Sin & Punishment is one of the 1st rail-type shooters I've ever played. All in all, I liked it. The graphics were good except for the close-ups, a curse that haunts nearly all N64 games. Some of the levels look better than others, with the nautical battle coming immediately to mind. That level alone is worth your time; the scope is, for lack of a better descriptor, epic. The music quality is good enough, meaning it doesn't stand out but at least it isn't irritating. The same can be said for the sound effects, with the notable exception of Eda, the annoying pet of one of the bosses. The story is very Japanese and, by default, not easily understood to us Yanks. If you just press play and go with it, you're going to be confused. Sit back, relax, and let the demo video run. Basically, we're in another dystopia where human population has gone out of control and these creatures called Ruffians were created to help "solve the problem". I'm going to leave the interpretation up to you. Anyway, these problem-solving Ruffians become a nuisance themselves and threaten Japan. At the same time, a division of the (oft-villified in Japan) US Armed Forces appears with the apparent intent of restoring order. Surprise, surprise, the armed forces try to take over. You play as Saki, a clunky Sora (Kingdom Hearts) look-alike and his partner (lover?) Airan. There's also this goth-like girl Achi who tags along and is *gasp* more than she seems. Nicely, you have the option to skip all dialogue and cut scenes. The story is not what drives this game.
The gameplay is simple enough, although it is a little tricky if playing with a GameCube controller. Your character can jump, strafe, and attack. The attack is either a high-powered, short-range slash (tap button) or a rapid-fire projectile (hold button). The former is rarely used but is effective. The gun does have a lock-on mode if you (like me) have trouble hitting a highly-agitated boss hopping all over the screen. Good game mechanics but weapon upgrades would have been a HUGE improvement. Not a bad purchase, but I wish it had been a few hundred Wii points less.
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