Viewtiful Joe Coming Back At Ya!

Some games come onto the market and are thoroughly mocked off the bat, without a fair chance to shine. Such was the case with the quirky release of the original VJ. Actually, when I first saw him, I mistakened him for ProtoMan.exe for a brief time! But sometimes beauty is beyond the graphics and lies in an undoubtably addictive game with near-infinite replay and insane feel. We played the first-- and we were in love. Sure, there were bumps in the road but that road was one of the sweetest, most nostalgic trips I've ever had. Even two of my doubtful friends were instantly hooked to the zany classic in just a few moments of gameplay-- in which it required a crowbar to force them to relinquish my controller! The sequel does great justice to the original, and CapCom must have read my review from the first, because all my complaints have been flattened!

Story: Without ruining too much, aliens from outter space invade Earth! Captain Blue sends off Viewtiful Joe and his new partner, Sexy Silvia, to stop the new army of Gedow. The war intensifies as Joe's dad assists them as the camera operator and they learn of a dastardly plot to steal seven magical statues called the "Rainbow Oscars" which hold the secret power of the happy ending! The race is on!

GamePlay: You are Viewtiful! This strange game mixes the ancient art of "pound-the-daylights" out of your enemies with the more refined "manipulate-the-matrix" powers and even throws in a bit of "make-you-laugh-out-loud" drama. The control scheme is extremely simple, and with not one, but TWO heroes, you're going to love what you'll see! Silvia, the original damsel-in-distress, threw off the Princess Peach style, picked up some guns and joined her boyfriend in order to save the day from the new orginization: Gedow-- headed by the fierce, relentless, Black Emporer! (Wow, am I the only one who senses a little bit of racial tension, or am I just paranoid?). Joe heads up our amazing quest with the same handling as before (if not a little smoother) with using the control pad or stick to move left and right, duck or do a mini-jump to dodge attacks. The "A" button still is jump and double-jump while in Viewtiful mode, "B" serves no function (so ignore it), "X" and "Y" buttons are for your standard-issue punches and kicks, and the C-stick, L, and R control your powers. Players of the original can already tell you that "L" utlizes the power of "SLOW" where everything moves in bullet-time and our heroes can even punches bullets away from their unprotected spandex-sporting hides. The C-sticks allows you to wield the devistating "ZOOM IN" power which allows you to perform new combos and frighten enemies into dropping their guards. Now, the differences between the hero and heroin become immediately present with the gift of the "R" button. Joe wields his trademark "MACH SPEED" power and allows him to ignite his body in a protective fire shield (which also boosts his attack power) and can speed-up propellers and allow floating platforms to rise rapidly. Silvia, on the other hand, lacks fire element and the super-speedy VFX, but in return gets the electrifying (literally) "REPLAY" where an action can be repeated three times, with increasing velocity. There is a drawback to that power, though, as being hit while holding the "R" shoulder button proceeds to show the maiden being whapped three times instead of just one-- which can be a fatal mistake! Next is the "Z" button-- which was neglected from the first VJ, but in this game can be used to switch between the burnin'-hot Viewtiful Joe, and the shockingly-sexy (or at least, they claim her to be so-- but I'd prefer a heavier lady) Silvia. And CapCom heeded the fans of the strange series about the difficulty as the boss fights no longer require frequent use of profanity and many continues. In addition the useful "Take 2!" item (which refills your lifebar to MAX when defeated) can now be carried with a stock of up to 9 units-- assuming you're willing to pay for them. Next point of interest, the puzzles in this game now can't be solved with merely using enough punches or kicks-- and many actually involve some vague form of a little-known art called "thinking" and some of these brain-busters even stumped me for a while! Excellent!

Graphics: You are Viewtiful! At a stunning no-hiccup frame rate of 60 FPS, Viewtiful Joe 2 delivers the goods. Joe and Silvia move through seven movie reels of sheer viewty and power as this game improves the bright and vibrant colors showed off so gloriously in the first installment. The dynamic duo battle onward to save the movie world with non-stop action and splendor as the bosses are now even bigger, badder and better-detailed than the first batch, but they are no less determined to stop our heroes. The movement is smooth, flawless and perfectly in sync' with the soundtrack, voices and SFX (and VFX!).

Sound/Music/Voice: You are Viewtiful! Joe and Silvia are voice-acted by well-toned actors and carry each persona without error as Joe's goofy self and Silvia's loving-but-somewhat-sadistic side shine through the voices and viewtiful expressions. While I think Joe tends to carry more attitude (and Silvia only has one "Henshin" expression and Joe carries two or three) all the actors for the game deliver their lines with superhuman precision. And, even more surprising, CapCom listened to me when I said the bosses were hard to understand-- so now the bosses are easilly understood and have plenty of attitude of their own. The music is fresh, revitalizing, up-beat and definitely there. Quick tunes, smooth transitions and even nostalgia take this game's soundtrack and make it something incredible! And to boot this already too-good-to-be-true-but-is-true game, the sound effects are even better the first game's! Each punch, kick, and VFX hold perfectly to what one would expect from them and the enemies' wail of fear as Joe and Silvia unleash a blizzard of pain blends so perfectly into this innovative game-- undoubtably Viewtiful!

Replay: You are Awesome! Unlike the first game, there are no extra characters, but that would be harder to do, considering you'd have two at once anyway, so it'd be something like Sonic Heroes if you could-- selecting teams. But aside from that, the original four levels of difficulty return to this insane sequel as it ranges from Kids (Easy), Adults (Normal-- there is no content change!), V-Rated (Hard) , and Ultra-V Rated (Pray for mercy). Even with this and longer levels than before and eventually an unlockable level (more accurately-- reel) select and a new "36-chambers" contest which, by performing certain feats (some of which are simply clearing a level, some are a little more strange such as being killed by a locker) where the heroes can battle and show off their stuff! Henshin-a-go-go, Baby!