10,000 Hits Later

Despite the fact this event is due to people looking for Final Fantasy XIII pics, a milestone is a milestone. So I will say it to make it official:

Full Metal Pen has over 10,000 hits. I’d like to thank everyone who reads this blog or just randomly visits looking for a nice pic.

The video speaks for itself, so please enjoy.

If I’m feeling generous, I may make an Adult Only post at some point soon.

No More Heroes: A postmodern head trip through life, death and Santa Destroy

I would like to open this review with a quick explanation of the format these articles are going to follow. Each review will contain six sections. The first section is Statistics, it just contains information about the game you need to know, format, release date etc. The second section is Summary, and will take the form of a quick explanation of the game being reviewed. After that is Presentation, which will comprise an assessment of the game’s graphical and design qualities. It covers everything the game provides visually. The fourth section, logically, is Sound, and that will cover the game’s aural achievements. The fifth section, is Gameplay, and this is where I will explain the game’s mechanics. It is more than merely describing how the game plays, but also assessing how effective the game’s mechanical flow is. The final section is the Verdict, which unsurprisingly, is were the final assessment of the game is made. Screenshots will be strewn throughout, and I have chosen not to provide any kind of score based analysis. My words will contain all the information you need.

 

If I gain any regular readership, this is what to expect from these reviews. Thanks for your time, now onto what you have been waiting for.

 

 

The Stats

 

Title: No More Heroes

Genre: Action/Adventure

Format: Wii

Release: Japan: November 2007, US: November 2007, Europe: March 2008

 

Summary

 

No More Heroes is the recently released second game from legendary games designer Suda51, who’s previous credits include “Killer7”, “Flower, Sun & Rain”, “The Silver Case”, and the “Fire Pro Wrestling” series. The game saw a muted release in Japan, selling less than half the shipped amount of copies, and has also been the victim of controversy based on European publisher Red Star Games’ decision to cut the game’s blood content.

 

So there is no lack of notoriety for a game that in some ways is out to shock. Which is no surprise, given the content of it’s predecessor Killer7, which was a deeply artistic and disturbing opus. The player takes control of Travis Touchdown, a geeky Otaku with a deep desire to be the best… and to sleep with a hot chick he met at the bar one night. She offers him a shot at both, but he must defeat the top ten assassins of the world in an organised contest, pitting sicko versus psycho, that kind of thing. The contest is held in various locations around Travis’ hometown of Santa Destroy, and he must earn the money to pay for each organised battle, heading for the promised land that being number one assures him. But, will Travis truly find what he desires? The game’s narrative is more complex than at first glance, and I will not spoil anything, but as to be expected from Suda51, things in Santa Destroy are not what they first seem, and Travis will suffer that fact through his battles.

 

Presentation:

 

I’ll be honest and cut to the chase. No More Heroes is technically not very impressive. It is rendered in a similar style to Killer7, however, perhaps it was Killer7’s minimal approach to it’s environments or perhaps the initial reaction it was able to generate on being the first game to have this odd, anime faux noir look, but No More Heroes is noticeably blocky and even ugly at times. The whole of Santa Destroy is rendered as one location in the game, being that the game’s structure dictates it, and driving through Santa Destroy on Travis’ motorbike is an exercise in highly noticeable popup, and nor is there a great frame rate. The character models of random citizens wandering the streets are also very, very basic.

It is just as well then that the game saves some horsepower for keeping its highly energetic combat running at a consistent frame rate, and also ensuring that the models for the important characters look above average. In this instance, Suda’s idiosyncratic design shines through to provide visually striking characters whom will be what the player remembers about this game long after they beat it, as well as the game’s mix of retro chic and postmodern sense of humour in the design of it’s menus and cut scenes, including some visual parodies of anime girls, retro arcade games and lucha libre. Worthy of note also is the player’s ability to customise the clothing of Travis. There are many, many pieces of clothing to be found or bought, and is a nice touch to the game.

 

No More Heroes isn’t a graphically astounding game, and probably doesn’t even push the Wii, but it is visually striking and different from everything else available on the system.

 

Sound:

 

No More Heroes offers a much more inspired approach to how it sounds than how it looks, from the strange yet oddly fitting sound effects, to the enthusiastic voice acting and the pumping mix of riffs and beats that the soundtrack offers. Notable tracks include the heavy metal knockoff of “Eye of the Tiger” played when Travis visit’s the gym and the intro music. But it’s definitely the voice acting that stands out most.

The script is interesting to say the least, with a lot of cheesy, exaggerated accents, swearing and deft comedic timing. There are plenty of pop culture references and jokes. There is also a very interesting use of the Wiimote’s mic, towards the end of each ranked mission, Travis’ cellphone will ring. The player holds the Wiimote up to their ear to receive a pulse pounding pep talk from Sylvia Crystal, the contest organiser and the “chick” I mentioned earlier.

 

No More Heroes is pleasant to the ears and makes innovative use of sound to aid its gameplay, a very impressive accomplishment.

 

Gameplay:

 

So far, we’ve established that No More Heroes has an interesting and humourous story, good music, superior voice acting, intriguing characters and average graphics, so what of the most important aspect, the gameplay? As a whole, the could be considered a box of tricks in a way, mixing gimmicks with more conventional action. The game’s structure appears to have some similarities to sandbox titles such as Grand Theft Auto, Mercenaries and Crackdown. Such comparisons are not without merit, especially the latter one, but in truth the game is largely linear. There is not a great amount of sidequests, and most are for making money to pay your way into the next ranked battle. However, they do serve to break up the action nicely. From doing jobs to earn a wage, to collecting rubber balls to unlock special abilities for Travis, everything in the game at least could be said to have a purpose.

The game’s combat is a definite highlight. The Wiimote is used effectively as a means of delivering death blows and grapple moves, but the A and B buttons have the lions share of action, performing vicious weapon and physical combos. The height with which Travis attacks is dictated by how the Wiimote is held. The combat isn’t going to make Ninja Gaiden or God Hand sweat, but it does have enough quirks to make it deep without sacrificing accessibility. I do have one problem, and that is the extra challenge missions that are unlocked throughout Santa Destroy. All of these require Travis to defeat a set number of enemies without taking a single hit. I found that whilst these will no doubt provide a challenge for those that like to perfect the game, as a means of making money these missions can be irritating, because you earn nothing if you fail, meaning potentially, you will waste a lot of time and effort on these missions and earn nothing for it.

 

Fortunately this is not the case with jobs or the assassin missions, which will be your primary methods of making money. The ranking missions themselves, range from very fun and offbeat to rather monotonous. Very varied if nothing else, and you will be, among other things, forced to run through a massive straight tunnel taking out enemies, play an ingame ultra hard shmup, biking your way through a road based level, and hitting homeruns with your Wiimote. The boss battles never disappoint, requiring knowledgeable use of Travis’ various abilities to succeed. Successfully beating these battles and moving up in the ranks is the crux of this game’s appeal.

 

 

Verdict:

 

To be brutally honest, No More Heroes is a game that is hurt somewhat by it’s lack of originality. Killer7, it’s predecessor, was a game that was in essence original in almost every way, many of it’s gameplay functions had never actually been done before. But what No More Heroes is, is a postmodern ragtag of different gameplay functions and presentation quirks found in many popular or obscure games. It is largely a more accessible game than Killer7, but in my view, less interesting. As well as that, it’s a game that is heavily built on novelty. The novelties wear off, and what you are eventually left with is a game that simply does not have long legs. However, for as long as the initial buzz lasts, No More Heroes is a pulse pounding, heart ripping ride through a buffet of funky humour and gratuitous violence. It is a solid release for the Wii, and definitely worth looking into.

What’s In a Name?

Now that I have at least got this blog established into my usual internet activities, I have decided it needs a new name. “Maxon Treik’s Weblog” is a bit plain. It may not be pretentious, but it hardly sticks out either. I highly doubt people would want to visit a blog where the author hasn’t made the effort to give it a proper name and just named it after themselves. I am still going to keep using WordPress as a free host for now, but if you lovely people keep coming back to at least read an article every now and then, I will get my own domain.

For this task, I require your assistance. I would like people to help me come up with a new name. You can give as many ideas as you like. Brain-storm to your heart’s content! Even if you come here, leaving ideas in the comments would be appreciated.