Preview: No More Heroes: Heroes' Paradise

When the Wii was released, many people complained that motion controls were nothing more than a gimmick, being primarily catered for the "casual" audience. However, when games like Madworld were released, for instance, few copies were sold, giving developers little motivation to create a "mature" game for the Wii. Suda51's No More Heroes happened to have the same result, despite critical acclaim. Aiming to reach out to its intended audience, No More Heroes is currently being remade for the Playstation 3, utilizing the Playstation Move controller. However, this is no simple port -- No More Heroes: Heroes' Paradise is a complete reimagining of the original.

No More Heroes: Heroes' Paradise, like its "original" 2007 release, follows an Otaku Assassin named Travis Touchdown. By chance, he accidentally joins the United Assassins Association (UAA), becoming part of a ranked battle system in the town Santa Destroy. In order to court Sylvia Christel, the head of the UAA, Travis must fight his way to the top by killing the highest ten ranked assassins within the competition.

Heroes' Paradise's gameplay revolves around progressing through a level, killing a multitude of enemies with Travis' signature weapon, the "Beam Katana," which highly resembles that of a Lightsaber from the Star Wars universe. The combat is very simple; the speed and strength of an attack is determined by whether the Move Wand is held vertically up or down, yet, in every instance, only one button is used to execute an attack. When an enemy is near death, an arrow will appear on the screen. If the Move Wand is moved in that general direction, Travis will then assassinate the enemy, causing them to explode in a cloud of blood, leading to a roulette "mini-game." If the slots of the roulette all match up, the player will receive a power-up as a result. These power-ups range from an increase in speed to the ability to create an explosion, eradicating all nearby enemies in the process.

No More Heroes: Heroes' Paradise introduces other new features and differing gameplay elements to not only add to the players' experience, but to improve the game's quality, abandoning its previous faults. For instance, Heroes' Paradise offers the ability to to collect and conserve three powers, allowing the player to use them whenever desired. Additionally, Travis can now punch and kick enemies to stun them, allowing him to grab them and perform a wrestling-inspired move on them. Similar to the roulette mini-game, arrows will appear on the screen, acting as a prompt to initiate the grab. To welcome the addition of the Move Wand, the katana has also received some alterations. In Heroes' Paradise, the katana now has limited battery that can only be recharged by shaking the Wand in a vertical motion. Yet, during this restoration process, Travis is completely exposed to attack, introducing a new strategy to the game the player must learn.

At the end of every level in Heroes' Paradise, a boss battle takes place in which Travis must fight an assassin of a higher rank. These bosses all have unique methods of attack and require a different approach by the player in order to be conquered. Between their vivid personalities and their colorful battle techniques, the ten bosses of Heroes' Paradise truly take the center stage of the game. In order to truly represent their significance, commencing a battle with these opponents is far from a simple task, as it takes both time and effort to achieve.

In Heroes' Paradise, the UAA requires money to organize these fights that must be collected and submitted by Travis. There are a number of jobs that Travis can do to earn money. These tasks are all mini-games and take little time to do, yet add a great deal of variety to the game. If the player happens to find these jobs tedious and frustrating, assassination missions are also available to the player, that reward money based on skill and execution. While the money that is earned from these options is intended to be spent on the main storyline of Heroes' Paradise, the player can choose to put these funds towards new clothes, katanas, or weapon upgrades.

Heroes' Paradise also adds a number of new features that were not available in either the original No More Heroes or its sequel. At certain points in the game, the player is given the option to battle five of the bosses from No More Heroes 2, yet still exclusively following the story of the first game. Giving the player a second chance to partake in these events, the bonus battles are also accessible from Travis' apartment through modes called "nightmares" and "dreams." Additionally, Heroes' Paradise features a Score Attack Mode that pits Travis against all 15 of the game's bosses to compete for a high score. Lastly, the new "Very Sweet" Mode allows players to view various female characters in rather seductive, risqué clothing.

Between the core elements of the original No More Heroes and its several newly introduced features, No More Heroes: Heroes' Paradise certainly looks to appeal to its intended audience at long last, assuring to bring many of its previous fans along for the ride. Now including Playstation Move capabilities, previously controversial motion controls are not simply abandoned by Suda51; rather, they are improved upon, showing that the developers not only believe in this style of gameplay, but aim to show its true potential within the hopeful sensation Heroes' Paradise.

No More Heroes: Heroes' Paradise will be released exclusively for the Playstaion 3 with Playstation Move support on August 16 in North America.

Short Version: No More Heroes: Heroes' Paradise is a unique, quirky action game featuring attitude and pure entertainment. While the combat is simple, Heroes' Paradise is sure to please anyone who is just looking for some good, chaotic fun.