No More Heroes

With my current English grade "setting the tone for the quarter", I figured that it was time to write a few hundred blogs (kidding obviously... It'll probably be closer to a few dozen). On a completely unrelated note, the guy who invented STI Home owes me a new set of eardrums. And now that I've thoroughly lost your attention, on to the review!

This week, I'm going to review a game that many believe is only a myth, and most have never even considered the concept. I'm going to review.... *drumroll* an M-rated Wii game. You read right, the game of the week is No More Heroes, an amazing game developed by the little-known Japanese company Grasshopper Manufacture.

This game is crazy in so many ways. I originally bought it to spite Blockbuster (don't ask), but it turned out to be one of the best I've ever played. In it, you control Travis Touchdown, a geeky, wannabe samurai, who's obsessed with anime and professional wrestling. In order to impress a woman he met in a bar (gentlemen, take note), he dueled with and killed the 11th ranked assassin in America. So he decides that since he's already begun his journey down the bloody trail, he might as well kill his way to rank 1.

The gameplay itself is extremely over the top, which is evident from the very first cut scene. There are several different attacks you can use on enemies, most of which don't involve waving the Wii Remote around like a madman. Speaking of the Wii Remote, this game has the most creative use of the speaker I've ever seen. In the game, your primary weapon is the beam katana (no copyright infringement there), which you can upgrade as you progress through the ranks.

Like all good games, it did have a few flaws. It's open world style play (think Grand Theft Auto) had soooooo much potential, but instead you spend most of your down time performing boring side jobs, digging through dumpsters, and shopping for clothes.

Pros: memorable boss battles, hilarious over-the-top gameplay, amazing game in general

Cons: battles require entrance fees, 3 words: virtual lawn mowing, somewhat repetitive, too short

Score: 9.8/10