Not your average Joe!
And remember to Comment, Rate, and SUBSCRIBE!!! :)
It's time for the Viewtiful Joe review! For the Gamecube!
Just like Sam and Max, I had always known about this game, but for some reason, there was something about it that didn't appeal to me. But now that I've played it, I kind of really wish I didn't wait so long TO play it!
The story is about how Joe and his girlfriend Sylvia are at the movie theater watching one of those really cheesy old Japanese action movies. All of a sudden, the villain of the movie reaches out and kidnaps Sylvia, and the hero is blasted from the screen, gets up, and takes Joe with him into the movie.
While in the movie, Joe meets his favorite super hero, Captain Blue, who powers him up with a super hero outfit, and teaches him the fundamentals of fighting and his suits special powers. This is the tutorial of the game, and after you complete it, it's time to go save Sylvia!
This game is a 2D side-scrolling beat-em-up, with 3D cel-shaded graphics. The basic concept is simple: Get through the level by defeating enemies and solving puzzles, then defeat the boss at the end. The main principle of fighting off the enemies is using your suits "VFX" powers. These powers include "Slow," which slows down time, "Mach Speed," which allows Joe to move and attack very fast, and "Zoom," where the camera zooms in on Joe which allows him to attack with special and powerful moves!
When using a "VFX" power, your "VFX gauge" will start to deplete until it runs out. If it runs out, Joe will return to his normal state. The gauge refills on its own, and when it fills up to a certain amount, Joe will return to his Viewtiful form. Throughout the levels, you'll find many V-Films. When you obtain enough of these, your "VFX gauge" will extend, giving you more time to perform your special abilities. When you come to a new stage, the bar will revert back to its default length, making you acquire more V-Films if you want to kick major butt with these sweet looking abilities!
When you defeat enemies, they will drop V-Points. V-Points can be used to purchase items and special abilities in-between the levels. The items and special abilities can cost quite a bit, so to get a lot of V-Points, you'll have to perform combos on the enemies, which is actually one of the main features of fighting. An example of performing combos would be dodging an enemy's attack, then immediately using "Slow," then attacking the enemies with the targets on them. As long as you stay in "Slow," and as long as there are targeted enemies, you can rack up some big combos for lots of V-Points!
Joe's special abilities aren't just for fighting, they're also used to solve puzzles. Like when you use "Slow" and "Mach Speed" when a hovering platform is in sight, it will descend and ascend respectively, giving Joe access to new areas and pathways.
When you complete a stage, you will be graded depending on how many V-Points you acquired, how well you defended yourself, and how long it took you to complete the level.
The graphics are great! With a cel-shaded look, everything looks very flashy and intense which really helps with the game's fast and crazy atmosphere!
The controls are great as well! When you first start out, I think it might take you a bit to get comfortable with all the button placements and functions, because there is a lot, but it's a lot of fun when you get used to them!
The boss battles were fun, and, I have to admit, can be VERY hard! Well, they were really hard until I figured out this one move, which lowered the level of difficulty a lot. But still, the boss fights, and actually, the whole game was challenging! As you might know, I hate it when the developers make a game too easy, but Viewtiful Joe is anything BUT easy! I have to say, I got pretty frustrated sometimes from the difficulty of some of the areas in this game! But I'm not demoting it because of the difficulty. I just see it as potential for improving my skills!
Viewtiful Joe is a great game! Great graphics, great controls, awesome suite abilities, fun and challenging levels and boss fights, and very addicting!
The only downsides were one, I thought the game was too short, and two, I didn't think there was much variety in the boss fights.
But overall, it's a great game that I wish I had played a lot sooner! I still don't know exactly why I didn't play this when it came out, but I've played it now, and I'm glad I did!
This game gets a 4.5/5 with the title of EPIC!!!
Ratings:
0=COMPLETE AND ULTIMATE FAIL!!!!!
.25-.75=Total Crap!
1-1.5 = Horrible!
1.75-2.5=Bad
2.75-3.5=Good
3.75-4.25=Awesome!
4.5-4.75=EPIC!!!
5=MONUMENTALLY AND SUPREMELLY PERFECT!!!!!