NintenGen Review Page

INTRO:

No More Heroes is a game you'll never forget, and there are many reasons why. From the wacky story, the over the top gameplay or just the overall style of the game - No More Heroes will undoubtedly make it's mark on the video game industry.


STORY/INFO:

Travis Touchdown is the kind of character that can fit just about anyone that plays the game. He doesn't say too much, but just enough to be interesting and funny at the same time. After meeting the very sexy Silvia Crystal he decides to join up in a ranking Assassin challenge to fight his way from number 11 all the way to number 1, but little does he know what he got himself into..... You start the game with your trusty Beam Katana Sword (like a Light Saber but not), and in no time you are chopping people in half and lopping heads off with the greatest of ease. No More Heroes gives you the option to go through every move in the beginning of game so you can get a feel of how you'll be killing multiple bad guys at once. The Tutorial helps you just enough at the start but also leaves a lot things open to be learned later in the game.


GAMEPLAY/CONTROL:

The controls in No More Heroes are almost flawless. The combat is the main star of the game since it is so unique in it's approach. Walk or run with the Control Stick on the Nunchuck, Blcok with the Z button, tap the A button to swing your sword or tap the B button to punch and kick. Only when you are at the finish of a combo does an on-screen "motion arrow" show and tell you which way to swing the Wii remote to really punctuate the last hit on an enemy, usually cutting them into pieces. This all works wonderfully together and when you start to get really good later in the game you'll see just how incredibly awesome the gameplay can be..... The other bit of control comes when you are in the open world city "Santa Destroy". You ride a bike from your Motel to various places like missions, clothes stores, upgrade areas and the all important ATM machine. The Bike takes a little time to get used to since the controls don't feel like what you'd expect. The Bike doesn't turn very smooth and has a very stiff feel to it, and when you use the boost it can be easy to run into buildings since the bike is even more uncontrollable during that time. However the Bike doesn't really add much or take anything away from the game, it's sole purpose is to get you from point A to point B and in that sense it gets the job done.



GRAPHICS/SOUND:

The graphics are really a tale of two stories. When you are doing a mission or going through a level on your way to fight a ranked boss the graphics are detailed with great cell-shading, nice textures and colors to go along with a smooth frame rate (for the most part), only when you kill a huge group of bad guys does the game slowdown due to all the hundreds of particles of blood and coins that are flying everywhere on the screen from them. When it's running smooth No More Heroes is at it's best since the style really shows and everything comes together nicely. Then you have the other side of the graphics: the open world environment. Santa Destroy looks muddy and gray, to go along with a very unstable frame rate just about all the time you're in it. The city lacks detail and the people walking around in it are pretty much worthless since you can't talk to them and they don't talk either. You can run them over and they scream, but you can't kill them so they just get up and keep walking after you smashed them with your bike. Very unimaginative, boring and ugly. Thankfully, the city is only there as a means to an end. You do need to search for various things like t-shirts and these Lolikov Balls for powering up Travis, which is why you're in the city for a little longer than you'd like. No More Heroes is such a great game that you'll forget about these issues when its all said and done. The sound is top-notch with great voice work by Travis and the many Bosses in the game. Each character sounds unique even if they only play a short role. The music has a recurring theme through out the game but it's very good, and each Boss fight has it's own great music as well.



REPLAY VALUE/CONCLUSION:

The game has 2 difficulty settings to start with: "Sweet" and "Mild" and if you beat the game another setting will appear called "Bitter" which is extremely difficult. This is a game that you will definitely want to play through at least twice, and you'll see why once you play through it one time. I could see myself playing through this game three or four times easy. The combat is so satisfying and the power-ups keep making you come back to play again that it's difficult to not really enjoy and become very addicted to this game. This is also a game that had no advertising, so it would be a shame if you missed out on this since this is probably the best Mature rated game sine Resident Evil 4 for the Wii. Everyone needs to play No More Heroes to see the uniqueness/wackiness and to enjoy the awesome gameplay for themselves.

Buy this game today!


SCORE:


GAMEPLAY: 10

CONTROL: 9.0

GRAPHICS: 7.0

SOUND: 9.0

REPLAY: 9.5


OVERALL: 9.0

SSX Blur is one of the best games out on the Wii so far and I'm not just saying that. This is not a "Red Steel" type of game that you will either hate or like as others have been saying. In my opinion this game is a finely crafted piece of gaming goodness. EA has gone the extra mile in making the game rewarding, fun and difficult all at the same time. It will have you coming back for more and you will be finding yourself playing this game for hours on end without even knowing it.

The levels are comprised of some old (but still good) areas to snowboard and trick your way down and some new ones. Personally the racing aspect is my least favorite part since you just have to speed your way through the level and not really have to concentrate on tricking. It is fun but not as much fun as doing the tricks and especially the immensely enjoyable Uber Tricks. The game has literally a ton of unlockable content and will keep you playing for hours just to see what you can unlock next. The unlockables range from new characters, new boards, character art and more.

The control for this game has been debated across multiple forums and reviews across the Internet and gaming magazines. This game does require you to learn how to play from scratch. However, I will not mark off points for this game just because there is a learning curve. This is a totally new way to play SSX with the Wii remote and Nunchuck and it works perfectly fine and smooth after patience and practice. Within the first day of owning this title I was performing spins, back flips, grabs and the all important Uber Tricks. The Uber Tricks are what makes the game one of the best snowboarding games you play in a while. Are they hard to perform? At first, yes they are. These tricks are special and you are supposed to be good at the game in order to perform them, its not going to just give the trick to you by you "kinda" making the right gestures with your Wii remote. You will need to get the correct amount of air and then you will also have to perform the trick at the right speed (which you will get a feel for) and make sure you push and hold the A button before you start making the gesture. This is a common mistake in that some have started making the gesture a split second before holding the A button thus making the Uber Trick not work. Also, you will need to make big sweeping type gestures with the Wii remote for the game to recognize what trick you are trying to do. Once you master this system of doing the Uber Tricks, it will open up the entire game to you and you will be the king of the snowhill. You will also not want to stop playing this game once you master the controls.

TIP: Go to one of the Half Pipes and instead of choosing "Continue" choose "Cancel" what this will do is cancel the timed run for the Half Pipe and give you an infinite amount of time to practice Uber Tricks and landing (just double tap the A button for a quick landing). This will make you a pro in no time. You can also practice the Uber Tricks in the option menu to get a good feel for them. Try them for a bit but I suggest going right to the Half Pipe for true practice.

This game has a very good soundtrack only topped by SSX3. Some tracks stand out more than others but as a whole the music is great and fits the action perfectly. The music helps the sense of awe you get when you perform the Uber Tricks as it will change and pull back for great effect.

The graphics are some of the best seen on the Wii yet. Lense flare and Bloom abound all over the place on the characters and levels. The particle system, while subdued, is great too and lights up the screen when it is being used. The snow and weather effects are naturally a star in the show as well with snow covering the riders and blizzards blowing through the air. The entire package is extremely clean and really there is no "fault" you can really see with the look of the game. The framerate drops from 60 fps to 30 fps quite a bit throughout the game, it is noticeable but never hurts game play and never gives you the sense that the game is "chugging along". For the most part the game runs fine and you really shouldn't have a problem with the framerate changes.

In the end, this game is all about quality and fun. Getting that rush you feel while performing the Uber Tricks with the new Wii-only controls is not an experience to be missed. I highly recommend this and in my opinion it is the best thing since Zelda on the Wii since launch day. Buy it, practice it and enjoy the amazing new way to play SSX.

Presentation: 9.0

Graphics: 8.5

Sound: 9.0

Control: 9.0

Replay: 9.5

Overall: 9.0