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Thursday 6 March, 2008
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.
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