Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner MARS Reviews

Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner MARS is ranked in the 44th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Gamefa
Top Critic
7.5 / 10.0
Mar 18, 2019

The most important thing about Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner MARS is its uniqueness. It is not a regular robotic shooter that we've seen so many of them, but it is a Robothc shooter that Hideo Kojima made it! Some gameplay elements are old and of course it has some problems, but in the end Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner MARS is a valuable game and a good choice to play. If you still didn't played the original game, now it's a good time to experience Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner MARS with high quality and specially with VR.

Review in Persian | Read full review

Oct 31, 2018

Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner Mars gives the PS2 cult classic mech game updated touches like 4K resolution and VR support. If you played the original game, this release is unlikely to change your opinion.

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7 / 10.0
Oct 15, 2018

Surprisingly good remaster of almost forgotten mecha classic with a VR support.

Review in Slovak | Read full review

7 / 10.0
Oct 15, 2018

ZONE OF THE ENDERS: The 2nd Runner – M∀RS is a great experience for gamers who want a good story mixed with mecha features. It gives the original fans a chance to replay the game for the nostalgic experience as well as the ability to obtain some new trophies. New fans can pick this up and play with no knowledge of the previous game, which is always great when only one part of a series is re-released or remastered. However, gamers looking to pick this up for the VR experience may be disappointed with the ‘cinema mode’ cutscenes and the nauseatingly fast movements. Although, you can play through the whole game in full-VR, should you wish to and you have an iron stomach!

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7 / 10.0
Oct 9, 2018

Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner M∀RS is both an antique and gem of its time, and one worth reexamining–especially if you've got a VR headset. But before diving in head first into an Orbital Frame, run a diagnostics on whether you are interested in returning to a PS2 game.

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8 / 10.0
Oct 9, 2018

All in all, Zone of the Enders 2: MARS is a noteworthy port of an excellent game. It has flaws, but almost all of them are also part of the original game. There is more they could have done (including a retranslation and redub), but the visual updates and silky-smooth frame rate alone make it a far better port than the lamentable PS3 Zone of the Enders Collection. Fans of giant robots or fast-paced action should consider Zone of the Enders 2: MARS as a must-buy, and those who loved the original can consider this to be the definitive version.

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Recommended
Sep 30, 2018

The 2nd Runner, as a sequel, builds a lot on its predecessor...But perhaps the simplest place it builds from is in sheer content. The first Zone of the Enders game is, in all honesty, practically a tech demo, with a very short story across only a few areas that mostly look similar. The 2nd Runner, meanwhile, does a lot to improve on that, with more actual story, more things to do, and more places to do them in. It's still a lean game without a lot of sprawl, but it feels like it's actually complete.

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6 / 10
Sep 30, 2018

The game does offer keyboard/mouse controls. However, on top of being convoluted and confusing at first, there is no documentation for it anywhere. Button glyphs and ADA’s voice (Jehuty’s computer voice) all reference the controller only. Tutorials only reference the controller and make no reference to the keyboard/mouse controls, and to top it all off, they can’t be configured.

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Wccftech
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Sep 24, 2018

Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner - M∀RS is still one of the best mecha action games to grace any platform, although the decade and a half since its original release have caused Jehuty to lose some of its luster. While the native 4K60 and PSVR support is a great improvement, some other aspects of the game just feel out of date.

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Ollie Barder
Top Critic
7 / 10.0
Sep 23, 2018

Overall, the standard game is an excellent high-definition remaster and is the best version of the game to date. The VR mode ruins that impressive achievement and is wholly unnecessary. In short, play this for the high definition remaster and give the VR mode a very wide berth.

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6.5 / 10.0
Sep 20, 2018

It's easy for me to understand how Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner captured the attention of players back in the PlayStation 2 era, as it offered, and continues to offer, some gameplay ideas and experiences that still don't exist in abundance to this day. Even back then, however, some of what it does would have been inexcusable to me—and playing the remastered Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner – M∀RS in our modern era, those weaknesses are just too hard to ignore.

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Sep 20, 2018

Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner MARS is a solid remaster with spiffy HD visuals and high-quality audio, but these updates can't cover the fact that it's a PlayStation 2 game at its core.

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6.5 / 10.0
Sep 19, 2018

Beyond the resolution increase, improved audio mix and middling VR, there's really not much to this remaster. The exclusion of the first game also makes recommending last gen's collection easier. If you're a fan of Kojima's mech series, then Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner MARS is worth picking up. It's unlikely to win any new fans though.

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5 / 10
Sep 19, 2018

This second Zone of the Enders remains the charming game that it was but this new version, that can played in VR, brings no added value, not even offering the Japanese VO or subtitles written correctly ...

Review in French | Read full review

80 / 100
Sep 19, 2018

Zone of the Enders: The Second Runner MARS is better recommended to those that have never played the game or want to enjoy its campaign with the VR mode. It is an excellent action game with great combat mechanics.

Review in Portuguese | Read full review

3.5 / 5.0
Sep 18, 2018

It may have a short, nonsensical story and amazingly poor voice-acting and writing, but Second Runner MARS looks great, is fun to play, and adequately fulfills every person’s fantasy of operating a giant robot suit in VR.

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7 / 10.0
Sep 17, 2018

Another great re-release of a fantastic title that is unfortunately held back by the newly added VR mode. As good as the game is, however the package would have been stronger with the addition of the first game,

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4 / 5.0
Sep 17, 2018

Despite its issues I honestly enjoyed my time with Zone of the Enders 2.

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Sep 17, 2018

Perfectly playable in its original third person view or in brand new updated first person VR support, this mecha game is what the Gundams wish they could be.

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70 / 100
Sep 16, 2018