January 8th, 2008 by AlmightyMax
Assassinations and Odd Jobs
The bulk of the gameplay in No More Heroes is combat, and although the game uses a simplistic combat system it should provide enough depth for those who look down on button-mashers. The A button is your basic beam katana attack (chain together presses for combos), and the B button allows Travis to perform wrestling moves.
The beam katana can also be held high or low (by holding the Wii remote in the same position) to block enemy attacks and make sure yours hit. After whittling down an enemies HP enough, an on-screen cue will appear and you will have to move the Wii remote in the given direction to unleash a devastating finishing move that instantly kills all enemies in range. If that wasn’t good enough, every successful finishing blow activates a slot machine, and if the three slots match up Travis will go into one of the aforementioned Darkside modes, which make him super-speedy and allows him to easily dispatch enemies.
Your progress in No More Heroes is tracked by the amount of money you have; every ranked assassin battle needs a hefty entrance fee you must pick up in missions on the overworld. There are two types of missions: Assassinations, combat-heavy missions where you must, say, kill a set number of enemies or kill as many as you can under special conditions, and Odd Jobs, which are much more varied. After gaining access to the job centre, Travis can partake in these mini-games that take advantage of the Wii’s motion sensing functionality. Odd Jobs range from lawn mowing to trash collection to coconut collection, and should provide a decent time killer for those bored of bloodthirsty murder.
Schpeltiger
It’s inevitable that after hearing all this about the game you’ll be drawing comparisons to Grand Theft Auto, but let all those thoughts leave your mind. Santa Destroy is nothing like San Andreas. In fact, despite the open-ended appearance, it’s a thoroughly linear experience. The times you get to explore the overworld looking for missions you’re given only one vehicle: Travis’ bad-assed anime motorbike called the Schpeltiger. The behemoth comes equipped with nitro and the ability to perform 90 degree turns on a dime. The streets are pretty much bare – save for the odd pedestrian you can send flying with a hit and run – meaning the overworld is largely just a method of getting from assassination mission to assassination mission.
No More Heroes is shaping up to be one of the Wii’s best yet, and mature gamers should look into it when it hits store shelves in a few weeks. The great visual style, dark and offbeat humour, and gorrific combat system make for something not usually seen on the Wii, which makes the title all the more intriguing.
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