B-Movie monsters clash in new video game

Those 1950s monster B-movies that scared kids out of their socks in darkened theaters across the land are back in a wild new game featuring a gaggle of gorillas and Godzillas.

Incog Inc.'s "War of the Monsters" for Sony and the PlayStation 2 is packed with huge, vicious beasts like Congar, a gigantic gorilla who makes King Kong look like an organ grinder's monkey, and Togera, who could be Godzilla's older, bigger and meaner brother.

There are also huge robots, a monster praying mantis lookalike and Kineticlops, a fearsome one-eyed creature of pure crackling energy. Each of these nightmares features its own special attack -- and a fascination with redecorating entire cities by turning them into smoking rubble.

Sony's developer really got into the Cold War movie frenzy, with posters done in 1950s style advertising fake movies such as "Outpost X" for you to watch while the game loads.

The creatures battle by picking up cars and trucks and throwing them at each other, or by knocking down every building in town as they battle across 13 cityscapes.

A drawback is that each monster works pretty much like every other monster. While their special moves and attacks are different, the commands are interchangeable, so learning the game is pretty easy.

The multiplayer mode would be better if it allowed four players to fight instead of just two. Maybe next time.

A round of applause for the battlefields. They are splendid, full of fabulous detail and a gorgeous palette of colors for your surroundings and the battling beasts.

Graphics get an A. Lush detail, gorgeous colors, the ability to destroy virtually everything you see, and amazingly varied monsters make for a great-looking game.

Sound gets a B. Effects are solid, and the music, which recalls the B-movie themes of the past, is terrific.

Control gets a B. The button scheme is simple to catch on to, and the same buttons control both long-range power weapons and close-in hand to hand -- or claw to claw -- fighting.

"War of the Monsters" gets a B. It isn't perfect, but it's a great way to hone your combat skills in case those aliens return.