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Viewtiful JoeBy Chris Vavra - 11-29-05 Print  EmailViewtiful Joe harkens back to a day when games could be pure fun and not have a lot of exposition or heavy mind-numbing plot. This title, developed by Capcom, is a wonderful romp that can exhilirate the soul and still leave you hungry for more. Using the cel-shading scheme, Viewtiful Joe is able to create a genuine signature style that cannot be replicated. Simply put, you won't see another title like this around. Too bad. I would love to see more games that had this title's exuberance. The good: Where to begin? This is one of the few games that gets almost everything right. The cel-shading is a true wonder in creating lush environments that are played out in 2-D style, but can be 3-D in dimensions. Games like Yoshi's Story have fiddled around with the concept, but this is the first game that manages to make real use of the idea. There are so many vibrant worlds that I won't dare reveal them, but there is a surprise waiting around almost every corner. The music is also working with every note. There is a lot of ambience with all the constant chaos in the midsts, but all of it is mixed together very well and the themes are easy to get into. What worried me the most about VJ is that the game would be soft on the challenge and the length. Not so. This is a game that already has the deck loaded against it because there is no multiplayer, but Capcom managed to circumvent this problem by creating deep, integrated levels that have a variety of enemies and bosses. Strategy is a must to survive and sharp reflexes and a good command of the fighting moves will help you survive. Fighting is simple, but surviving is the true challenge of the warrior. The gameplay, in general, is the strong suit. The controls are very easy to get a hold of and after five minutes of learning the basic combos you will be off and ready to fight the enemy. How you make use of those combos is up to you. The controls will help you every step of the way so if you make a mistake, don't blame the game. The bad: Not too many things here. The game could have been a level or two longer and I would have enjoyed more surprises, more bosses, and a few more maneuvers, but everything that we are given is so brilliantly inserted and infused into the gameplay to begin with that I suppose we are asking for a bit much. Still, one can always hope. I, personally, would have appreciated a better story because there are some cases where we move to a new area and we have no explanation why we are there. Overall: This is one fine game and people that shy away from it because of the graphics are a bunch of morons to begin with. This is pure craftsmanship at its finest and few GCN games or any game, for that matter, of this generation, can match the pure adrenaline that this title brings to the table. Viewtiful Joe is a one-of-a-kind game and it should be treasured by those fortunate enough to come across its path. Ratings |
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