Monday, May 31, 2004
So close to perfection
Viewtiful Joe is a gift from the gods of gaming. For those of us who suffered unfairly through these last few years with game after game that stresses hyper realism over an actual fun game experience, VJ arrives to remind us why we actually got into gaming in the first place. It wasn't because we had a deep seeded hatred for hookers or wanted to watch an 80 hour movie. No, it was because we wanted to travel to a fantasy world where Earth rules do not apply and we are the kings.
Viewtiful Joe is a classic video game story: bad guy takes your girlfriend so you have to jump into a movie and become a super hero to get her back. You travel through movie themed worlds using time as the ultimate weapon of kick ass. You can slow it down to carefully avoid your enemies attacks and then speed it up to catch fire and crack their heads. You can even zoom in to deliver massive damage on all sides. The game is pure, butt kicking entertainment.
The game is also extremely focused. You move from one fight to another, barely having time to stop and breath. There are occasional puzzles thrown in, most of which require you to speed up or slow down time to complete. But, there is no exploring. There is no collecting. There is no failing because you do not go through the mission exactly how the developer imagined. You are constantly going forward in the game, looking for the next fight. This focus makes the game ridiculously fun, with barely a moment to breath.
You know what doesn't make this game fun? I just got to a part in the game where I have to fight 5 bosses I thought I had destroyed. You know how this works. Fight a slightly improved version of the very first boss and destroy him with relatively ease. Then, with the 80% health you still have left, you fight the second boss. This is getting tough now. You barely defeat him and then, without being able to save or refill your depleted energy, here comes the shark man, your third boss.
This is probably the cheapest thing ever thrown in a game. I remember cursing Mega Man 2 for this very same structure. I already beat these guys! I proved they were no match for me. Why do I have to fight them all again, this time without even having a chance to get health back? Who thought it was a good idea to string the five hardest portions of the game back to back? Who thought I would look forward to having to fight the ultra cheap shark man - who has a biting attack that he sometimes springs on you with no warning and no way to avoid it, and a lovely "get all his health back while you think he is still in biting mode" move so you never even made a dent in his armor - without even having the luxury of 100% health.
This kind of thing angers me like no other. Unlike Scott, who posted his hatred for bosses in games a few days ago, I generally have no problem with them. In boring realist games like Splinter Cell I can understand how having a giant baby with goatse tattooed to his chest might draw people out of the experience, but in fantasy games like Viewtiful Joe it makes sense after I've been fighting ballerinas and airplanes for a level I would conclude my journey with a fight against a rhino.
There is nothing more frustrating for me than to get fully immersed in a great title only to have your progress halted by something very cheap. A game like Viewtiful Joe is just a pure gaming experience that shouldn't be messed with by unfair tactics. Yes, the game is supposed to be hard and I welcome a good challenge, but give me something I can work with at least.
Aside from the ridiculously hard multi boss battle, this game is easily one of the best games I have played this generation. Once you get the hang of racking up huge combos, VJ is one of the most fun action games I have ever played. Though I still have this huge backlog of titles I have to play, I'm going to try and actually play through the various super hard difficulty modes in this anyway because it's just that much fun.
Viewtiful Joe is a classic video game story: bad guy takes your girlfriend so you have to jump into a movie and become a super hero to get her back. You travel through movie themed worlds using time as the ultimate weapon of kick ass. You can slow it down to carefully avoid your enemies attacks and then speed it up to catch fire and crack their heads. You can even zoom in to deliver massive damage on all sides. The game is pure, butt kicking entertainment.
The game is also extremely focused. You move from one fight to another, barely having time to stop and breath. There are occasional puzzles thrown in, most of which require you to speed up or slow down time to complete. But, there is no exploring. There is no collecting. There is no failing because you do not go through the mission exactly how the developer imagined. You are constantly going forward in the game, looking for the next fight. This focus makes the game ridiculously fun, with barely a moment to breath.
You know what doesn't make this game fun? I just got to a part in the game where I have to fight 5 bosses I thought I had destroyed. You know how this works. Fight a slightly improved version of the very first boss and destroy him with relatively ease. Then, with the 80% health you still have left, you fight the second boss. This is getting tough now. You barely defeat him and then, without being able to save or refill your depleted energy, here comes the shark man, your third boss.
This is probably the cheapest thing ever thrown in a game. I remember cursing Mega Man 2 for this very same structure. I already beat these guys! I proved they were no match for me. Why do I have to fight them all again, this time without even having a chance to get health back? Who thought it was a good idea to string the five hardest portions of the game back to back? Who thought I would look forward to having to fight the ultra cheap shark man - who has a biting attack that he sometimes springs on you with no warning and no way to avoid it, and a lovely "get all his health back while you think he is still in biting mode" move so you never even made a dent in his armor - without even having the luxury of 100% health.
This kind of thing angers me like no other. Unlike Scott, who posted his hatred for bosses in games a few days ago, I generally have no problem with them. In boring realist games like Splinter Cell I can understand how having a giant baby with goatse tattooed to his chest might draw people out of the experience, but in fantasy games like Viewtiful Joe it makes sense after I've been fighting ballerinas and airplanes for a level I would conclude my journey with a fight against a rhino.
There is nothing more frustrating for me than to get fully immersed in a great title only to have your progress halted by something very cheap. A game like Viewtiful Joe is just a pure gaming experience that shouldn't be messed with by unfair tactics. Yes, the game is supposed to be hard and I welcome a good challenge, but give me something I can work with at least.
Aside from the ridiculously hard multi boss battle, this game is easily one of the best games I have played this generation. Once you get the hang of racking up huge combos, VJ is one of the most fun action games I have ever played. Though I still have this huge backlog of titles I have to play, I'm going to try and actually play through the various super hard difficulty modes in this anyway because it's just that much fun.
// posted by Tom @ 10:38 AM 
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