When the king of monsters sprang to life in 1954, he stood tall as a terrifying lesson about the dangers of atomic energy. These days the radioactive dino is still trying to live down getting his butt kicked by Matthew Broderick. Thankfully, Destroy All Monsters Melee returns us to old-skool Godzilla, pitting him against famous archenemies such as King Ghidorah, Mecha Godzilla and Gigan.

Anyone looking for a serious beat-'em-up won't find it here. Instead, you have four monsters beating the scales off one another in various real-life cities. Fists and tails swing in all directions, and each character has a rage bar that charges up and allows you to pull off a special atomic attack. Godzilla breathes brightly coloured radioactive fire while other monsters hit you with a triple-header of lightning beams. These radioactive strikes look cool, especially when they launch another monster flying skyward. Unfortunately, there's nothing special about the other attacks on offer. Bland punches and kicks make up most characters' repertoires and the combos consist of a maximum of three or four hits, executed by hitting one button repeatedly.

You'll often find that the monstrous rampage soon becomes much too scrappy and hectic. Because everyone is hammering away at each other, you'll have to rely on button bashing rather than skill. It's not so bad when you're battling three friends because you're all tied up in the same comical situation, but against computer-controlled foes it's not nearly as entertaining.

The dinos are extremely detailed but have so many pointy edges they end up looking a bit blocky. They really sound the part though, with all the squawks and roars recreated perfectly from the original movies. Another attraction is that the cities are totally destructible. You can tear down the Empire State Building or even rip up Big Ben, slinging lumps of concrete into your enemy's face. Destruction mode is a single-player game dedicated to causing the most city-wide damage in the shortest time. And if you tire of trashing the same old skyscrapers, you can hook up to Xbox Live and download new arenas and monsters, including the mighty Mecha Godzilla 3.

The tiny tanks and flying saucers that shoot you with rockets and freeze rays are cool little additions. It gets a bit irritating when they focus all their attacks on a particular player, though. You might also be frustrated by the lack of commentary. We could just imagine a Japanese TV reporter shouting "Godzilla is coming!" as the fight rages on. It's a shame we can't get excited enough about Destroy All Monsters Melee to do the same ourselves.

1. The best Godzilla game to date.
2. Multiplayer laughs
3. Xbox Live enabled.

1. Button bashing
2. Disappointing graphics
3. Confusing at times!

Power
The monsters are very deailed and the laser beams are extremely cool.

Style
More roars and shrieks than you can shake your radioactive tail at. Godilla's "Skreeoonk!" is spot on.

Immersion
Limited combos and basic moves encourage too much button-bashing and not enough skill.

Lifespan
Long-term laughs in multiplayer but single player is less addictive. Xbox Live content is a welcome addition.

Summary
Not your thing if you're looking for a hardcore beat-'em-up, but still a fun masher. Especially good for fans of the films.