Written by: Mark

 

 

 

The first "No More Heroes" was one of the rare breed of games for the Nintendo Wii that was aimed at a more mature audience and instantly became a success thanks to it’s quirky gameplay packed with intense over the top action.

 

Thanks to this it was inevitable that we would see a sequel and that time is upon us with "No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle".

 

The question on every Wii owners lips would be whether the sequel could improve on the first game or would it prove to be a one trick pony?

 

 

Once again the player takes on the role of Travis Touchdown who in the first game was the number one assassin in the world only in Desperate Struggle he has fallen down the pecking order and is looking to regain the number one position.

 

Despite the cut scenes which set the tone of the game well it never really explains as to why Travis has seen the slump in the three year period. This could have been to encourage more newcomers to the games however fans of the original may want these unanswered questions explaining.

 

 

Throughout the game the story moves along at a pretty good pace and the early stages act as a good introduction for the more intenseness which is to follow.

 

In my opinion however, a game such as this is all about how it pulls off the frantic action and not the story and therefore it will be judged on the gameplay rather other aspects.

 

 

In the original game there was a certain amount of criticism about the city which was slightly lacking in features and on occasions it proved to be a bit of a chore to progress between missions.

 

The sequel has seen an overhaul in this respect and now missions can be selected simply by selecting locations on a map. Whilst this does take away an amount of the sandbox feel it makes the battles and side missions appear more frequently and as a result speeds up the process and become more user friendly.

 

On the negative side it seems to make the game feel that corners have been cut to suit all gamers and personally I feel that the game would have felt more benefit if it would have had some exploration feel in addition to the map selecting option.

 

In between the main missions the side quests offer a fair amount of variety and are a real throwback in terms of gameplay and are presented as 8 bit mini games in the style of numerous NES games. Whilst this may appeal to fans of retro games it soon becomes a little boring if I am honest and will certainly not live long in the memory apart from how crazy they are.

 

Whilst these mini games do prove a distraction the game is all about the frantic battle scenes which to be honest work very well and see Travis battling a nice variety of enemies to the death using either a combination of Wiimote and nunchuck or the classic controller.

 

Battles themselves prove lengthy and enjoyable with a good amount of variety amongst enemies and this is where the game really shines. Admittedly the camera may not be the most helpful however this can be forgive thanks to the frantic and absorbing action.

 

In Desperate Struggle the weapons on offer have improved and see more variety which is welcome and certainly proves enjoyable to be able to dual wield twin katanas using you Wiimote to control them.

 

 

Unquestionably the gameplay seems more streamlined from the first game and whilst it may not be perfect seems to have ironed out several of the flaws present and proves to be a really enjoyable title.