Violence doesn’t seem to be the Wii’s biggest strength. I agree that it’s supposed to be a fun family console that everyone can play, though they should think about expanding their library of games and stop making crummy third party games. I think they finally got it with No More Heroes, a M-rated action game that’s filled to the brim with violence. So, is there enough to keep fans happy? Or is it actually toned down more than we think?
You start off as Travis Touchdown. He is the most odd and unusual hero I have ever seen for a game. He is basically a 20-something-year-old anime-loving, Mexican wrestling fanatic, who has gotten himself into the Top 11 assassins in the world. It is his job to take down the other 10 to become Number 1, so basically, it isn’t as much revenge as it is just about being the best of the best.
This game was made by Grasshopper Manufacturer, which is mostly known for creative cel-shaded comic book-like games like Killer 7. They are also known for games such as The Silver Case, Shining Soul 1 and 2, Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked, and Blood+ One Night Kiss. They have always had a certain art style, which makes the game unique and nice-looking. Everyone seems to be out of a comic book of some sorts.
Let’s get into the game play though, shall we?
The game play is of a free roaming action game where you control Travis, who wields a beam saber-like weapon and uses it to cut down on his competition. You basically go through the game in this procedure.
1. Find out who your target is
2. Sign up for a match with him.
3. Get the cash to pay for the sign-up.
4. Go to where he or she is.
5. Beat the ever-loving snot out of the goons.
6. Fight the main boss and go up a rank
Since Travis has a hole in his pocket, you have to take up small-time jobs, like cutting grass, filling up gas, and taking scorpion off some property. It gives you multiple jobs to do that don’t last long, but it helps you out in more ways than one. After killing one of the assassin, you can always train more and learn new moves. You can also buy upgrades for your beam weapon. You can also cruise around the city that the whole game takes place in, on a cool anime-looking motorcycle-like vehicle. It kind of reminds me of that R-rated anime movie, Akira. So, basically think of the vehicle you drive as one of the motorcycles the characters ride in Akira.
The graphics have a certain charm to them. It’s kind of a cel-shaded comic book-look, combined with characters that seem to be from some anime, like Trigun or Outlaw Star. Travis himself is just a complete oddball. He seems like a normal person and not some trained assassin, but the bosses are no slack. They range from British giant sword-wielding metal artist, a white afro samurai schoolgirl, an American-looking superhero, and even a Texan-like sharp shooter. I think it helps when the whole cast of characters have great voice actors. For example, Travis is voiced by Robin Atkin Downes who has done voices for characters like Luxord from Kingdom Hearts 2, the Gentlemen Ghost from Justice League Unlimited, and Moon Knight in Spiderman: Web of Shadows to name a few. You also get voice actors like Richard McGonagle, who did Grevious from the Star Wars: Clone Wars mini series, Josh Keaton who did young Ocelot from Metal Gear Solid 3, and Kim Mai who does Mei Ling’s voice for the Metal Gear Solid series, just to name a few of the talented actors that are in the game. I wouldn’t have been surprised if there was some sort of anime being made after this game or something. The music is also fitting to the odd and interesting world. Everything in this game doesn’t go by any logic whatsoever. It’s simple, fun, and interesting to play.
There are some faults that I think could have been corrected that would have made this a better game. The small mini-jobs are just repetitive and boring. I mean, yeah, it’s fun chopping people up into bits, but I wish there were more varieties in the jobs you accomplish. The camera could have been better, also. Sometimes, I got my butt kicked because I couldn’t see where the attack was coming from.
Overall, I really enjoyed this game. At first, I as a little annoyed since it reminded me of Grand Theft Auto, but after playing it, I think it’s better than that. It’s a simple game that I would highly recommend buying. Hopefully, we get more awesomely funny stuff for the sequel, No More Heroes Desperate Struggle.
This game gets an 8 out of 10
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