PixlBit

Having reviewed the game for NWR I agree AND disagree with some of your points. I agree that the game's storyline is a tad more serious than the first one, but I feel it's still ridiculous enough that it never gets pretentious. In my review, I compared it to a Quentin Tarantino revenge film in which the character goes on a very personal and deep journey of revenge, but does it in such a ridiculous manner than any hints of serious storytelling gets blocked by insanity and eye candy. Think of it as being the male, videogame version of Kill Bill.

The game does feel a tad easier, but it should be noted that it has multiple difficulty settings, and if the last boss battle is any indication playing the game at a higher difficulty setting should be an enjoyable challenge. Also the extra polish given to the gameplay also makes it that much easier to learn and get into.

I disagree in that the assassins are not as engaging. They are far more ridiculous this time around (I mean...Kevin McDonald has mecha cheerleaders!). I think what you mean is that the game doesn't give them enough presence to make them memorable. In the first game, whenever you entered a ranking match you read the assassin's name along with a creepy shadow of them, perfectly setting the mood and making the battle feel like an event.

I think that with Desperate Struggle Suda51 really wanted to address some of the complains about the first one. You should note that A LOT of people had issues traveling around Santa Destroy, navigating Travis's bike, working to enter the matches and many other things. So the sequel feels more straight forward, apologetic in many ways.

Suda51 and Grasshopper are eccentric game makers, often making games that don't make sense or aren't accessible from the get go. Killer 7 is proof of that. Desperate Struggle may be the first game that actually tries to be easier, more inviting and more forgiving, whereas the first one YOU had to learn its rules and learn to enjoy it. In many ways, we have gotten used to the crazy game design that seeing a more straight forward product out of them feels even weirder.

But I am rambling now. I think it's one of the best games of the year yet.

While I love the whole classic Sonic series I never liked Sonic and Knuckles that much. That said, I thought the lock-on technology was fantastic, and the first time I saw Knuckles in Sonic 2 I nearly passed out in fanboy glee :D

To this day I haven't bothered with it. I heard so many things about control issues that being able to summon keyboard cat wasn't enough to warrant a purchase, much less a try.

If there's one GameCube game that truly deserves a New Play Control re-release is Eternal Darkness. Such an underrated classic. It might appear to be very pretentious, but all of the stories are so well written and so well connected in one huge narrative I can't help but stare in awe at the effort they put into this game.

Luke: I know that the companies promote these games, but their methods of promotion are aimed solely at the fans, the people likely to have their consoles connected and know how to work it.

What I mean is to try and reach an audience that likely doesn't know about these games. They buy the consoles for a specific game and most likely don't know anything about additional games for download.

Take a look at Apple, for example. They constantly promote apps for the iPhone and iPods, selling the idea of downloadable content to an audience beyond the hardcore fans. Because of this the idea of downloading content isn't an alien one. People know how to download an MP3 and how to download or stream a movie via Netflix. If they can do that I am sure they can download a WiiWare, PSN or Xbox Live title. All they need is the push in the right direction, and that push can be provided by the companies.

The more I think about it, the more I believe that the design of the Wii Balance Board is ingenious. It might be limited to what the Tony Hawk board can do, but it is MUCH safer and doesn't require the user to put a lot of effort into it. Just pulling some weight gets the desired results.

I also think that the Balance Board could replicate skateboard in a solid manner. Last I heard Skate It was pretty good with the BB, as well as the skateboarding mini game in Wii Fit Plus.

While I agree that downloadable games is a significant innovation, there's one huge problem that's keeping this from growing further: All three companies are doing very little to promote these services.

All I've seen in TV are ads for the downloadable GTA IV episodes and one add for Pokemon Rumble on WiiWare. Its almost as if the companies wants to see this as a niche market and focusing on traditional retail.

Here's what I think. All three companies offer point cards good towards the purchase of downloadable games. They could advertise these cards as great alternatives for gifts and showcase the best games on the services.

Make the public aware that you can find these great games on their favorite consoles, created a wider audience. It was successful with music, it was successful with movies so why should games be out of the equation?

Also, one HUGE advantage downloadable gaming has is that you will always find a game on the servers, even if its very obscure and a commercial failure. With retail, games have to fight for shelf space, which is usually reserved for more commercial titles. So a game like Little King's Story for Wii could be found for download at any time, while at retail you have to hunt it down.

My biggest issue with the game is definitely the campaign mode. If you want to play the traditional story mode you have to play through the mission modes, beat the boss characters and THEN you can play as them in the story mode within the campaign mode.

Its a very messy design choice.

Nick, you are wrong. You just decided to hate it before you played it. Mr. Hawk said so! LAWLS! XD

But seriously, I am afraid of the skateboard. It definitely looks like a world of hurt waiting to happen.

This is indeed very cool! If only Nintendo did more of these things, especially for WiiWare games.

Thanks for the tip, Luke!