanging and crashing sounds
associated with the Zin robots, and they make a great screeching sound when they
come hurtling from the sky to attack you. Thankfully, the voice acting is quite
appropriate for the game and doesn't grate at all. The music is pretty moody or
epic or what have you, depending on the level--which is to say that it generally
fits in and doesn't clash with the goings-on. Alas, it's not all that memorable.
The only real quibble we have with the game's sound involves the fact that it
sometimes seems a little low-fi, for lack of a better description. It's as if
the sounds were sampled at a lower rate than usual and are a little muddier for
it.

Army of Zin proves that big rampaging robots are a menace to all eras.

By definition, Maximo vs. Army of Zin is a great sequel. It identifies flaws in
the first game and fixes them, and it also adds a healthy smattering of new and
improved gameplay as well. Yeah, it can be a maddeningly difficult game (just
try it and see!) but it's also a naggingly addictive one. Army of Zin is
expertly paced--the even distribution of new items and abilities keeps the game
fresh all the way to the end--so even when you're ready to hurl your controller
(and various expletives) at the screen, you just can't help but keep playing.
It's not for the faint of heart, but if you're looking for complex and rewarding
action-platforming, Maximo vs. Army of Zin really satisfies.

By Brad Shoemaker, GameSpotPosted Jan 19, 2004 12:00 am PT

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Install Notes
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Source: DVD 5
Burn the ISO with your favorite program and do not forget to seed Ratio 1.1