Difficulty:

Hard

Time Spent:

10 to 20 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Guilty pleasure"

No More Heroes is another game that stands out from the rest of the Wii Library.

It's about a man named Travis Touchdown, an otaku who becomes an assassin after buying a beam katana off of the internet. However, what really gets him in the game is Silvia, a foxy Russian broad who agreed to get it on with Travis if he becomes the #1 Assassin in the world. So, it's a race to the finish as Travis hacks, slashes, and kills his way to that magical one night stand.

Yes. That is seriously what the game is about. I'm not even joking. However, the game's warped sense of humor really is what makes the game (other then great gameplay, of course). Travis is a silly nerd who is really just out for a good lay. Silvia is a cool, collected woman who likes to tease Travis at every turn. The various assassin's also range from the weird (Destroy Man) to the awesome (Shinobi, a fan favorite). The game also deals with some deep morale issues, which is something that really surprised me. Also, Henry. Just...just Henry.

So, how do you go about this slaughter fest to that magical one night stand? Well, it's easy! A is to swing your Beam Katana, B to Grab, C to reset the camera, and Z to lock on (if you hold Z you can block). Also, pressing the (-) button when the special meter is full will allow you to activate a super attack. Now, there are some motion controls. Travis can swing his beam katana high or low, depending on how you are holding the Wiimote. If you are pointing it up, he will swing high. If it's pointing low, he'll swing low. Enemies will block certain types of hits, so this is actually pretty important. And, you must also recharging your beam katana. To do this, you must hold B and then shake the Wiimote. Kinda like charging a rechargeable flashlight. Or some...other motion that some guys may be familiar too. However you want to do it. But, you can charge your beam katana at any point, provided that some of your battery is gone. Also, if an enemy has taken enough damage, you can perform a Death Blow by swinging the Wiimote in the direction prompted on the screen.

Now, levels are broken up between beating up mooks (which will generally be a straight line) and the boss. Some levels will have motorcycle parts in them, but those aren't really all that difficult (or common). Outside of the main game, you can also complete assassination jobs and other side quests to earn money. At the dojo, you can also complete mini-games to increase your stats. At the clothing store, you can get clothes to alter Travis's appearance. And at the hot chick's house (I forget her name. Naomi, I think?) you can buy new weapons and upgrades for your beam katana. The game is open world, so you can explore the entire city, if you want. There are also these balls that you can find all over the place. Once you have 7 of them, you can take them to the bar and trade them in for new finishers.

Now, cons. The game is open world, which I would love if it wasn't so barren. You can't kill people and there aren't really any enemies floating around. The game also likes to jack up difficulty at a random rate, just to annoy you. Also, and this just be an issue with the system itself, if you are killing several people at once, the frame rate slows down immensely (too much blood!!).

Outside of that, I had no complaints with the game. The voice acting was good, the story was fun, the characters were amusing, controls are GREAT, and the soundtrack was a lot of fun. I highly recommend No More Heroes, which can currently be found at local Gamestops for $12. So get on that.