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.

Preview: Catherine

Many people complain that the video game industry is growing stale as it continues to "borrow" concepts and ideas from popular franchises like Call of Duty. However, certain, more innovative games have been greatly overlooked, despite the fact that they bring a sense of "freshness" to the table, for better or worse. For instance, games like Madworld and Demon's Souls received critical acclaim, yet made a minimal amount of money in comparison to many of the "clones" of Call of Duty. Yet, in order to prove that originality can be just as successful as familiarity, some companies are always willing to take risks, as Atlus is with their upcoming game Catherine.

Catherine is an "erotic horror puzzle-platformer adventure game" being developed by Atlus, the studio behind such "cult" favorites as the Megami Tensei and Trauma Center series. Catherine is a game that earns its mature rating through its plentiful demonstrations of sexual themes throughout its story, yet manages to portray a unique look into how relationships ultimately play out. The story follows a 32-year-old man named Vincent who is in a relationship with a woman named Katherine. Katherine acts as a source of anxiety for Vincent when she brings up the idea of marriage to her companion. Shortly after this incident, Vincent meets Catherine, a girl with a virtually opposite personality of Katherine's. Vincent must then choose which he would prefer: a stable, peaceful marriage with Katherine, or a sexually active, commitment-free partnership with Catherine. While it is clear that Catherine is a story-driven game, Atlus assures they are focusing on an innovative style of gameplay to coincide with their unique presentation.

The gameplay itself is split into daytime and nightmare stages, which will be alternatively played after one another. During the day, Vincent goes to the Stray Sheep Bar where he discusses the progression of his situation with his friends, confers with other individuals present at the bar, and interacts with his phone, the main gameplay aspect during this phase of gameplay. However, when Vincent eventually drifts off to sleep, the nightmare stages begin, in which a more traditional style of gameplay is introduced. Vincent must climb his way up a large "staircase" of blocks before being killed by varying creatures following closely behind. Blocks must be rearranged by pulling, pushing, or climbing them to advance further up said staircase. Once Vincent reaches the top, the segment ends, and the following daytime phase begins.

Catherine is being marketed rather heavily on the fact that it often deals with sexual themes; yet, because of their purpose and depth, this aspect is considered far too heavily by its skeptics. Catherine uses sexuality to explore an essential element of relationships and to offer a view that is virtually never explored to this level by other video games.

Catherine is a game that certainly is unafraid to push any boundaries, as it risks both a new style of gameplay that is unorthodox to any typical style of gameplay and a story that hides its true depth within the theme of sexuality. Catherine has already hit stores in Japan and is coming to the United States on both the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 on July 26. A demo will be available for both Xbox 360 and Playstation 3 on July 12.

Short version: Catherine is an incredibly unique platformer-puzzle game heavily driven by its risky, potentially unsettling story.