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Viewtiful Joe 2 Preview for GameCube
Posted on Monday, May 24, 2004 @ 07:28:41 pm E.S.TOnce upon a time, a movie fanatic named Joe and his girlfriend Sylvia were on a date at a movie theater when Evil decided to pop its big, nasty head in. A villain from the movie the two were watching grabbed Sylvia and pulled her into the movie. Soon, Joe was dragged into an odd movie world as well. After battling with the world famous movie hero Captain Blue, Joe was given extraordinary powers, transforming him into a new action hero, Viewtiful Joe. After foiling an evil plot of world conquest, Joe saved the world, along with his girlfriend and all was peaceful once again, or at least for a little bit.
Capcom’s Viewtiful Joe 2 is the sequel to last year’s stylized, beat-'em up action game, Viewtiful Joe. Players controlled an Average-Joe-turned-hero through eight levels filled with bad guys to destroy and puzzles to solve. The game is most well-known by many for its VFX abilities: Slow, Mach Speed, and Zoom. Joe would used these to punch, kick, and smash his opponents into oblivion. You’d think evil would learn not to mess with Joe, right? Apparently not, because an evil group known as the “Jadow” is threatening Movie Land once again. Now Joe is back for round two, and he’s got some new tricks up his sleeve. Henshin a-go-go baby!
This time around, Joe has a partner on his side, the lovely, pom pom-wielding Sylvia. While she has all of Joe’s VFX abilities, she also has something Joe doesn’t have: a gun. Sylvia has the ability to blast away at her enemies at long range, stunning them. And thanks to this handy little tool, Sylvia can attack her enemies at close range when they are stunned to rack up some major “Viewtiful Points." She is also able to jump higher and run faster than Joe, but when it comes to strength, Joe has the advantage. The two must work together to save Movie Land from another diabolical scheme.
Along with Slow, Mach Speed, and Zoom, Joe and Sylvia now have a new VFX technique that can be used in battle: Replay. This unique ability lets players record anything in the game and play it up to three times. As a result, the attack would do three times as much damage. Players can also record Joe eating a burger, which provides health, and playing it three more times to gain three times as much health. However, this move can be just as dangerous as it is helpful. If players were to accidently record Joe being punched, replaying it would dish out more damage on him. That’s not Joe’s only new move, though. He and Sylvia are now able to pick up their enemies, swing them around, and throw them.
Joe’s trusty Six Machine is also back for some more action, and this time around it can do more then just turn into an airplane. The new and improved Six Machine can now transform into a variety of different vehicles and items. These include a submarine, a drill, a racecar, a cannon, and even a sniper rifle. With all of these new abilities, the Six Machine sounds as though it will play a much more important role in the heroes’ quest to save Movie Land.
Of course, they are going to need all of these new tricks for a reason. The game now features over forty enemies, all hell-bent on stopping Joe and Sylvia from stopping the Jadow's evil scheme. The duo will have to battle their way through them, as well as a bunch of new levels to save the day. For example, one level they will have to travel through is Dino Park, a Jurassic Park-style level. They will also find themselves battling their way through an underground cavern, snow-capped mountains, outer space, ancient Japan and more. With all of the new enemies and levels, the duo will be fighting through a lengthier adventure than the first. The levels are still side scrolling, jumping from platform to platform and solving puzzles that require clevernessto figure out.
Thanks to the addition of Sylvia as a second playable character, Viewtiful Joe 2 will also feature a two player cooperative mode. Two players, one controlling Joe and one controlling Sylvia, can work together to save Movie Land. Each character will have all of their slick moves and VFX powers to destroy every foe that stands in their way. Due to the VFX powers in multiplayer, gamers should use teamwork to keep themselves from annoying each other. If one player were to use Slow both players would be affected by it. So, to rack up massive points players will need to exploit the powers effectively.
Graphically, Viewtiful Joe 2 looks identical to its predecessor. The game still features the same “Viewtiful” unique, cel-shaded art style that made the first game so intriguing. Players will still fight through 2D, left to right stages with 3D backgrounds. The only difference seems to be that the color is a bit livelier. For example, Dino Park is filled to the sky with green trees and plants. Other than this however, everything else looks the same. Character models and VFX effects look as though they were pulled straight from the first game and given a bit of a facelift, which isn’t bad by any means.
Viewtiful Joe was a great game, and the sequel looks to add on a bunch of new gameplay elements while keeping the same gameplay that made the first game so fun. Unfortunately for Joe, the game is set to release in late October this year, a time when a ton of titan games are set to release including Halo 2, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, and Metroid Prime 2: Echoes. Will Joe be overshadowed? Only time will tell.
Preview By: MarioPrime - 683 Reads
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