Summary: Capcom's beautiful, comic book style game is the second of the Capcom 5 coming to Gamecube, and boy, is it awesome.
Gameplay: This game has a very unique feel to its gameplay. Not just a side-scrolling beat-em-up, but there are also challenging puzzles and an incredibly deep fighting system matched with great controls. The latter takes some getting used to if you have been playing lots of other Gamecube games. The A button, usually reserved for punching or kicking someone in this type of game, is used as a jump button. The Y and X control punching and kicking. This is one of the harder things to get used to. However, it makes it very easy to create uber cool looking moves by simply tilting you're thumb up and down to hit the Y and X buttons. The analog stick, of course, lets Joe move left and right. Also, you can push it up or down to dodge enemies attack. Up is a high dodge while Down would be a low dodge. But the real innovative part comes about when Joe learns to use his VFX powers. There are three in all: Slow, Mach Speed and Zoom, which do pretty much exactly what their names suggest. Slow will slow all the fighting down, make Joe stronger, make it easier to anticipate enemy attacks, and allow you to solve some puzzles. Example: There is an out of reach ledge that you need to, but cant, get up to. Above you is a flying platform powered by a helicopter like blade. What do you do? Use slow, and everything including the blades will go in slow motion. The blades are not moving fast enough to keep the platform in the air, so it sinks to the ground like a rock thrown into a pond. Jump on the platform, and go back to normal speed. Voila! It carries you up to the ledge, where you may proceed to kick ass. Mach Speed is less useful. It makes everything go super fast, allowing Joe to dispatch of weaker enemies in mere seconds. Also, the aforementioned flying platforms will go higher up since the blades are moving faster. However, Mach Speed is practically useless when facing more powerful enemies. Mach speed does have puzzle solving advantages, though. When hitting something in Mach Speed, other Joes will go and attack other enemies and objects. This is useful for the boxes containing food and film reels that you will find in the background. Also, Mach Speed causes Joe to go so fast that he will set on fire, and an orange aura will encircle him. Hitting an enemy with this aura will put them on fire, and do more damage then normal. Also, this fire can be used for lighting bombs. The third VFX power, Zoom, lets Joe do more powerful moves, including the super-strong Red Hot One Hundred. It also has a useful effect on enemies that will make them cower in fear instead of attacking or blocking. When playing through the game, you will find indispensable blue film reels. Every 50 of these make you're VFX bar a little longer and longer. This is useful for using all you're powers efficiently. When the VFX bar runs out, you turn into regular Joe for a period of time. Regular Joe cant double jump or use any of the moves you have purchased. When doing combos on enemies, you earn Viewtifuls. These can be used to purchase moves and items from the shop. All of this is fun, but a few things hinder the game. The story is weak, and it is insanely difficult. Other then that, the gameplay is nearly flawless.
Gameplay Rating: 9.8
Graphics: This game uses Cel Shading very well, mixed with a rock solid framerate that never fails. At first glance, the graphics seem a little odd and the character models weak, but after a while you will realize that it was meant to be that way to add to the comic book atmosphere.
Graphics Rating: 9.9
Value: The game has some insane difficulty, but also has rewards and secrets. Unlockable characters and plain fun can keep you coming back for MUCH more in this game.
Value Rating: 7.9
Music: Awesome sound effects with a great musical score; however in the later levels the music does not really effect the game like it should. I suggest turning on a Linkin Park CD or something while playing this, I find it adds a lot more to the overall atmosphere and really suites this game.
Music Rating: 8.5
Create an Account
Member Login
