AlucardsFate
04-14-2011, 04:22 AM
Episode #70: All My Heroes Have Now Become...Awesome?
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v180/G-Prime/Reviews%20Redux/Boxshots/600full-no-more-heroes-2-desperate-struggle-cover.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v180/G-Prime/Reviews%20Redux/Scores/95.png
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle (Wii)
What's Good: Amazing sense of humor, great boss fights and secondary characters, streamlined interface, Charming 8-Bit mini games, same fun gorefest combat, Shinobu is a lot of fun...
What's Bad: Shinobu is possibly more fun then Travis. It still can get repetitive like the first game. Leaves possible new players in the dust plotwise.
We're Number One!
I loved No More Heroes. I bought it on release day I was so excited for it. And it turned out to be a great game. (Which I did review some time ago on 1up.) But being a great Wii game, it is typically one the fanboys for the other consoles pretend doesn't exist so they can say "THE WII SUXORZ CUZ NO GAMES. " While it was great, it did have a few issues. Namely the open world nature of it was wasted when you realized there was very little to do aside from shop and do side missions. You spent all that time going back and forth on your motorcycle for no reason. The mission structure got a bit redundant as well. No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle addressees these issues with pretty stellar results.
NMH2 naturally picks up somewhere after the first game left off, Travis has risen to the top of the Assassin's League. In the aftermath, Assassin fights have become big business in Santa Destroy, the local spectator sport that everyone wants to take a part in. And during a prologue that you play, (That I won't spoil) Travis' second ascension up the ladder is set up for an entirely new reason. My only issue with this setup, it doesn't seem to give anyone who may be coming in for the first time enough to go on in terms of the plot. Some of your old friends are back in various places and as with the first game, the voice acting and dialogue are top notch and quite hilarious. But NMH2 ratchets up the insanity to 11 to keep the laughs coming for the entire game.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v180/G-Prime/Reviews%20Redux/screens/no-more-heroes-2-nmh2064.jpg
Why do I keep trusting her!? ...Oh yeah, the boobs...
Kill Bill,Margret,Charlie...and Alice.
At it's core, NMH2 plays almost exactly like the first game. You grab your beam saber, and run around mercilessly slaughtering those unfortunate enough to cross you. The combat is almost identical, with a few new moves added to your repertoire. You swing with A and swing the remote to execute a goretastic finisher to cut your opponent into bloody chunks of human paste. (It should be noted that NMH2 offers you the ability to use a classic controller if you so choose. If you don't like simple motion control movements) There are a few different sabers to equip to switch up your fighting style, though once you get the dual sabers there is no reason to use the others. That's all there really is to the combat, and it occasionally can feel repetitive in the longer stages, though they break this up by giving you a small variety of stage types (A Metal Gear inspired stage even) and giving you control of Shinobu in the middle of the game. She is a blast and does play a bit differently from Travis. (She can jump!) But the bosses are really why your here. NMH2 gives you a great roster of baddies to vanquish, who are entertaining in their own various ways. (Though Margaret Moonlight and her fight music "Philistine" outshine everyone else) But this is definitely the kind of game you play to see just what wacky new character pops up next. And you are never disappointed.
But when you aren't fighting, what are you doing? Well like the first game you enjoy mini-games which you earn money during to pay for your battles and to shop for new weapons/clothes/upgrades/etc. (Clothes whores like me have a blast here) But the interface is far simpler. No more back and and forth pointless motorcycling, you just leave your apartment and select where you want to go on a city map. The mini-games mostly take the form of charming little 8-Bit play and forget games. Everything from pipe themed puzzle game (Thing a slowed down version of Bioshock's hacking game, in 8Bits) to a Pizza Delivery game akin to the classic racer Pole Position. (Only with traffic) Even your upgrades via the gym take place in 8-Bit sparring sessions with your rather...interesting trainer. Luckily the amount of money you get for these is based on performance but you still get a decent amount if you are only a mediocre player, so you aren't repeating games TOO often unless you want to buy more shirts. It's a far cry of the constant replays in the first game. It's simpler and more effective, the way a sequel should be.
Don't Worry Xbot, It Isn't Real!
In the Wii's nice roster of games, No More Heroes 2 ranks among the very best. It's a great looking, humorous, fun title from beginning to end. Though I worry it will get forgotten in the future when most people look back, (especially those who don't own a Wii) especially in the sea of Triple-A Nintendo developed titles. (Anything named Mario, Donkey Kong or Zelda) But I hear it's getting a PS3 upgrade right? I suppose that's something to give this game the attention it deserves.
Next Time: "AlucardsFate Enters The Danger Zone!"
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v180/G-Prime/Reviews%20Redux/Boxshots/600full-no-more-heroes-2-desperate-struggle-cover.jpghttp://img.photobucket.com/albums/v180/G-Prime/Reviews%20Redux/Scores/95.png
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle (Wii)
What's Good: Amazing sense of humor, great boss fights and secondary characters, streamlined interface, Charming 8-Bit mini games, same fun gorefest combat, Shinobu is a lot of fun...
What's Bad: Shinobu is possibly more fun then Travis. It still can get repetitive like the first game. Leaves possible new players in the dust plotwise.
We're Number One!
I loved No More Heroes. I bought it on release day I was so excited for it. And it turned out to be a great game. (Which I did review some time ago on 1up.) But being a great Wii game, it is typically one the fanboys for the other consoles pretend doesn't exist so they can say "THE WII SUXORZ CUZ NO GAMES. " While it was great, it did have a few issues. Namely the open world nature of it was wasted when you realized there was very little to do aside from shop and do side missions. You spent all that time going back and forth on your motorcycle for no reason. The mission structure got a bit redundant as well. No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle addressees these issues with pretty stellar results.
NMH2 naturally picks up somewhere after the first game left off, Travis has risen to the top of the Assassin's League. In the aftermath, Assassin fights have become big business in Santa Destroy, the local spectator sport that everyone wants to take a part in. And during a prologue that you play, (That I won't spoil) Travis' second ascension up the ladder is set up for an entirely new reason. My only issue with this setup, it doesn't seem to give anyone who may be coming in for the first time enough to go on in terms of the plot. Some of your old friends are back in various places and as with the first game, the voice acting and dialogue are top notch and quite hilarious. But NMH2 ratchets up the insanity to 11 to keep the laughs coming for the entire game.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v180/G-Prime/Reviews%20Redux/screens/no-more-heroes-2-nmh2064.jpg
Why do I keep trusting her!? ...Oh yeah, the boobs...
Kill Bill,Margret,Charlie...and Alice.
At it's core, NMH2 plays almost exactly like the first game. You grab your beam saber, and run around mercilessly slaughtering those unfortunate enough to cross you. The combat is almost identical, with a few new moves added to your repertoire. You swing with A and swing the remote to execute a goretastic finisher to cut your opponent into bloody chunks of human paste. (It should be noted that NMH2 offers you the ability to use a classic controller if you so choose. If you don't like simple motion control movements) There are a few different sabers to equip to switch up your fighting style, though once you get the dual sabers there is no reason to use the others. That's all there really is to the combat, and it occasionally can feel repetitive in the longer stages, though they break this up by giving you a small variety of stage types (A Metal Gear inspired stage even) and giving you control of Shinobu in the middle of the game. She is a blast and does play a bit differently from Travis. (She can jump!) But the bosses are really why your here. NMH2 gives you a great roster of baddies to vanquish, who are entertaining in their own various ways. (Though Margaret Moonlight and her fight music "Philistine" outshine everyone else) But this is definitely the kind of game you play to see just what wacky new character pops up next. And you are never disappointed.
But when you aren't fighting, what are you doing? Well like the first game you enjoy mini-games which you earn money during to pay for your battles and to shop for new weapons/clothes/upgrades/etc. (Clothes whores like me have a blast here) But the interface is far simpler. No more back and and forth pointless motorcycling, you just leave your apartment and select where you want to go on a city map. The mini-games mostly take the form of charming little 8-Bit play and forget games. Everything from pipe themed puzzle game (Thing a slowed down version of Bioshock's hacking game, in 8Bits) to a Pizza Delivery game akin to the classic racer Pole Position. (Only with traffic) Even your upgrades via the gym take place in 8-Bit sparring sessions with your rather...interesting trainer. Luckily the amount of money you get for these is based on performance but you still get a decent amount if you are only a mediocre player, so you aren't repeating games TOO often unless you want to buy more shirts. It's a far cry of the constant replays in the first game. It's simpler and more effective, the way a sequel should be.
Don't Worry Xbot, It Isn't Real!
In the Wii's nice roster of games, No More Heroes 2 ranks among the very best. It's a great looking, humorous, fun title from beginning to end. Though I worry it will get forgotten in the future when most people look back, (especially those who don't own a Wii) especially in the sea of Triple-A Nintendo developed titles. (Anything named Mario, Donkey Kong or Zelda) But I hear it's getting a PS3 upgrade right? I suppose that's something to give this game the attention it deserves.
Next Time: "AlucardsFate Enters The Danger Zone!"