Maximo vs. Army of Zin

Maximo vs. Army of Zin (Japanese: 魔界英雄記 マキシモ ～マシンモンスターの野望, Hepburn: Makai Eiyūki Makishimo: Mashin Monsutā no Yabō, lit. Records of the Demon World Hero Maximo: Ambition of the Machine Monsters) is an action-adventure game developed and published by Capcom and developed by their US-based Production Studio 8 in 2003 for the PlayStation 2 video game console. This title is a sequel to Maximo: Ghosts to Glory. It is part of the Ghosts 'n Goblins franchise. It was re-released on the PlayStation Network for the PlayStation 3 in Europe on February 15, 2012.

Maximo vs. Army of Zin
European cover art
Developer(s)Capcom Production Studio 8
Publisher(s)Capcom
Director(s)Mark Rogers
Producer(s)Mark Rogers
Designer(s)Scott Rogers
Dave Ralston
Programmer(s)Yoshi Hatano
Keith Weatherly
Narayanan Vaidyanathan
Tetsuya Sakashita
Artist(s)Jonathan Casco
Joe Pearson
Writer(s)Beau Smith
Composer(s)Tommy Tallarico
Cris Leisch
Sam Hulick
Shane Keip
Rob King
Michael Richard Plowman
SeriesGhosts 'n Goblins
Platform(s)PlayStation 2
Release
  • JP: September 18, 2003
  • NA: January 20, 2004
  • EU: February 13, 2004
Genre(s)Action-adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Plot

The story of the game follows on from Maximo: Ghosts to Glory, with Maximo still searching for his lost love, Sophia. He is again accompanied by Grim (a Grim Reaper). However, their search is interrupted as a series of mechanical creatures start to attack villages and slaughter the village folk. These creatures are the Army of Zin, an ancient army powered by lost souls, who were supposedly locked in the vault of Castle Hawkmoor after the last battle with them 500 years ago. However, they are now free, due to the actions of the mysterious warlord, Lord Bane.

Gameplay

Maximo's gameplay is characterized by hack and slash combat and platforming, as well as an armour system where damage is reflected by loss of armour. Maximo begins the game with two levels of armour (full armour sans helmet), and can upgrade to three and four (with helmet and golden armour, respectively). Level one has Maximo reduced to boxer shorts.

Another element of gameplay is the Grim transformation, allowing the player to turn into a Grim Reaper for short periods of time, with the souls gathered from the Army of Zin. Grim is invulnerable, powerful, and a touch faster than Maximo. However, the time spent in this form is limited but can be extended through upgrades.

Maximo also receives bonuses from villagers that he saves from enemies in the game, and these rewards are anything from new armour to a word of advice.

Reception

The game received "favorable" reviews according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[1] GameSpot named Maximo the best PlayStation 2 game of January 2004.[15]

The Times gave it a score of four stars out of five, saying that it "has pace, style and replayability; and if it is not quite as inventive as Ratchet & Clank, what is?"[13] The Village Voice similarly gave it a score of eight out of ten, saying, "It always helps to have a sense of humor when collapsing paradoxes, and this Maximo does not miss."[14] Likewise, Maxim gave it eight out of ten, saying, "It ain’t groundbreaking, but who cares? Drop trou and have some fun!"[16]

References
  1. "Maximo vs Army of Zin for PlayStation 2 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on May 5, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  2. Edge staff (December 2003). "Maximo vs Army of Zin". Edge. No. 130. p. 96.
  3. EGM staff (February 2004). "Maximo Vs. Army of Zin". Electronic Gaming Monthly. No. 175. p. 112. Archived from the original on March 26, 2004. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  4. Bramwell, Tom (January 14, 2004). "Maximo Vs. Army of Zin". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on April 24, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  5. Mason, Lisa (February 2004). "Maximo vs Army of Zin". Game Informer. No. 130. p. 96. Archived from the original on February 8, 2005. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  6. Tokyo Drifter (January 20, 2004). "Maximo vs. Army of Zin Review for PS2 on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on February 9, 2005. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  7. G-Wok (January 2004). "Maximo [vs.] Army of Zin". Game Revolution. Archived from the original on April 29, 2004. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  8. Shoemaker, Brad (January 19, 2004). "Maximo vs. Army of Zin Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on July 13, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  9. Williams, Bryn (January 19, 2004). "GameSpy: Maximo vs. Army of Zin". GameSpy. Archived from the original on May 6, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  10. Bedigian, Louis (January 25, 2004). "Maximo vs. Army of Zin - PS2 - Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on December 30, 2008. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  11. Perry, Douglass C. (January 18, 2004). "Maximo Vs. The Army of Zin [sic]". IGN. Archived from the original on April 19, 2016. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  12. "Maximo Vs. Army of Zin". Official U.S. PlayStation Magazine. February 2004. p. 100.
  13. "Maximo v The Army of Zin [sic]". The Times. March 13, 2004. Archived from the original on June 3, 2015. Retrieved April 16, 2016.(subscription required)
  14. Catucci, Nick (February 3, 2004). "Boyish gladiator, Grim Reaper fight ghosts in the machine". The Village Voice. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
  15. Staff (February 1, 2004). "GameSpot's Month in Review for January 2004". GameSpot. Archived from the original on September 1, 2004.
  16. Porter, Alex (January 21, 2004). "Maximo vs. Army of Zin". Maxim. Archived from the original on April 19, 2004. Retrieved April 16, 2016.
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