No More Heroes is a stand out title on the Wii for a few reasons, stylistically and content wise it is unique to any other offering on the system. No More Heroes places you as a hitman, but not just any hitman, one that is striving to be number one and in order to do so you must take out a list of other murderers. It presents itself in a very dark, yet funny way and really tries to be different, which for the most part works well and makes it like no other title for the Wii.

Presentation & Graphics:

The graphics of No More Heroes is cartoonish/anime in style and for the most part works very well, but there are some frame rate issues in the game. The style of the game is very similar to Killer 7 and adds to the feel of the game, unfortunately the presentation is limited by the capabilities of the Wii. From a presentation standpoint you can almost consider No More Heroes like a Wii version of GTA set in a less realistic world with over the top characters and futuristic weapons. 7.5 of 10

Sound & Music:

The sounds in No more Heroes are solid and go with the over the top theme. The sounds of cutting people’s limbs off and having blood pour out all over are well done. Of most interest is the system where Travis gets phone calls and you can listen to them on the Wiimote speaker, no sound goes through your television so you have to use the WIimote like a phone. Very innovative thinking by the creators to add the use of the Wiimote in. 8 of 10

Gameplay:

You are Travis Touchdown (great name don’t you think?) and your goal is to become the number one assassin by taking out other assassins and hitmen on a leaderboard. How do you think you will achieve all the kills? Well with your trusty sword, which bears a strong resemblance to a lightsaber, I guess that would make you a foul mouthed jedi of some sort? One that rides an Akira inspired motorcycle around the city, which you can remotely call to your side at any time, this makes moving around the city a lot easier.

The battles revolve around the use of the energy sword Travis carries and the blood and mayhem it causes. Travis uses his sword to hack and slash his way to the top literally, he cuts of limbs and heads and sends blood splattering everywhere. The game uses the Wiimote very well , the A button attacks with the sword and the B button switches you to hand to hand combat. Once you have knocked an enemy into a dizzy state you can finish them with different moves form the Wiimote. Your energy sword does become depleted and in order to recharge your weapon you have to waggle the controller from side to side, this actually looks like you are jerking off and even the character on screen looks a bit dirty doing it.

The fights boil down to missions that need to be completed and boss battles. Boss battles are typically long and prefaced with a speech from the boss to Travis. Most boss battles are fun and challenging. The missions on the other hand can be a bit wonky, some require you to beat people using only certain moves or not take any damage. For the most part the mission system is not that great and leaves much to be desired.

The gameplay in No More Heroes is really where things shine. The use of the Wiimote is very well incorporated into the game, from the killer blows, to reloading your energy to picking up phone calls. 8.5 of 10

Lasting Appeal:

No More Heroes offers a good time from your first play through but I don’t see many people picking this up for second run through. There is a lot of open world to explore on your bike and different clothing to collect to customize your character, but you can run through this game in less than 20 hours or so. If the Wii were capable of some downloadable content this could have some decent replay value if you could get some extra missions, unfortunately this isn’t possible. 7 of 10

Final Word:

No more Heroes is an over the top gore fest that moves away form the countless casual and kiddy games that are offered on the Wii. I applaud it’s style and use of the Wii controls, but it falls short of a stellar title by lacking more depth. A lot of fun and if you want a different title to play on your Wii check this one out.

Overall: 7.5 of 10