One of my favorite parts of the original No More Heroes comes about two thirds of the way through the game, when our hero Travis Touchdown suddenly comes down with a case of narcolepsy while riding the subway. I'm not a doctor or anything, but narcolepsy is a fair diagnosis, as that's the only thing that could cause a healthy young male who has just finished murdering at least twenty people to suddenly catch a case of the sleepies.
Anyway, the great part of this scenario isn't the fact that Travis naps, it's that when he sleeps, he dreams of videogames. In this instance, he dreams of a particularly awesome shmup called Pure White Giant Glastonbury. Not only is the game great, but its existence in Travis's imagination cements him as one of the only videogame protagonists who truly loves videogames himself.
Well, it looks like in No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle, Travis's love of gaming is hopping out of his dreams and into his "real" life. While working for money or just working out in the gym, Travis now sees the world through an 8 bit lens. Some of his new jobs look reminiscent of NES classics like Mach Rider, and others look totally new (and totally weird).
Seriously, could this game get any more awesome? Expect more hands-on info on this sucker in the coming days from Dtoid's PAX 2009 team.
[Images lifted from a new IGN video. Thanks Agnates for the tip!]
Contest:
11:30 PM on 09.03.2009
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And I'm sure he has some fetishes that we just haven't noticed yet, like QT and feet.
Embed a branded vid? Front page needed do that when its surely got its own rad features coming. :)
Novakaine has the c-blog bubble on this
Also, get an avatar. Everyone will love you more.
its time for bed...
whoa, you skew negative so quickly, friend. chiiiil :)
just to say, so far as embeds go, that's how they tend to play it. You know, run your own content, as opposed to the other guys?
You know, I realize I'm probably a little too "Core" because when I thought that I next thought to myself, "Well, the gameplay isn't really the point of the game anyway". The GAMEplay isn't the point of the GAME.
Ehh, I'll probably still enjoy it (even if more for the silliness than the lackluster beat-em-up).
What was so "awesome" about the mechanics anyway? As a 3D beat-em-up it pales in comparison to Devil May Cry, God of War, or even the Legend of Zelda games.
The bosses are certainly interesting characters. Interesting battles, not so much (my favorite was kind-of Scarlet Witch, the only one (aside from Letz Shake, obviously) that you didn't really fight (well, you didn't fight Dark Star either, but you still got a battle, so it sort-of counts (plus he was technically part of the second-to-final battle)).
I liked No More Heroes. I even tried to get my brothers into it. They couldn't, because they don't care about the jokeiness as much as I do. They only see the lackluster beat-em-up, and I don't blame them for it.
The main reason I liked the game was the crazy story and wild personalities. As a Grindhouse videogame (like Ace of Knaves mentioned Suda 51 being the Tarantino of videogames), as an experience, as a guilty pleasure, it absolutely kicks! It sucks (or is at least average) as a game.
The sequel is an expansion pack (from what little I've seen). It doesn't really improve the meat of the game (the beat-em-up) in any significant way, and the story doesn't even seem like it'll be much more than more assassins to kill. It's more of the same, and I wish Suda tried harder.
Just a friendly suggestion: Please don't flood the comments page.
Check out the New Members Guide and the Ts & Cs so you get a heads-up on how to be an awesome member of the community.
It sounds like you have some very strong, detailed opinions on NMH2 that would be better placed in a blog.
My new most wanted...
And I still need a towel...
I'm surprised you didn't call me out on getting Speed Buster's name completely wrong (Scarlet Witch isn't even close).
To me, an expansion pack sequel is one that basically is more of the same. All the Metroid Prime games were expansion pack sequels. They were all also good. I don't dislike EP Sequels. I just prefer sequels that actually change up the game. No More Heroes 2 doesn't look like much changed from No More Heroes 1, so it is an EP Sequel.
@Captain Bus
Agnates isn't a new member. If you look more closely at his avatar you'll realize it's actually the new member avatar upside-down.
There appears to no longer be an 8-bit corner map, though. And it is for the better.
I am torn on the toned-down look of the cel-shading. In the first game, I found it to be overbearing in many places, especially in certain parts of the overworld.
However, it looks to be reduced so much here that the game loses its visual edge and reveals itself as a decent-looking title with some new effects thrown in (like the rocket explosions from the boss or the "shockwave" produced after hitting a wrestling move).
Was this an artistic or technical decision? Or both? Somebody ask Suda, please.
And WTF is that bouncing mini-dong thing in the upper right corner of the UI?!
Thanks for the heads-up, but I had noticed his avatar. I simply suggested that he not flood the comments page. Sorry if you thought that was out of line.
It could not be No More Heroes. That would be an improvement over what it currently is.
Yeah, that's right. I hate No More Heroes.
Play No More Heroes again, and play it till you see the real ending. If you still say you hate it after that, I'll send you cookies and an apology card.