Fantastic shooter that deserves more recognition.

User Rating: 9 | Tsumi to Batsu: Hoshi no Keishousha N64
Sin and Punishment, orignally an exclusive to Japan N64 title, now available for the Virtual Console. So it wasn't originally released in Europe or North America, so...then, is it bad? No, I think it's close to being some sort of masterpiece. It is a shooter, an on-rails shooter, but a very unique one. It's not played through a first-person perspective. And you can control the characters, he and she can go sideways, jump, double jump and even slash with a sword if enemies get too close. The majority of the time you'll be fighting huge enemies and plenty of massive bosses. The game is really cool, it is very straightforward, it is very challenging, and at the same time not. You see, the amount of enemies, gunfire and projectiles being thrown at you can be daunting, but you have as far as I know unlimited continues, I think.

The controls are a bit awkward at first, but you get used to it. You can shift through having auto-aim and aiming for yourself. The game has various really cool set-piece battles. Wether you're riding on top of an aircraft shooting away, maneuvering a giant robot defending earth, and at the same time destroying another planet. The game has a couple of just great chase sequences and of course the bosses. You usualy run towards the screen but there are also levels where you run sideways, these are not as cool, but it happens rarely. The game delivers great, memorable action. The downside is, it only lasts for about an hour, then it's over.

Sin and Punishment is an amazing, fun game. I fail to see why this wasn't released outside of Japan. But thankfully there's a sequel coming out soon, and I'm definitely up for that.