No More Heroes (Review)

No More Heroes (Nintendo Wii)

Rated “M” for “Mature”

Welcome to Santa Destroy.

Population: Dwindling.

In “No More Heroes,” you are Otaku turned assassin Travis Touchdown. Your job is to work your way up the ranks to become the number one assassin. And…that’s about it.

Suda 51 makes the life of an assassin fun. The ways in how you kill people in your way are very fluent with the Wii’s controls. Move Travis with the nunchuk and kill with the Wiimote. Even though you press the “A” button to swing your not-at-all-copyrighted-sword, you control whether you swing high or low by how you hold your Wiimote. And to top it all off, you will be prompted to swing your sword in a certain direction to deliver a deathblow to your foe.

There’s also a slot machine that plays after each kill. Like real slots, it’s all luck. Getting 3 of any symbol gives you an added effect ability that increases the fun factor in your assassinations. Who knew Strawberry On The Shortcake would be so unhealthy.

Not only do you inflict pain with your beam saber, but you can utilize a number of wrestling moves. Travis is a wrestling fan. You’ll find various luchador masks that teach you new maneuvers. You can also watch old videos to emulate what you see on TV. The wrestling cues are just like deathblow cues. Thrust your nunchuk and Wiimote as shown and you will drop your opponent to the ground. And for any wrestling fanatics, the directional cues actually feel like the hold you’re performing.

The style of “No More Heroes” is very much like Suda’s “Killer 7.” The game play is totally different, but the art style is the same; straight out of a comic book. Very colorful. Very graphic. Transitions and camera angles are pulled off well and very stylish to fit the theme of the game. The story…well, there’s not much of one. You work your way up to be the number one assassin and that’s what keeps the game going. It follows the same odd story progression of “Killer 7,” but has less of a story AND is less confusing.

This game very much deserves its “M” rating in every way possible. Things are very over-the-top. Cursing, sexual innuendos, the humor…it’s all there. And of course the most notable is the gallons of blood. Hope you like the color red because it explodes with every kill you make.

The few little complaints (short game length, not so clear map display, slow and mundane tasks to earn money) are far outweighed by the good that Suda 51 packs into “No More Heroes.” If you aren’t one for graphic edginess, confusing content, or just killing then this is obviously not for you. For the killers at heart, this game has everything you could want. The action is fast paced leaving you wanting it to never end. The pop culture humor is funny and not overused. The characters you interact with are all unique and over-the-top. It’s all over-the-top and it’s fun. An action filled stress reliever for your inner assassin.

5 out of 5


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