Giant mech robots and colossal aliens rank among some of my most beloved fictional tropes. Pit the two against each other in an all-out battle for dominance of Earth and you’ve got yourself a recipe for some stellar gameplay opportunities… in theory. Unfortunately, the reality of Pacific Rim: The Video Game is that it’s a flimsy movie tie-in that chooses to concentrate on repetitive and nonsensical story missions. In doing so, it misses an opportunity to develop its decent multiplayer component into something that could’ve kept me playing for more than a couple of sittings.

Every single-player mission is basically the same: defeat an alien in one-on-one melee combat as quickly as possible, earn a medal, and repeat. Adding confusion to the dull “story” missions is the fact that you can opt to play as one of the Kaiju, the very alien race you’re attempting to eradicate from the planet, and some missions require you to battle other Jaegers (your allies) for no reason. It left me with the impression that this shameless attempt at a plot was simply an afterthought, tacked on for players without Xbox Live Gold. On the other hand, I’m grateful developer Yuke’s Co. sacrificed narrative integrity for a slightly more varied play experience; fighting the same three or four opponents as the same three Jaegers over 25 of these missions would’ve gotten old much faster otherwise.

I’d be selling Pacific Rim short if I said the combat itself isn’t fun when facing a real, live opponent, however. Executing a planned assault he doesn’t see coming is nothing short of satisfying. Although simplistic, the fighting utilizes some clever mechanics that add a dose of strategy to an otherwise-dull affair. Do you alternate punches to bring down both of your opponent’s health bars simultaneously (each mech has two, one for each side), or do you cripple one side before focusing on the other? Every dodge, block, and attack costs you precious energy, turning fights into mini-gambles with every move. These mechanics result in a deliberately slow, calculated brawler that is inviting and accessible. However, the lack of combos, shallow move pool, and sometimes-clunky precision meant I lost interest quickly.

I learned this move from watching the Care Bears.

Customizing your Jaeger is a standard affair, and it's great at giving the illusion that your mech isn’t the same as everyone else’s. By winning matches online, you earn more gear for your mech, which adds a false sense of reward to Pacific Rim. The masked truth, though, is that the vast majority of the upgrades available are passive stat boosts that raise your Jaeger’s overall evaluation, putting you into a higher tier of players. That means matchmaking isn’t based on skill at all, but merely your mech’s stats. In other words, online battles are essentially based on how many experience points two players have rather than their true fighting abilities, leading to some hilariously mismatched bouts.