I WANNA BE THE DRAGON!
You can play as any monster, except two which need to be unlocked by completing the tacked on story mode. Not to say the story mode is bad, it just feels like any other part of the game, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. You basically jump around cities, fighting other monsters, using either a range of combos at your disposal, or grabbing a handy piece of a building and smack the licing daylights out of any poor unfortunate monster that gets in your way. This seems like it'd get old fast, and for a bit it does, but where the game really shines is it's deathmatch mode, which can be set to unlimited kills and unlimited time. The levels are completely destructible, which makes for some insane fun, and innovative ways to be the best monster you can be. Most of the monsters you'll play as are based on movie monsters, or take a thing no one likes when it's small, and make it big. There's a monkey, a lizard, an electro dude, a rock monster, and a few others, each with unlockable costumes. The costumes don't give you any advantage, but you'll appreciate the detail in some of them. The sound is great, with screams and yelling from the people below, and monsters roaring, AND buldings crumbling as you smash another monster through it without hesitiation. The game can be played two player, and the screen divides in half vertically, which suits the game well, and when the two players get close to each other, the screen moulds together, and it looks like a scene from an old monster cross-over movie, as you and a buddy battle it out on top of a nuclear reactor, or a hotel, or a volcano. The levels are great, and provide enough differences to keep it fresh. Each levels has a secret which can turn the tide of the battle, so keep your eyes out for anything weird, or anything that looks surprisingly like a button.
The game can become a little bit repetitive after a while, as most games do, but if you play with mates, it will last a little longer. The music is based on all that old monster movie music, and though it's cool at first, it can become a bit repetitive. But, it's nice and quiet, so between the roaring, screaming, yelling, honking, smashing, kabooming, and explosions, you won't hear it too much, but you still know it's there, like an itch on the INSIDE of your nose which you can't scratch until you have completed your speech.
All in all, War of the Monsters is a fun PS2 title while it lasts, and if you miss it, it isn't the end of the world, but I recommend getting it.