5.0 out of 5 stars
Pure. Genius., May 4 2004
After I purchased this game from the Amazon Marketplace, it took about a week and a half before it arrived. I'd like to say that every minute of waiting was worth it; Viewtiful Joe ranks among the best games I have ever played.
As you should know by now, Viewtiful Joe is a beat-'em-up type game. Therefore, I have gotten a bit sick of the people who complain that 'there is no story'. If there's one type of game that doesn't need a story, it's a beat-'em-up. So, in my opinion, the story that they have works very well for Joe.
Now that's out of way, I'll talk about the only thing that's really worth talking about when it comes to video games: gameplay. As a beat-'em-up, Viewtiful Joe is obviously centered on fighting; trust me, the fighting in this game is a blast. You have several options for dealing with your foes. Should I tear through 'em at Mach Speed? Or should I hammer them with Slo-Mo attacks? How about Zooming In and ripping apart a ton of 'em at once with a 360 kick? Or should I just go through the plain method of dodging their attacks, them pounding 'em while they're off balance? And all of these options don't even count the extra moves you can purchase between levels, such as the voomerang and the red hot kick.
Fighting is fun, but there is more to Joe than that. A wide array of puzzles dot every level, requiring you to use logic to figure them out before you progress. The most interesting thing about this is figuring out what logic is in a world seemingly devoid of any. You can make drops of water grow to monstrous proportions by slowing down time, you can catch things on fire by punching them repeatedly at Mach Speed, and you can smash through ceilings by Zooming In and jumping. These puzzles usually aren't too difficult once you get the hang of how things work, but they do the job of giving the logic portion of your brain a workout in between bash fests.
Bottom Line: I've barely been able to put Viewtiful Joe down ever since I got it. If you can appreciate what video games are supposed to be, do yourself a favor and give Joe a try. If you can't, go play Grand Theft Auto or something.