As trash film aficionados are likely well aware, Godzilla is back. What they might not know is that he’s not going to be satisfied trashing Tokyo tower for the 10,000^th time – no, the big G is coming to the GameCube, and he’s bringing a whole lot of destruction with him. And yes, we mean the real Godzilla, that old faithful of cheesy Toho rubber monster flicks of the 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s, not that cheesy Jurassic Park knockoff Sony saw fit to foist on an unwilling public a few years back (and for this, we can only express our eternal gratitude to the otherwise fickle and generally disagreeable filmgoing public).

To aid Godzilla in his rampaging orgy of destruction (not that he needs any assistance, mind you), or at least coming along for the ride, are a few Saturday matinee favorites: Mecha-Godzilla, King Ghidorah and Mothra are all here, along with numerous other giant-sized costars who shared the silver screen with the Big G at some small juncture of his long and indisputably brilliant film career. (OK, so I’m being sarcastic. I’d still rather watch Dagora the Space Monster than crap like Scream, any day). Fourteen playable characters in all are waiting to be unearthed in Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee.

Godzilla and his pals will be able to duke it out in such offbeat locations as San Francisco (the big G should give "good vibrations" a whole new meaning!), Seattle (please, find all the grunge bands…and take our vengeance for the early 90’s!), (surprise) Tokyo, and that popular vacation hotspot, Monster Island. There will be a total of 10 stages of standard gameplay. Naturally, there are some hidden stages to unlock. The stages have been done in 3D, with a few undisclosed "special touches" to make it feel more like a Godzilla film. The environments include buildings to be destroyed (what, ANOTHER Home Depot? CRUNCH), cars and trucks futilely trying to escape the mayhem (take that, you minivan driving clown!), fleeing civilians (hey…is that a Baby Gap over there? Oops, sorry, it was Godzilla’s FOOT!), even functioning traffic lights. The destruction you cause in each stage serves more purpose than mere catharsis – debris, rubble and detritus can be used as weapons to throw against either your opponent or other buildings to induce their collapse. The army will also be there in their usual, generally helpful way. In typical "shoot first, ask questions later" mode, they will only attack the monster causing the most damage to the buildings and stage. So if you’re smart, you can use your enemies against each other - throw your opponent into the building and the army will help you out.

No fighting game would be complete without combo systems and "special" attacks. Just at a guess, Godzilla should most likely be able to breathe fire (duh) and the other monsters, attacks unique to their respective screen personae. Power-ups are scattered throughout the game, appearing in such places as buildings you’ve destroyed.

Godzilla: Destroy All Monsters Melee will feature a four player mode along the lines of Super Smash Bros. Melee. Here you and three friends can fight it out to see which monster reigns supreme. Of course, there is also a single player mode for the friendless.…or…for when your friends have gone home and you just want to cause a little devastation (…yeah, that’s the ticket). One of the more intellectual portions of the game is the Destruction Mode. Here players compete to see who can cause the most destruction in a given amount of time. Survival and Practice modes are also included.

Fans of the Godzilla series will have to wait until this fall for their chance to kick some ass Godzilla style. My only regret is that Toho rival Daiei’s flying turtle Gamera can’t be a part of the game. Who, I ask, will the children have to defend them now?

Infogrames will bring the noise to our shores this fall, playing at a Gamecube near you.

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