 |
 |
| Viewtiful Joe A Viewtiful Review by Pirate Yoshi Over-view: Viewtiful Joe is an amazing new Capcom game, starring your average Joe in a role too immense for even him to understand fully. Joe's job is to take the place of his fallen hero within the movie screen and save his captured girlfriend, Silvia, from the nefarious forces of evil movie villains. Think of the game as an animated comic book, one that is a cross between Mega Man and the typical beat-em up, then toss both of those into the next generation style of sprucing everything up with new concepts, and you've got a Viewtiful game on your hands. To understand how good (or bad) this "odd" game is, we must cover each aspect in higher intensity, and review it carefully--which is what I'm about to do here. Graphics: 8.2/10 Graphics are not an essential factor in making a game successful, and the Joe team recognized this when they created the game. VJ's graphics are more like a comic book than a cartoon, or, dare I say it, a video game. Most things in Joe's world are rather crudely drawn, with a funny sort of bend to each shape and a special emphasis on shadowing. Though the game is actually three-dimensional, the action moves left to right--side-scrolling, like its predecesors. The primary beef I have with Joe is not necessarily its in-game graphics, which are a bit poor but nothing terrible, but rather its cut scenes, which feature some lame visuals, poor animation in conjuction with the voice acting, and rather choppy visuals. If the cut scenes had been spruced up, this catagory would receive a higher marking. Sound: 9.6/10 One of my favorite catagories, sound contains music, sound effects, and voice acting. The background music chosen for Viewtiful Joe is simply Viewtiful, with some really rockin' tunes to give you that added boost to your playing in order to finish off all the enemies with ease. Each area has a very well-constructed musical piece that fits like a glove, and if a soundtrack were made of this game, I'd be first in line to buy it! Sound effects consist mainly of smacking, punching, and kicking sounds...but is that really a problem, especially when performed so well and fit to the animation flawlessly? I also feel a special credit is due to the genius who added the Matrix-like slow motion sound effects for when Joe slows time and attacks his opponents viciously. The soft, rumbling hum of flying projectles, feet, and fists fits so perfectly, it's hard to play a different game or go turn on a movie and watch any fight that DOESN'T include these sound effects. Finally, the voice acting: Viewtiful Joe has some of the best voice acting I have EVER heard from a video game, and that's no lie. Major cudos to the guys who casted the voice talent, and another big round of applause to the savy souls who brought us Joe's voice, as well as Captain Blue, Silvia, the bosses, and other characters found in the game. I was EXTREMELY impressed by the voice acting, and quickly became addicted with repeating the phrase, "Henshin a go-go, baby!" everywhere I went. I was blown away by the viewtiful sound Viewtiful Joe possesses, and I assure you that disappointment is not on the soundtrack. Oh, and make sure to pause the game at least once during every level. "Nothing personal, but....is it Number One, or Number Two?" Challenge: 9.9/10 Ah......challenge. That raw diamond in every game that keeps us from completing the game in a one-hour rental span and returning it. Though it's found in every game, it's a lot less intimidating in some games than others. I'm here to tell you that Joe is serious about his gamers--if you buy Viewtiful Joe, be prepared to stick in for the long run, because that's what most of this game is about. If you give up on a game after losing several times, and have to go have a cry after each game over, then this title is not for you. As with old-school games, Joe relies on faster and faster reflexes, quick thinking, and out-and-out gameplay skills, such as knowing when and how to use your powers, and how to make the most out of every situation. Most enemies attack with patterns, which must be memorized and exploited in order to succeed. If your reaction time isn't up to snuff, VJ will make you pay with some punishing enemies who take no mercy on those not quick enough to react with lightning speed. And, as if the game wasn't hard enough, there are four difficulty levels: Kids, the easiest, Adults, the "normal" setting (don't try this at home, kids), V-rated, which is unlocked and equals HARD, and Ultra V-rated, which is like the Super Impossible Ultra Mega Tough-luck-kid mode, for those who are either utterly stupid and like to inflict pain upon poor Joe, or else for those who have mastered every aspect of the game (or for those like me who are big fat cheaters and own an Action Replay!). The odds are over-whelmingly against Joe most of the time, and some of the fights turn into ridiculous brawl fests where approximately 80% of the screen is full of punching fists, flying bullets, and homing missiles all after the same goal: smash Joe over by one means or another. Meanwhile, you balance fending off enemies with accomplishing goals while taking down nasty boss-like characters using your few super powers and rapid-fire punches and kicks, which hardly seem to be fair game against what you are battling. Trust me on this one, most of the latter fights in this game will be a frantic scramble for your life--definately not quite the viewtiful smack-down you would like. Replay: 9.6/10 It's hard for me to rate this, since I have yet to beat VJ on ANY difficulty, but I'm inclined to say that you've got two, three, maybe four games to play here before you succumb and move on in your collection. What pushes you onwards are prizes--and not the crappy "Image gallery" prizes or "Special Color Scheme" prizes that most other games offer. Viewtiful Joe redefines why people would want to play a game over, and the reason is because the prizes you can obtain from playing are too phenominal to pass up. To break the secret would feel like treason, but I have to let the cat out of the bag sooner or later: beating VJ on the Kids difficulty unlocks the music video, and from there onwards, you unlock new challenge modes (V-rated and Ultra V-rated), and, the best of all, completely new characters to use in the game! These are not simply different costumed Joes, but totally different characters with their own attributes, moves, and abilities (I don't want to give any away, but if you're dying to know who you can unlock, check Gamefaqs--they have the characters revealed in some of their guides). Even without any rewards whatsoever, though, I'm confident most people would play VJ through at least once more before shelving it, just out of pure fun, and those who loved the old beat-em-ups on NES and SNES would probably play it 3+ times over, just because it's a one-of-a-kind in this age of 3D fighting games, lousy cameras, and cheap moves. Eat at Joes, you won't be disappointed. Controls: 9.7/10 Controls can hurt a great game, or they can take something rather lousy and add to the experience. Good controls are easy to use, never cause you to stumble, and make your hands remain feeling comfortable and strong after even the most intense hours of constant playing. I've just described to you Viewtiful Joe's controls. I originally thought that I would need a more useful purpose for the B button than Zoom In, but I quickly found that Y and X for punch and kick (respectively) works exceptionally well, even in huge fights. For some reason, it feels like second nature almost immediately to be brawling using Y and, one of the most over-looked buttons on the GCN controller, X. L controls Slow Mo, which will quickly become your very best friend, and R uses Mach Speed, which seems to have much less of a purpose. Using the C-stick up or B (or, perhaps, Z--I can't honestly remember), you can Zoom In for more special move antics, although I must less prefer Zoom In to the Slow Mo power. Jumping is very controlled, and Joe moves identically to your controller's button presses. The only minor flaw I see is that it is hard to use Zoom In when it is most often needed, due to the B button not triggering the same attacks instantly that the C-stick does. Minus this goofy control scheme for Zoom In, however, VJ has purely phenominal controls. Gameplay: 9.6/10 And the final catagory, Gameplay, which contains the story catagory Fierce always adds. The story goes something along these lines: Joe Blow, a die-hard Captain Blue fan, has taken his girlfriend Silvia to the movies to watch an old Captain Blue movie, which he intends to devour line for line. Silvia, however, would rather get in some quality time with Joe, who is way too interested in watching his hero take on the evils of the universe to settle down and appreciate his time alone with Silvia. Then, the unthinkable happens: Captain Blue is taken down, and the movie monster suddenly reaches out of the screen and abducts Silvia! Joe is shaken by the experience, and is suddenly pulled into the movie after her, ending up inside the screen. There, he is given the V-watch from Captain Blue, who explains that Joe has been sucked into the movie to take his place and defeat evil. To save Silvia, Joe must battle his way through the flick to the end, all the while keeping his audiences entertained (which is a load of fun, by the way). Cheesey storyline, yes, but the real question is this: how serious did the developers intend to make the storyline? The answer is hardly. Much of the game is one big spoof on the movie industry, copy-catting many famous movie scenes and taking tidbits from all over to make fun of. The story is actually something of a joke in itself, and anyone who believes that this was just a poor attempt at a serious storyline will not enjoy this game no matter how much they believe they will; if you do not accept the game as something of one big joke, then you will get no pleasure out of it. On the flip side, Joe's game is serious; its challenging, fast-paced, and adds a fresh breath of air to a used genre, making the experience seem completely new (which, to a degree, it is). Those who take this game too seriously won't be able to sit back and enjoy it, while those who do not really ever put forth some effort will never see some of the greater parts of this game. To sum up everything I've said in the above paragraph, I must use two simple words: "extremely" "fun". This is a game that anyone can enjoy anytime, and millions of people around the world are already holding Capcom to making us a new Joe in the coming years, or things'll get a lot less viewtiful around Capcom's headquarters. My final words to describe the game: it's the fighting genre being turned on its end, upside-down, inside-out, then tossed in a blender with lots of comical ingredients and game bits, then coming out as a chocolate fudge cake with a cherry on top. This is an offering too good to miss, especially if you're an old-school fan. "Henshin a go-go, baby!" **Story: 1/1 Recently added after this review was restored, Viewtiful Joe is a quirky title with a decent, humorous storyline that shouldn't be over-looked. While I may have left the bonuses out, it's only fair to give Joe an extra boost in score, and there's no way to do it like awarding him a bonus point he well deserves. I won't go into details about the storyline, to avoid spoilers, but I can say that Silvia was abducted by the Jadow for a reason, and Joe must venture in Movie Land to save her...and ultimately, the entire world. **Multiplayer: 0/1 This game does not feature multiplayer support. Graphics: 8.2/10.0 Sound: 9.6/10.0 Challenge: 9.9/10.0 Replay: 9.6/10.0 Control: 9.7/10.0 GamePlay: 9.6/10.0 **Story: 1/1 **Multiplayer: 0/1 Over all Score: 9.6 Score explanation: The catagory, obviously, that sank VJ's score significantly was the graphics, which I already spoke of. But, as I mentioned above, no game should be bought or not bought based upon graphics, so give VJ a chance despite what looks like crummy graphics. I promise that though the illustration of Viewtiful Joe may not be my cup of tea, you will not become lost or confused by its visuals (which was originally my primary concern, upon seeing all these confusing screenshots on-line). Also, I dropped about two--two and a half points solely because of some rather poor cut-scene animation; the in-game graphics may not be outstanding, but they fit the game well and would admittedly seem strange any other way. |