Viewtiful Joe

The Good
I've been waiting for a next-gen system to deliver a quality side scroller for a while, and here it is!

The combination of 3D rendered characters playing on a 2D plane looks fantastic. If that weren't enough, Viewtiful Joe has a number of other graphical treats up its sleeve. Slow-Motion, Fast-Motion, and Zoom-In effects (all which are essential to gameplay) create constantly changing environments.

The graphic style, a sort of anime-comic book, is also a tremendous innovation.

The game itself is a definite challenge. You'll probably think back to those early side-scroller games like mega man when it comes to the pre-final boss stage (a series of previous boss refights). Extensively complex gameplay elements, primarily revolving around fighting styles, sets the learning curve a little higher than most games; however, the payoff is worth it.

The cine-story presentation (complete with intentionally over-the-top announcer) moves along the plot in a refreshingly self-aware manner.

Lastly, the inclusion of power-ups based on previous level success is great.

The Bad
There is actually a little lag when the screen becomes consumed -- however, after years with the original NES side-scrollers, it almost feels like it was intentional.

The Bottom Line
One of the Must-Have Gamecube titles.

The Good
The side-scrolling genre (at least on home consoles) has been becoming more and more endangered. But every once in a while a game comes along and shows that no matter how long the genre's been floating around, it's still definitely viable. AND entertaining.

Viewtiful Joe is a beautiful title, taking full advantage of the cel-shaded style that was so popular for too short a time. The animation is smooth, the enemies and attacks flowing like water (even when the speed and slow capabilities are turned on, which actually help showcase the detail of the characters and animation). The controls are bang-on, though slightly hampered by the Gamecube's slightly odd control scheme... with some practice, however, the button placement becomes second-nature (which is also surprising because of the large number of buttons used to control Joe).

Even the story is unique,

The Bad
Early on the game is incredibly easy. Except for the few scattered puzzles the enemies are easily beaten by just button-mashing (as are many of the enemies throughout the game; punching and kicking are basically interchangeable for attacking). Also, when it comes to the game's puzzles, many are trial and error... with little or no instruction as to even where to start. I spent a significant number of time on the first few puzzles just trying to figure out where to begin.

The Bottom Line
"If you'd like a little bit of the old-school with your new school, check out Joe!"

The Good
This game has a really great graphical style. The gameplay is amazing. I loved the level design and the VFX. The environments are huge! The puzzles are great. I had tons of fun playing this.

The Bad
This game is HARD! Even on Easy, this game is really hard! It's almost impossible to finish. The enemies are almost all the same. The boss battles usually consist of just doing one thing over and over again (e.g. zoomed punches).

The Bottom Line
If you like a challenge, definitely pick this up. If you don't consider yourself hardcore or avid gamer, then maybe you should try some tamer fare, such as Sid Meier's Pirates! for the PC or NCsoft's Guild Wars for the PC.