|
wolfmanbsam's No More Heroes (Wii)
|
| [March 6, 2008 01:56:01 AM]
|
GAMEPLAY
After an epic clash with the world’s #10 assassin, I was introduced to the pattern of gameplay that would follow for (I assume) the rest of the game. Basically, an agency was setting up these fights between the other ten assassins and I and after each fight, I had to earn money for the next one. When not going into a fight, I could freely drive around the town on a motorcycle in order to go job searching or to buy items and upgrades. After earning enough money for the next fight (by doing anything from lawn mowing to bumping off pizza chain CEOs) I had to go through a level filled with lesser enemies and one boss just like before. I think this system, however repetitive, worked very well. Although going to lawn mowing after taking down a world class assassin is a huge drop in excitement, it is nice to have a break from the constant slew of enemies coming at you.
In fact, doing odd jobs while being a world level assassin just shows what a strange character Travis is. He’s a top killer living in a motel with his kitty and hundreds of anime figurines and keeps his hi-tech, highly destructive, beam katanas in a drawer under his bed. He is a total slob, an incurable nerd, and not very smart, yet he has an ego the size of Jupiter and is going on a massive killing spree just so he can say that he is #1. Despite all of the violence, the game is very clearly comedic. The goofy Travis interacting with cold-blooded assassins and criminal organizations makes for some hilarious scenarios. Even decapitating someone in this game can be funny as they scream “AAAUUGH MY SPLEEN!!!” after their head has already been cut off.
DESIGN
It’s obvious many of the design elements in this game had inspirations. There is the obvious “Star Wars” influence with the beam katana. With influences like that along with professional wrestling, anime, and classic video games, it is quite clear that this game was designed for (and very likely by) fanboys. Visually, the combat looks like anything you would see in an elaborate sword fight from “Star Wars” or “Kill Bill”, Travis makes heavy use of intricate and complicated suplexes, everyone wears over-the-top anime style clothes, and Travis himself is a fanboy (which can easily be seen since his room was designed with lots of posters and more video games and figurines than one would hazard to fit in such a small living space).
The level design stayed pretty diverse despite each level basically being a series of rooms to be cleared of enemies. Each mission took place in a distinct environment with it’s own visual style (I went through a mansion, a stadium, a high school, a movie studio, and a beach). However, what made each level really stand out was the bosses. No two bosses look, behave, talk, or fight alike. One boss was a big beefy man in a superhero suit who fought with lasers and liked to take cheap shots, another was a disgruntled schoolgirl with an old-school katana and an afro who attacked with great agility, and another was an army woman with one leg who would dig holes for me to fall in and then proceeded to toss grenades in before I could climb out. Designing each boss to be completely unique was a great move since the story is essentially about killing each one of them and it makes the player curious about who he is going to be put up against next.
read comments (1)  -
add a comment 
|
| [March 6, 2008 12:52:48 AM]
|
SUMMARY
If “No More Heroes” for the Wii has a genre, then it is whatever Grand Theft Auto is, only with a beam katana (lightsaber) and motion controls. You play as Travis Touchdown, a professional assassin who is ranked #11 of the world’s top killers. Rather than honored, he is infuriated that he is not #1 and sets out to kill the other ten and ascend to “world’s top killer”.
GAMEPLAY
The game immediately launched me into a mission with minimal plot, and an optional tutorial. I discovered right away that this was not the typically cutesy family Wii game. Blood spewed forth from my enemies like geysers as I dismembered them, decapitated them, and cut them clean in half. It was oddly refreshing to have absurd amounts of blood and gore in a Wii game. Especially after having to put up with the happy, magic, shiny, fun-time of Mario Galaxy. Rather than being constantly being surrounded by adorable critters, I was now in a “Kill Bill” type universe where some guy was going down a list of people and turning one after another into high-powered blood fountains.
Another nice deviation from standard Wii games was the absence of abundant reliance on motion controls. I am sure the developers were tempted to have the sword attacks be controlled by “waggling” the remote, but instead they have the basic attacks controlled by a button and reserve motion controls just for the finishing blow or for wrestling moves. Being able to make one big slice with the remote at the end of a combo to watch your enemies explode like water balloons filled with red paint is actually a lot more gratifying than constantly waving around the remote for each hit of the entire combo. Another nice touch is that the remote has to be sliced in a certain direction rather than just nonchalantly flicked just to register a movement.
add a comment
|
|
|
 |
wolfmanbsam's No More Heroes (Wii)
|
|
Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Thursday 6 March, 2008
|
|
