No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle

[Super Craig]

The RRP seems to be £29.99. That's the price HMV are doing it for anyway.

[Warszawa]

http://www.unthinkable.biz/home/article/15...%5Cs-airport-51

[Lothar Hex]

Playing this for a review, having fun so far. I watched the anime parody vid on the TV and felt uncomfortable afterwards.

[Meh]

Was your seating posture not quite to your liking?

[Lothar Hex]

Indeed.

Anyway, I've just been reading there were plans to release two versions of the game in Europe, essentially with and without blood. My copy has blood but I haven't seen any copies in shops stating they don't. Has this happened?

[Warszawa]

Indeed.

Anyway, I've just been reading there were plans to release two versions of the game in Europe, essentially with and without blood. My copy has blood but I haven't seen any copies in shops stating they don't. Has this happened?

No, that didn't come to fruition.

[Professor Puzzles]

The last four boss fights are superb! Love the music espekshially.

[Lothar Hex]

So question, I know there's 4 kinds of beam katana now, but the first one you can purchase, the Camellia (the green one that actually looks like a katana), is that an upgrade for the Blood Berry or different to it in any way? In the first it was the most expensive one the most powerful. Here I dunno if it's fast but not as powerful, or more powerful, whatever. I know the other two are different (one increases in power the hornier Travis gets, the other is a set of duel ones), but no idea if this is actually any different.

[Swallow]

It has slightly different stats in regard to how long it remains charged, particularly in Ecstasy mode, but it's not a straight upgrade. All the weapons in this remain useful throughout the game.

[Lothar Hex]

It has slightly different stats in regard to how long it remains charged, particularly in Ecstasy mode, but it's not a straight upgrade. All the weapons in this remain useful throughout the game.

Is there a way to view the stats?

Anyway, completed, but please Grasshopper. Never do a fucking platforming game ever. You fucks. Having to do jumps when you can't control the camera is NOT FUN.

That's the only really bad thing about this game.

[Preacher]

I found it to be a bit of a flat fart in comparison to the first game. After the amazingness of the intro battle, it feels so by-the-numbers, despite having a far more refined combat system. There's no phonecalls, and the bosses don't get hyped up whatsoever. If anything, it slightly reels in the daftness.

I'll go one further by saying Desperate Struggle should never have existed. After having the balls to hold up a mirror to the player in NMH and say "what are you doing?", it's absolutely crushing to find them undermining that sentiment, as well as the whole "punk's not dead" ethos. Yeah right - it's just busy selling out.

If you don't know what I'm talking about, read this. It suffices to say that NMH is one of the few video games that effectively uses the medium to confront the player, rendering everything else the intellectual equivalent of a Transformers movie.

I kept telling myself "But if Grasshopper are smart and ballsy enough to make games like Killer 7 and NMH, surely they can make a sequel work?"

Nah. It's just a game now. It's still more coherent than a lot of other stuff mind you, but in light of what they achieved with NMH, that's not saying much, really. I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it on some level, but any sense I had of an impending "WTF" moment was completely absent here.

Doesn't bode well for the forthcoming EA collaboration.

[Jonzo]

I'm going to to go to that Airport 51 shop after work, no way i'm missing that! Anyone else?

I've got one fight remaining on NMH2, and then i'm going to do a big write up - the first game being one of my all-time favourite titles.

[wev]

Struggling with the Samurai dude that summons the purple dragon. Figured out to make him dash attack but can't seem to prevent the dragon thing hurting (and ultimately killing) me...

[Warszawa]

Struggling with the Samurai dude that summons the purple dragon. Figured out to make him dash attack but can't seem to prevent the dragon thing hurting (and ultimately killing) me...

Either roll, roll and roll again (and get out of the way when the floor beneath you is bright pink). Or...be cheap and change your weapon just as the dragon first emerges (the part rife with most potential damage).

[wev]

Thanks, bitch will be going down tomorrow! Only bit I've struggled with thus far, well aside from Shinobu's jumpy bits.

[Djx]

Awesome game. Just spent the last two days enjoying every minute of this. It's a bit too streamlined though.

I'm all for games that put the player first but, man, the rapid nature of the game was surprising.

I knew that the overworld was trimmed down but to list form?

It was a bit annoying seeing some of Travis's kills taken away from him by Henry, off-screen.

It's £14:91 at Amazon.co.uk now too:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/No-More-Heroes-Desperate-Struggle/dp/B003AZZ8SG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1280856354&sr=8-1

That NMH2 Japanese Ltd edition is pretty cool:

[Kayin Amoh]

I'd really like a Shinobu edition. She's about three million times more interesting than Sylvia.

[Ketchup]

Picked this up for £15. Im really enjoying it but it's missing what made the first one great. The cutscenes before each fight. I've only done three battles now so far so i guess things could improve but the fights have been over in minutes and i don't even know anything about the characters.

In NMH1 you'd find out their name and then when you met them you'd get 10 minutes of them explaining who they are and why they do this. On the 3rd fight of NMH2 there wasn't even an explanation, just a fight. And that's what i really enjoyed, the over the top cut scenes.

[Nespresso]

Do we have a thread for the first game? Probably have but I'm too lazy to look for it so here goes.

I recently bought NMH1 and I find myself just slashing away and also having my wrist be annihilated after 30 mins of play. It comes with a heavy dose of waggle sadly. I've done 2 boss battles now, which I have won, but there wasn't a whole lot of skill involved on my part. Is there something I should be paying attention to?

[Ketchup]

The start of NMH1 is pretty easy but it'll soon ramp up and you'll have to use evade and dark moves to get through the game. Why everyone says there is lots of waggle i don't know. You hammer A and flick the controller only for finishing moves. Deep down the gameplay is rather basic, i find it's the setting, the cutscenes and the music that make it an experience.

[Rudderless]

Picked this up for £15. Im really enjoying it but it's missing what made the first one great. The cutscenes before each fight. I've only done three battles now so far so i guess things could improve but the fights have been over in minutes and i don't even know anything about the characters.

In NMH1 you'd find out their name and then when you met them you'd get 10 minutes of them explaining who they are and why they do this. On the 3rd fight of NMH2 there wasn't even an explanation, just a fight. And that's what i really enjoyed, the over the top cut scenes.

I think as much as anything it's the sense of each fight being an event. The payoff isn't nearly as satisfying without that build-up.

[McSpeed]

Do we have a thread for the first game? Probably have but I'm too lazy to look for it so here goes.

I recently bought NMH1 and I find myself just slashing away and also having my wrist be annihilated after 30 mins of play. It comes with a heavy dose of waggle sadly. I've done 2 boss battles now, which I have won, but there wasn't a whole lot of skill involved on my part. Is there something I should be paying attention to?

You're doing it wrong, mate There's actually just a bit of waggle involved: when doing regular swordplay, you just have to keep it up or down to change your stance.

Although I did like to really go up into the game every now and then and swing the Wii Remote like a madman

By the way: I'll be having an interview with Goichi Suda during Gamescom later this week! Question suggestions are always welcome

[GViper]

What? This is rated low on my waggle-o-meter. Apart from the sword clashes, everything else is a simple flick of the wrist action, no intensity or effort required!

[Ketchup]

Finally completed this and im disappointed. The final boss battle, i had to cheat using an unlimited health code as i could not get past him. He spammed moves, used super moves and basically i found it to be a huge cheat. It's bad enough when a boss is powerful but when they have unblockable moves, moves that don't miss and they spam it whilst you're either on the ground or in a corner is wrong. I had no trouble with the other matches after learning their patterns but the final boss GRRRR.

But thats not why im disappointed. It's just no where near as good as the original. The ending is terrible whilst the first was funny and silly. The fights had no build up and little exit. I didn't care who i was fighting or even why. Can someone explain to me who the spaceman was and why he was even a ranked fighter? Because the game failed to tell me.

It's a real shame, the first game was fun, had great cutscenes and a mental story. This started off promising with the first fight but with a couple of exceptions paled in comparison. Really disappointed.

[Meh]

It's so weird, NMH2. I hated the first game - absolutely hated it - but it kept me coming back just to see how batshit it was all going to get. In that respect, it never disappointed.

The sequel doesn't have anywhere near the amount of insanity the first game possessed, and despite being a better game overall, I just couldn't be arsed to finish it.

Sylvia, though, eh? EH?

[shynra]

It's £14:91 at Amazon.co.uk now too:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/No-More-Heroes-Desperate-Struggle/dp/B003AZZ8SG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=videogames&qid=1280856354&sr=8-1

Ordered! Thanks... still not completed the first - now heres a reason

[Jonzo]

Finally completed this and im disappointed. The final boss battle, i had to cheat using an unlimited health code as i could not get past him. He spammed moves, used super moves and basically i found it to be a huge cheat. It's bad enough when a boss is powerful but when they have unblockable moves, moves that don't miss and they spam it whilst you're either on the ground or in a corner is wrong. I had no trouble with the other matches after learning their patterns but the final boss GRRRR.

Plus the fact that he can knock you clean out of the window, in one hit, at ANY time, killing you.

Absolutely dreadful boss fight.

[Solid SOAP]

No More Heroes 1 was so much more memorable than 2, it's really hard to explain why. It has this old school nostalgic feel to it, making it feel a lot older than it actually is, while NMH2 actually feels like it was made during this generation. I dunno why, but I always feel like I'm playing a Dreamcast or N64 game when I play the original, mostly during the overworld sections. They're shit and charmless, but there's something about them that is engrained into my mind that for some reason I actually enjoy.

[Treble]

No More Heroes 1 was so much more memorable than 2, it's really hard to explain why. It has this old school nostalgic feel to it, making it feel a lot older than it actually is, while NMH2 actually feels like it was made during this generation. I dunno why, but I always feel like I'm playing a Dreamcast or N64 game when I play the original, mostly during the overworld sections. They're shit and charmless, but there's something about them that is engrained into my mind that for some reason I actually enjoy.

Totally agree. Possibly it's because gameplay sections and styles were chucked-in together without any real thought to cohesion, but simply because they were fun (and some certainly worked whilst some definitely didn't). This goes against everything in the modern day developers' handbook, so feels like a treasure from a different age (if that's not over-stating things too much!)

[Keyboard Koala]

No More Heroes 1 was so much more memorable than 2, it's really hard to explain why. It has this old school nostalgic feel to it, making it feel a lot older than it actually is, while NMH2 actually feels like it was made during this generation. I dunno why, but I always feel like I'm playing a Dreamcast or N64 game when I play the original, mostly during the overworld sections. They're shit and charmless, but there's something about them that is engrained into my mind that for some reason I actually enjoy.

Spot on.

Just finished the first one, and have now started playing Desperate Struggle.

No More Heroes' open world city reminded me a lot of the first Crazy Taxi, and those early open world driving games on the PS1 like Die Hard Trilogy pt.3 and the first Driver.

Then there's the sequel. Seems like an improvement in every department at first until you're back in Santa Destroy, and spend some more time in it.

Where's the city? It was far from perfect in its predecessor, but it had that undeniable retro charm that makes me wonder why the development team of 2 thought it'd be a good idea to drop it altogether.

The mini-games aren't as fun as in the original either. I agree that the 8-bit games are a neat idea, but using it in all of the mini-games is overkill. And not in a good way.

I'm not even sure I like the overhauled graphical style. It looks smoother than in No More Heroes, but it doesn't suit the game, imo. The first game's clean edged graphics were far more suited to the NMH universe than the slightly blurry ones of the sequel.

A shame really, as I still like the characters, and the story seems interesting too.

And at least they'd decided not to censor this one.