suda 51 |

Killer is Dead

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 10/14/2013

Posted in: Microsoft Consoles, PC Reviews, PlayStation 3, Sony Consoles, Steam Deck Unsupported, Steam Deck Verification, Xbox 360. Tagged: action, killer is dead, Microsoft, nurse, playstation, ps3, sexy, Sony, suda 51, Xbox 360. Leave a comment

Publisher: Xseed Games

Developer: Grasshopper Manufacture

Release Date: 8/27/2013

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Suda 51 is known for his crazy art style and weird games. He’s pretty much the Quintin Tarantino of the video game industry. You may know his other games such as Killer 7, No More Heroes, Lollipop Chainsaw, and Shadows of the Damned. His latest work isn’t his best or his weirdest. Honestly, the game is very short and lacking in every department. Let’s start with the story, you play a hitman named Mondo who works for a hire-to-kill agency and takes on different people. The goal for this is never explained, and honestly, the story makes zero sense. There’s no wrap-up, no climax, no real anything. You just run around killing things for people with no real purpose. There’s something about a guy named David who killed Mondo’s mom and then something about taking back the moon from him. I can’t tell you any more than that because there isn’t anything else, the story could have been interesting but it seriously sucks.

Suda 51 is known for having fun and flashy combat. The combat here is very flashy but very shallow and dull. You just mash square and dodge around a lot to hopefully trigger a slow-mo event where you mash the attack button and can do extra damage. Mondo also has a gun arm called the Musselback. There are 4 different weapons you can unlock through gigolo missions (more on that later) but I honestly never used any of them except the default machine gun attachment. Your arm works off of blood that you gain from killing things and this also fuels your blood drive. Holding R1 and pressing square allows you to instantly kill enemies that aren’t immortal or shielded. All of this sounds fun and dandy, and it may look awesome, but there’s nothing else to it. Upgrades are bare-bones and only let you auto-heal and manual heal while giving you only 5 new attacks which end up being useless. The combat is seriously flawed and simple.

Outside of that, there’s nothing else to do. The missions are varied and the best part about the game is the boss fights and the visuals. The game has Suda 51’s signature art style similar to Killer 7, but it’s technically dated like all his other games. The textures are blurry and ugly and it just lacks any technical flair. Other than the main 12-chapter story you can unlock side missions that are timed with various objectives or gigolo missions. These basically are dating mini-games where you have to stare down a woman’s body without her noticing. Once your “guts” are full you can offer gifts to win her heart over. Before you cry foul there is a purpose: to unlock the Musselback attachments. However, doing these side missions that you unlock will feel pointless because after you beat the short 5-hour story you won’t want to come back. The enemies repeat often, there are very few set pieces in the game, you won’t care about the characters, and the story is confusing and non-existent.

Overall, Killer is Dead is Suda 51’s weakest game. It has the sexual spice, the visual flair, and the weirdness, but not in the good way that it has been put to use before. The combat is bland and shallow, the story sucks, the characters are lame, and there’s no reason to go back. That’s not to say it isn’t worth playing through. Only fans of Suda 51 will really get the game’s concept or general design and appreciate it from an artistic standpoint, but the average gamer will think it’s a load of garbage.

Shadows of the Damned

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 08/11/2012

Posted in: Microsoft Consoles, PlayStation 3, Sony Consoles, Xbox 360. Tagged: horror, Microsoft, shadows of the damned, shooter, suda 51, xbox, Xbox 360. 1 Comment

Publisher: EA

Developer: Grasshopper Manufacture

Release Date: 6/21/2011

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During the first 10 minutes of the game, the first thing you will think is “WTF?” There’s nothing else to describe this game full of childish mature humor and sick twisted ideas. That’s not to say that it is bad. Most of the humor in the game is actually so childish and gross that you can’t help yourself and laugh. Some stuff is downright hilarious such as Johnson’s Boner gun. Before I get into any detail, I have to say the story is pretty entertaining if straightforward and simple. You play Garcia Hotspur who is a Mexican demon hunter and has a demon accompanying him in form of a floating skull named Johnson. I didn’t really care much for Garcia because he is a typical potty-mouthed action hero, but I found Johnson to be the steal of the show. He’s a posh British demon that uses clean cuss words and is a stark contrast to Garcia which makes him more likable and hilarious to listen to. Garcia is trying to get his stolen girlfriend, Paula, back from the demon lord Fleming, and of course, you follow him into the depths of Hell.

That’s about as far as the story goes. There’s a small twist at the very end after the credits, but after you see it you won’t be surprised it happened. The main attraction is the banter between Garcia and Johnson and the stories you read throughout the game. Some of these made me bust up because they were so funny. Other than the story I have to say that I really love the guns in this game. The creators force you to use all three, but they are upgraded so much that they feel like whole new guns throughout the game. Boner is your pistol, Teether is your machine gun, and the Skullblaster is your shotgun. These can get upgraded by finding blue gems from bosses. Boner turns into Hot Boner that can set explosive mines, Teether can get a homing upgrade, and Skullblaster will eventually get an upgrade to create giant bombs. You can find red gems throughout to upgrade your weapons and health. Gracia guzzles down alcohol to heal himself because apparently, alcohol keeps you alive in Hell.

The game works around a light vs dark gameplay idea and it works well. When you are surrounded by darkness your health depletes and you need to shoot a goat candelabra to return the light. Yeah, it’s weird and that’s only the beginning. Gate keys consist of shoving strawberries, eyes, and brains into creepy baby faces that are guarding the gate. One level even has you walking over a giant naked Paula. The game never stops delivering weirdness, and that’s exactly what makes this game so fun, because hey, it’s a Suda 51 game, what do you expect?

There are a few puzzles thrown in that can be fun because they are straightforward. I didn’t even need a walkthrough to get through this game. Even the boss fights use light and darkness to be beaten. In the darkness, you can only see the weak spot of enemies so you have to quickly shoot them because you die. This sounds frustrating but it’s not. You get a darkness shield that depletes before your health starts going down. The enemy design is pretty crazy but repetitive. I got tired of shooting the same demons all the time. The whole game overall is repetitive in nature because it uses the same few elements mixed around a lot. My least favorite idea was the 2D shooting levels. These were frustrating and felt like pointless filler. There’s a fun boss fight at the end of the third level, but I could have gone without these.

After you beat the 8-hour game there’s no reason to go back. There are no multiplayer or extra modes which is a shame. I guess if you want to collect all the red gems you can, but why bother? This is a fun weekend rental or cheap bargain bin purchase and nothing more. If it weren’t for the repetition set throughout and those pointless 2D levels I would have liked this a lot more. Garcia is a hard character to like and the story is simple and straightforward. Overall though, this is a solid game and highly entertaining. Just be warned that mature content isn’t for everyone.

Lollipop Chainsaw

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 07/21/2012

Posted in: Microsoft Consoles, PlayStation 3, Sony Consoles, Xbox 360. Tagged: chainsaw, cheerleader, gore, juliette starling, lollipop, Microsoft, romance, sexy, skirt, suda 51, xbox, Xbox 360, zombie, zombies. Leave a comment

Publisher: Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment

Developer: Grasshopper Manufacture

Release Date: 7/12/2012

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Most of the time when a sexy protagonist is on the front cover you know you’re in for a bad game. Lollipop Chainsaw is actually quite enjoyable if you look past the flaws. You play as the sexy cheerleader Juliet Starling who is part of a zombie hunting family. You must stop a goth kid from turning everyone in your high school and town into zombies. The story is pretty thin and not very interesting because the game isn’t even long enough to dish out a meaty story. With only 6 levels you’re looking for a weekend rental at best. With this being a Suda 51 game you can also expect crazy out the you-know-what. The game is oozing with style and visual eye candy, but is it any good?

The answer is yet, but with flaws. The first issue is combat. There are plenty of combos you can buy and unlock at chop2shop.com stations. You can buy health and other items like art, threads, and music. Once you start unlocking more combos the game is more diverse, but Juliet doesn’t feel like the limber cheerleader she should be. Basic attacks use her pom-poms, but it takes forever to make a zombie groggy enough for a chainsaw kill. I rarely used basic attacks and just stuck to chainsaw attacks. Her chainsaw is cumbersome, and the combat system in general needs more polish. I felt like I was controlling a giant fat guy rather than a nimble girl. Her animations are too long and you get constantly knocked back which means tapping B to recover every time. The combat is just sluggish and not as limber as games like Tomb Raider or Bayonetta.

The combat is even flawed with the chainsaw blaster. Aiming the thing is a pain because it always sticks to enemies like there’s a magnet. I can’t go for precise headshots or aim at barrels. You can use Nick Tickets which are special mini-games that use Nick’s head (her headless boyfriend) as a weapon. These are pretty crazy and funny like shooting his head out of a cone-like topper or swinging him around on a rope among others. You can use your rainbow power to become invincible for a while and start sparkle hunting. If you kill three or more zombies in a row you will a trippy girly pose scene of Juliet and earn bonus coins.

The combat is obviously the main focus because there’s not much else here. There are a few mini-games like pole dancing, jumping on zombie heads, and the few mini-games that are level specific, as well as a few chainsaw dash areas. The 6 levels are interesting and keep things mixed up, but it’s the bosses that are all different and interesting. Each one has some sort of musical skill from a different genre of music. Having to kill them is awesome and full of gore and guts which you will see plenty of.

Lastly, the graphics are not technically impressive but have lots of visual flairs. The blood from zombies flows pink with rainbows, sparkles, and stars flying out. The game is very girly but appeals to men due to the sex appeal and violence. Juliet herself is hard to like and is not as memorable as other females like Lara Croft or Bayonetta. She’s a dingy preppy cheerleader and is the exact stereotype of one. Nick says funnier things than she does, but the sayings just get repetitive and annoying after a while. Juliet is hard to like because she acts dumb, and is weak and selfish personality-wise. The game just isn’t long enough to flesh out the characters and story more.

After you beat the game there’s no reason to back except for ranking mode to beat scores and unlock new stuff. The game has a lot of potential but needs some more polish before it can sit among the action/adventure kings like God of War, Tomb Raider, and Bayonetta. The combat is sluggish and cumbersome, the game is short, and the characters aren’t developed as well as they could have been. There is tons of visual flair, but the game is lacking technically with some low-resolution textures and poor lighting effects. Lollipop Chainsaw is fun for a weekend, but nothing more.

2011 Game of the Year Awards — Achievements — Best Sound Design

Posted by BinaryMessiah on 12/22/2011

Posted in: 2011, Game of the Year Awards. Tagged: 2011, 360, achievements, atlus, awards, battlefield 3, best, dark souls, dice, directx 11, ea, epic games, fps, game of the year, gears of war 3, killzone 3, Microsoft, multiplayer, online, pc, playstation, playstation 3, ps3, rpg, shadows of the damned, shooter, Sony, sound design, steam, suda 51, unreal, xbox. Leave a comment

Great sound design isn’t the music but everything else you hear. Not only is variety good, but it has to match and be unique to the game and atmosphere. Everything from the wind blowing through cracks, swords clashing, breathing, grass rustling, and bullets whizzing it all makes the audio experience.

Battlefield 3

What makes the Battlefield series in the general top most games in sound design is the audio directional placement and just the sheer realism of battle. No other war game has pulled off such rich and visceral sound from bullets whizzing by your head to being able to find a sniper from distance and direction. Everything sounds hyper-realistic, but also completely ensnares you into the battle. This realistic and technically phenomenal achievement puts it over the top of everything else.