While the movie did OK critically and in ticket sales, the videogame is a complete travesty that perpetuates the awfulness of many movie-based licensed titles. Even if this were a free-to-play title, Pacific Rim wouldn't have an excuse for its poor quality and total lack of enjoyment. And it has no shame in posing as a F2P game, with nearly every imaginable upgrade in weaponry and other elements available to purchase.
In the movie, monsters – known as Kajiu ‑ have awoken from the depths of the oceans, and have decimated mankind in their destructive wake. Huge robots called Jaegers (no, not designed by Mick) were constructed in a last-ditch effort to save humanity from total annihilation. Chock full of fights between huge battling adversaries, the movie was a hit in the theaters. However, the game doesn't focus on any story, just a bare bones mention of it to have an excuse to square off two combatants against each other in a Rock'em Sock'em Robots-style fight until one is KOed.
That might not be too bad except the entire fighting gameplay is repetitive and uninspired, simply a button-mashing exercise that becomes a chore. Beat up one opponent, anther takes its place as you climb the ladder and complete all the "missions" while earning bonuses and upgrades. A few special moves have some appeal, but the rest of the action is a boring exercise in button-pushing monster-mashing. At least the multiplayer saves the gameplay from being totally pointless.
Just as bad are the graphics, which are completely low-end, whether in the many ocean battles or when they come onto landfall. They seem more appropriate visuals on the original Xbox, not on the last remnants of the Xbox 360's lifespan. The Kajiu and Jaegers are representative of their movie inspirations, but not too detailed as one might expect on the Xbox 360.
Surprisingly the fighting controls are decent. Although too many times because of a little too much openness of the game's arenas, gamers can find themselves unleashing a move toward an adversary and missing impact completely because they've been positioned behind or on the side of their fighting foe, rendering the move uselessly ineffective.
Even with the slightest of appeal for its online play, overall tepid gameplay and graphics combine to once again prove the all-too-often bad movie-based videogame cliché and sink Pacific Rim to the ocean's depths.
‑ Lee Cieniawa
The Good:
‑ Has some appeal to anybody that ever enjoyed a round of Rock'em Sock'em Robots
The Bad:
‑ Totally repetitive and uninspired gameplay
‑ Extremely bland visuals and not-well-designed fighting "arenas"
Score: 4.0 / 10
