No More Heroes Review

 

The Nintendo Wii has been shockingly lacking in successful third party titles since its launch.  Despite its continuing popularity, it’s the Zeldas and the Marios that have taken home the plaudits, whilst third party developers have had middling success at best.  Compounded to that is the feeling that the hardcore gamer is being left behind on the Wii–I myself, whilst loving Wii Sports and Mario Galaxy, have bemoaned the lack of quality original IP for adult gamers, many of whom grew up on Nintendo’s offerings. 

I was therefore shocked to hear about No More Heroes, a quirky action/rpg title that featured lighsaber-esque sword play and carried an M rating.  On the Wii?  I thought the only third party titles we were allowed to get were things like Ninja Bread Man…

I picked up the game on Wednesday and have put a few hours into it so far.  Here are my first impressions:

Story

In No More Heroes you take control of Travis Touchdown, a young man who wins a “beam katana” in an online auction, and then when he finds himself low on cash, decides to take up an assassination job from a mysterious woman who works for the group UAA.  After completing the mission, he learns that he is now the #11 ranked assassin, and is a target for other up and comers–if he wants to be the best and make more money, then he can attempt to kill the other ten UAA members and become the #1 ranked assassin in the world. 

The plot and ambiance of the game is decidedly Quentin Tarantino-esque, with a distinct direction that reminds one of Kill Bill or Pulp Fiction.  Travis is cocky, brash, but a little awkward as well, and is good at putting his foot in his mouth on several occasions.

Gameplay

Throughout the game, you control Travis by using the wiimote as your sword.  You can fight via one of two stances (high or low), and which stance you use is determined by how you hold your wiimote.  Pressing A causes Travis to swing his beam katana, and once you’ve whittled your enemy’s health away, you’re prompted to swing your controller in a direction to perform a killing blow.  In addition to this, you can perform certain charge, block and stunning maneuvers, as well as grabbing someone and then giving them a suplex ala Monday Night Raw (I know, this game is weird).

All in all the combat flows incredibly well and is the most enjoyable sword play on the Wii to date.   Lucas Arts should look this game up when they finally get around to making a real Star Wars title for the Wii. 

The general flow of missions can be well paced or boring depending on your tastes–especially the in between jobs that you have to perform to get to the assassination missions.  Before each ranked fight, you’re required to pay the UAA a certain amount of cash, and then deposit it at the ATM.  You also need money to upgrade your clothing, attributes, abilities, and beam katanas, so you’ll end up doing a lot of fetch or random fight quests to open up the main story missions.  One of the lesser jobs involved gathering coconuts, while another had me mowing the grass for money. 

One of the things I don’t like about the game is Travis’ method of transportation–the motorcycle.  It’s the clunkiest piece of junk to control, and you’ll end up crashing into things a lot.  It took what should be an incredibly fun portion of the game (roaming around the open world of the town) and turned it into an absolute chore to get from one point to the other. 

This minor nuisance doesn’t cloud the entire game though, especially the sword play and really fun combat combos you end up creating when surrounded by a gang of hoodlums with various weapons. 

The game also enjoys an altogether differentness that shows itself in rather amusing ways through the game.  For one, you save your game by sitting on the toilet–”a relaxing place of refuge” according to the in game text.  Another one of my favorite moments was when I came to the room right before the first boss fight, my wiimote started vibrating like a cell phone.  I actually thought it was my cell phone for a second.   Then I was almost floored when a voice started coming out of it!  They put the audio for the call through the wiimote, so you literally have to hold it to your ear like a cell phone.  It was a perfect moment, incredibly immersive and yet hysterical in its silliness at the same time.  And that’s basically a good description of the game as a whole.

Graphics

No More Heroes definitely earns its M rating.  You can decapitate enemies and sever their bodies in two, and there are copious amounts of blood when you make a kill.  Again, it’s Tarantino-esque over the top sort of violence.  The overall graphical quality is a step down when coming from playing most of my games on the 360, but it’s got a good aesthetic and as I went deeper into the game I stopped noticing the lesser graphical power of the Wii.

Final Word

This is a really solid title for the Wii and one that I would recommend that you pick up for yourself if you’re an adult Wii owner who’s looking for something different.  It features a fun and quirky story, along with a truly fresh combat system that makes for an enjoyable experience, and one that is easy to jump into if you have a basic video game suite of skills.  Plus fighting with a Beam Katana is hardcore.  I have a feeling that this game will become a big cult classic title, and will have its own little following in the months and years to come. 

If you’re a parent, think twice about getting this game for your child.  It may seem harmless enough, but the language and violence should be more than enough to cause you pause before handing it over to your teenager.  Content wise, it’s about the equivalent of an R-rated action flick, ala Kill Bill–so use your best judgement.