tgahr3's Full Review: No More Heroes for Nintendo Wii
Background No More Heroes is a Mature-rated (17 ) action game exclusive to the Wii from developer Suda 51 and his company Grasshopper Manufacture. Taking its title from a classic song/album by the Stranglers, No More Heroes attempts to be a "punk game", incorporating the attitude, style, and humor of punk music.
Story You play as Travis Touchdown, a violent but likeable anime-and-wrestling-obsessed outcast who dreams of becoming the top assassin in the world because (in his own words) he "met this smokin' hot chick at the deathmatch bar last night." Travis speaks directly to the player during the movie-style opening credits, even warning that his game might "totally suck." The rest of the game is presented in chapters where each section contains one of the ten eclectic assassins Travis will face on his road to the top. Obviously the story isn't meant to be believable. In fact, the plot seems completely aware that it could exist only in a video game. The moronic, unnecessarily violent actions of the characters actually provide a surprisingly intelligent and humorous look at video game culture in general. Without spoiling too much, I'd have to say one of my favorite parts of the game is when, on a long subway ride to meet the next assassin, Travis pulls out a Gameboy and a minigame begins. The violence is juxtaposed with the mundane: to make money between missions, the player is given the option of decapitating a roomful of enemies or mowing the lawn. Yes, there are few awkward lines of dialogue or things that don't make sense and aren't especially funny. These, however, are not enough to take away from the parts of the game the are brilliant. And if punk rock has taught us anything, it's that more polish doesn't always make better music.
Gameplay There are two main "modes" of playing in the game: combat and the overworld. Basically, you spend time taking jobs (mini-games that typically use Wii remote functions) and exploring the overworld city of Santa Destroy on a motorcycle-like contraption until you have enough money to take on the next assassin. On the assassin levels, Travis walks around with his "beam katana" (i.e. a Lightsaber with the name changed for copyright reasons) slicing up hordes of enemies until it's time for the boss. One of the biggest complaints about No More Heroeshas been the dull overworld. This is a valid concern--aside from a few collectible items and some money the overworld is pretty barren. Most of your time there is spent simply travelling from place to place on the aforementioned motorcycle, which isn't all that responsive or fun to drive. Again, this isn't a deal-breaking issue. The city isn't that large, so trekking from one side to the other isn't nearly as time-consuming as, for example, the sailing in Windwaker. And there are a few fun things to do: dumpster-diving for T-shirts is always a good time. Actually, being able to change Travis's clothes is one of most inexplicably fun parts of the game. Want to wear white pants and pink Aviator sunglasses into battle? Go ahead. How about a jacket with a giant tiger on the back? How about T-shirts about fake bands or fake anime shows or even fake school fencing teams? The developers obviously put a lot of time into this feature and the results are hilarious. Now for the combat. It's actually pretty simple. All you do is press the A button for basic swipes and swing the remote for finishing moves. There's a bit more to it than that, but you get the basic idea. How you hold the remote determines whether you hit high or low. Run out of battery and you have to shake the remote to "recharge" while Travis makes a gesture you will only find in an M-rated game. Again, a complaint against the game is that the combat gets repetitive. I disagree. There's something immensely satisfying about swinging the remote for the finishing move. The enemies add new tactics such as guns and different bludgeoning weapons to their arsenal. On top of that, you get to upgrade your sword and your character with new attributes and abilities to keep things fresh. The one problem I will concede is that as you progress through the game, the difficulty of the levels before the bosses is inconsistent. The bosses themselves, however, manage to increase their difficulty at a nice curve.
Sound Some of the best sound on the Wii. The voice acting for the cutscenes is well done and adds a lot to the overall presentation. Shop-owners across Santa Destroy are less impressively voiced with their catch phrases that come out garbled and almost impossible to understand, but I found these kind of funny. The game also makes great use of the speaker on the Wii remote, turning it into a phone. As for music, the most memorable part for me is the guitar flourishes during the loading scene. Then there's that one oddly catchy, indecipherable Europop-esque song that shows up in random places like shops and at a dance club. Travis's hotel room also has good theme music. Overall, the music is done well.
Graphics If you've seen the screenshots, you know this game is cel-shaded. That can be a good thing or a bad thing, but I like the effect it gives here. It's cartoonish without being childish. The character models are interesting. Again, the main problem is the drab and unexciting appearance of Santa Destroy.Technically, they probably aren't the most advanced, but I don't really know or care about the technical aspect of the graphics for this to sway me.
Overall This game sets ambitious ambitious goals and meets them. One of the most unique games on a system that prides itself with innovation.
Using the unique characteristics of Nintendo Wii, No More Heroes will offer an exhilarating action experience, a thrilling scenario written by Suda51,...More at eBay
Help people in fixing things (repair piping, build and clean up the city) Collect awards and tools Customize your vehicle - change the wheels, the hoo...More at Amazon Marketplace
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