Death, Jr. E3 2005 Preshow Hands-On

During a recent pre-E3 meeting with Konami we had an opportunity to check out the E3 demo version of Death, Jr. Currently scheduled for release in August, Death, Jr. is an action game in which you'll assume the titular role of Death's mischievous son, affectionately known as DJ. The game's amusing intro movie sees DJ and a bunch of his equally odd classmates paying a visit to the Museum of Supernatural History, where DJ manages to open a chest that's been sealed shut for thousands of years. Unsurprisingly, the chest had remained sealed for good reason, and when DJ realizes that he has unwittingly unleashed a demon upon the world and sent his friends to places unknown, he's left with no alternative but to try to put things right before his dad finds out.

When you start playing Death, Jr. you'll notice that the museum has been transformed as a result of the demon's arrival and that many of the exhibits have been replaced by portals to various locations. In the demo version of the game, there were plenty of portals for us to dive into from the outset, but we suspect that many of them will need to be unlocked before you can use them in the finished game. The location we chose to explore was Meat World, which, unless we're very much mistaken, was essentially an abattoir-themed amusement park. The different areas within Meat World were named after some of its main attractions, such as The Burger Tram and How Cows Become Steaks. Meat World offered plenty of variety in terms of visuals, and we especially liked the giant flaming grill that we had to cross by jumping between various meat products as they cooked.

The enemies that we faced in Meat World came in all demonic shapes and sizes and weren't shy about attacking us in large numbers whenever they had the opportunity to do so. Fortunately, the demo version of Death, Jr. gave us access to DJ's entire arsenal from the outset (this won't be the case in the finished game), so we were well equipped to deal with whatever came our way. DJ's default weapon of choice is his scythe, of course, which you'll have equipped at all times. You'll equip your second weapon by using the directional pad to scroll through those available to you, which you'll be able to do on the fly or by pausing the game briefly. DJ's arsenal is quite conventional for the most part, but its eight weapons offer plenty of variety and at least one amusing sound effect that's unlikely to lose its appeal.

The sound effect in question would be the squeaking of C4 hamsters, which, in case you haven't guessed, are hamsters with C4 explosives strapped to their backs. The C4 hamsters are certainly the most unconventional weapons that you'll get to use in Death, Jr., and they're actually one of the most effective when used correctly. Essentially they're land-based homing missiles that will seek out and destroy the first viable target they become aware of after you drop them onto the ground. The C4 hamsters aren't terribly intelligent, though, and if you're not careful where you release them they'll end up targeting destructible objects (of which the game has many) rather than enemies. Other weapons that we got to try out included dual pistols, which are the default secondary weapon and the only one with unlimited ammo; a freeze gun, with which we could freeze enemies for a couple of seconds; an electric gun, which was great when we were heavily outnumbered because its lightning bolt can strike multiple enemies simultaneously; a chaingun, which could be fired only from a first-person view; a shotgun; a flamethrower; and a rocket launcher.

Although the majority of our time was spent battling demons, Death, Jr. also incorporates some quite challenging platformer-style action. Most of the gaps and hazards that we needed to jump could be cleared simply by pushing the jump button, and when that wasn't up to the job we were able to use DJ's scythe in a number of different ways. Holding down the jump button when in midair, for example, will cause DJ to rapidly spin his scythe above his head like a helicopter blade, increasing the length of his jump. The scythe can also be used as a grappling hook of sorts, allowing DJ to claw his way up to high places, swing on hooks, and zip along power lines and such. Positioning the camera so that it afforded us the best possible view when attempting tricky jumps was occasionally a challenge in itself, but the problems we had with the camera were few and far between, which is pretty impressive given the often hectic nature of the gameplay.

We'll bring you more information on Death, Jr. as its August release date closes in.