Remember those old beat um ups we all came to love back in the 2D era?
Many of us can remember countless hours spent playing double dragon,
streets of rage, or one of the many batman games released into this
genre. Well, Viewtiful Joe takes that concept with a new a spin and
some very new graphics to deliver a very pleasing package, on that is
both aesthetically pleasing and entertaining.
Viewtiful Joe takes the “beat um up” genre to new heights. It
still retains the basic old school concept most of you are looking for,
move sideways on a screen and fight guys using a punch button, and a
kick button. Two attacking buttons, that’s all. not too hard to grab
the concept of. But this is where Viewtiful Joe separates its self from
the pack with the new VFX powers. Considering the whole game is
supposed to be a movie, these powers are just controlling the camera,
but it doesn’t feel like at all. VFX powers consist of the ability to
slow time, speed up time, and zoom in on your character, each with
their own respective advantages. Slowing time down gives more better
power and reaction time, where as speeding up will cause you to go “red
hot” making you much more effective at taking out grunts. You don’t
start out with these powers immediately, but it doesn’t take much time
at all to unlock them. They also contribute the puzzles thrown through
out the game. The only catch is that you only have a limited amount of
VFX, so you can’t just run through the whole game in slow-mo. All in
all it does make for quite the pleasing set up.
The plot in Viewtiful Joe is good for this genre, and the light
hearted jabs they take at the movie concept in a whole makes for a very
relaxed feel. Essentially, you (Joe) and your girlfriend (Silvia) are
at a movie when you both get sucked in and are separated. Joe meets his
long time movie idol, Captain Blue, and is given super powers. He must
then journey through movie world in order to find Silvia and save her,
much like a hero would.
The controls are superb in Viewtiful Joe. With X and Y as your
only attacking buttons you won’t flustered in the midst of combat.
Slowing time and speeding it up are assigned to L and R respectively
and quickly become like second nature, as does using B to zoom in.
Aside from that, and A as jump, there really isn’t much to tell. It
might take you 30 minutes to feel like a master at these controls,
because they just feel right from the start. This is the way to use a
GameCube controller, and other companies would be wise to pay attention
to it.
The sounds of this game are wonderful. The music has a very
playful almost techno feel to it, and usually fits in with the levels
it’s presented in. The sound effects are also presented beautifully and
spot on with the actions. My only small gripe would be that some of
your sound effects are repeated often, almost too often. I hope you all
get used to hearing “Henshin A Go Go” quite a bit, or just learn to
play flawlessly with out ever running out of VFX power. The sound
effects really are entertaining, so this isn’t THAT big a deal, but
still it deserves noting.
Its hard to describe the replay value of a game like this as it
differs from person to person, but ill try my best. Essentially, most
will find the game entertaining for what its worth, and unlocking a new
character at the end may strive some to replay it. Really, you are only
going to replay this game if you are in the mood for more of this kind
of combat. Many of you might also be discouraged your second time
through, as the second half of this game the bosses get hard, fast.
But, there enough unlockables and the drive to get perfect rankings on
all the levels may be enough for many of you.
The graphics are in a word, stunning. They take cel shading above
and beyond to present you with a spectacular picture. The colors are
vivid and present the feel of the game nicely. The frame rate never
slowed down, or if it did barely enough to notice and in no way enough
to hinder your gameplay in any way. All the enemies were done well and
each attack is as, well, as viewtiful as the next. All in all a very
pleasing package.
While Viewtiful Joe might not seem for you, I can promise you that
this game has a little something to offer just about everyone. I
strongly recommend you pick up a copy ASAP.
