Saturday, July 2, 2011

No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle

Platform: Wii
Genre: Action
Developer: Grasshopper Manufacture
Publisher: Ubisoft
Release: 26 January 2010
Rating: Mature
Price: $12-13

Goichi Suda is the foremost auteur game developer of today. The man is an insane genius, known for occasionally sacrificing fun for the art. While this is not usually the way to go, I have to accept that with Suda, it's certainly worth it to see just what goes through his head. No More Heroes and its sequel can be considered the first time that he was able to find a good balance between the art and the fun. And yes, they are awesome for it.
The first No More Heroes told the story of one Travis Touchdown, a complete nerd who managed to somehow become the eleventh-best hitman in the country. So he decided to take out the ten above him, aiming for the top. Despite being about assassination, the game managed to be hilarious, parodying everything from sandbox video games to anime to life in America. It also constantly poked fun at games that rely on sex or gore to sell, by taking both to a ridiculous level (enemies die with about three gallons of blood spurting out, and sexual innuendo can be found in nearly every line). It was a ton of fun, but way too short, and with a lot of repetitive grind.
No More Heroes 2 removes nearly all of the grind in addition to increasing the length of the game, remedying both issues. It also tweaked many aspects of the combat, making it feel a bit more fluid overall. On the flip-side, while keeping the sense of offbeat humor, it took a turn down gritty and dark, which makes the tone rather inconsistent. When Travis' best friend is murdered, he vows revenge against his killer, and has to climb the ranks again (this time from #51) to get to him. While still not perfect by any means (the two missions played as ally Shinobu include some very awkward platforming), NMH2 is altogether a brilliant example of the hack-and-slash genre, with colorful and cartoony visuals (which purposefully clash with the game's theme), an interesting story, well-executed boss fights, and altogether fun gameplay that manages to use the Wii's control scheme rather well. Check it out if you can. It'll cost $13 for a new copy, or $12 used.
Play, save, and enjoy. See you next week.

--Kotaro

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