Bandai Namco Games’ Godzilla isn’t tied to the recent film reboot, nor is it aimed at a casual action-game audience. The PS3 and PS4 entry, previously announced for release in Japan, is a lore-filled love letter to the King of Monsters' most passionate fans.

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Bandai Namco's Director of Marketing Brian Hong explained that the title is focusing as much on the franchise’s rich history as it is its scaly star’s ability to barbeque enemies with his breath. “It’s not just about Godzilla rampaging all the time. There’s a lot of historical lore and story elements, and we try to shed some light on that," he said.Among this fan-servicing content is a deeper look at some of the series' other iconic monsters. Mothra, Mechagodzilla, King Ghidorah, Rodan, and even Jet Jaguar will be represented, but not just as fodder for Godzilla’s monster-mashing skills. Both cutscenes and in-game action will be leveraged to offer some background on the Godzilla's friends and foes. Mothra, for example, is introduced as she was in her film debut, emerging from a blue alien egg as a benevolent force spitting silk as a means of defense rather than aggression.Different versions of the towering beast can also be unleashed throughout the 20-stage story mode. Versions of Hollywood, Heisei, and Fire Godzilla will all be on hand to tear Tokyo a new one. In an especially nice nod to Godzilla's nearly 30-film history, fans will also be able to tweak the game’s camera to experience certain scenes the way they played out in their respective movies. A diorama mode will also let players position and photograph the big guy in action.While all the history, lore, and fan-pleasing extras are appreciated, Godzilla is still, at its heart, a game about stomping on stuff as a monster that uses skyscrapers like toothpicks. Unfolding in a military-occupied industrial complex, I was tasked with causing as much destruction as possible. Helpful “destruction ratio” and “disaster level” meters even let me know how I was doing.Destroying stuff brings more military bad guys -- by both ground and air -- but also accrues valuable “G-Energy,” which increases Godzilla’s ability to turn towering structures to dust. In addition to increasing his already menacing size -- from 50 meters all the way up to 100 -- breaking buildings and chomping on bad guys also fuels his atomic breath, an especially effective power represented by a blue stream of death shooting from his maw. As expected, the big G can also grab, bite, roar, and attack to the pants-soiling detriment of his targets. Despite his ample arsenal, though, Godzilla doesn’t feel overpowered, mostly because there are so many things attacking him. His intentionally tank-like movement keeps him from ever becoming a rampaging beast.On top of encouraging me to unleash plenty of generalized damage and chaos, my demo put a few specific objectives in my path. The first, a trio of power reactors, had to be destroyed before the mission was complete, while the second introduced Godzilla's approach to boss battles Midway through the level I tangoed with the “Super X,” a flying saucer-like military craft that went down relatively quickly with a few extended puffs of Godzilla’s bad breath.The next encounter, with King Ghidorah, however, had me calling on the combined force of all Godzilla’s powers and abilities. A satisfying monster-on-monster match, my bout with the three-headed beast left me dead three times before I managed to best the big bad. This extended fight also hinted at what the game’s promising King of the Monsters mode -- a gauntlet of consecutive boss battles -- might feel like.I would’ve liked to see more of Godzilla’s roots-respecting side, as most of the iconic monster’s previous games have shelved his rich history in favor of delivering mindless action-game fare. If that aspect comes together as promised, though, and it's organically woven into the satisfying monster-mashing I experienced, the King of Monsters may finally enjoy a comeback on game consoles.

Freelance writer Matt Cabral isn’t afraid of Godzilla, but he still has nightmares about the franchise's Matthew Broderick-starring 1998 film reboot. Follow him on Twitter @gamegoat.