First Look: No More Heroes

I wasn't expecting to like this as much as I do. From the moment you start the game for the first time it's incredibly cool. The highly stylized visuals and the way the story is introduced all drips with atmosphere and a brilliant sense of humour.

At first I was a little disappointed with the gameplay. I was expecting to be able too swing my wii-mote around like a whirlwind chopping up bad guys like so many Master Onions but instead your combos are mainly confined to the A and B Buttons. Swings of the wii-mote are used for finishing moves where you swing the wii-mote in the direction of a little onscreen icon. It's also used to charge the beam katana and pull of wrestling throws. Once you're in the thick of the action though it makes sense and you're soon working up quite a sweat (or at least I was anyway) and stylishly chopping your way through minions to get to the boss battle. I'm assuming the PAL version has been sanitised cos sadly the bad guys disolve a-la the slain vampires in Buffy.

I spent last night doing side quests, side assasinations and visiting the shops and the gym. While it's not actually a living breathing city in the style of a GTA there's enough going on to make it more than just a hub world. I particularly liked the gym. The stat improving mini games where a very nice touch making me do reps with the nunchuck and wii-mote.

My only slight reservation is whether there's enough variety in the main story. 11 Assassins to take down. I'm now number 9 and so far the formula has been fairly simular. If the humour and great dialogue continue then I guess I'll enjoy the ride.