Gameplay: 10
Graphics: 9
Sound: 9
Replay: 8
Multiplayer: No


Capcom has a big reputation for making a lot of great games, especially their arcade fighting games. But when they make an action/adventure game they really tend to put a lot into it. Their games are known for being challenging and require you to think and have some decent skills (not quite the skills required to beat most of the nintendo games, but some). Some prime examples of this are the Maximo series and the Onimusha series. They both get pretty tough after awhile. When Viewtiful Joe was announced there was a lot of speculation about it, especially after the screenshots were released. Everyone wondered if a game that looked like that could be any good. Well, read this review to find out.

I don't even have to tell you if it is good. The rating speaks for itself. So, I'll say it, it is that good, and not only is it that good, but it's better. I mean seriously, I didn't even think about wanting this game when I saw the screenshots of it. But I finally gave in and bought it to give it a try because of all the talk about it. Let's just say I wasn't disappointed. This game is revolutionary. It's innovative rather than impersonative. This game sets new boundaries and should even be it's own genre. Sure, it doesn't look like a regular game, and it doesn't play like one either, and that is what makes this 2D/3D side scroller action/adventure game so much freakin' fun.

The game starts off with a guy and his girlfriend in a movie theatre watching a flick based on a popular comic hero, Captain Blue. Needless to say, the guy is a lot more interested in the movie then he is with his girlfriend (*sigh*, he is truly a pathetic guy, I would much rather be getting it on in a movie theatre then watching some cheesy flick). All of a sudden the arch nemesis of Captain Blue pops out of the movie and grabs his girlfriend. He has killed Captain Blue. The main character, Joe, has no clue what to do, but the machine which Captain Blue is in tells Joe he must go in after his girlfriend, and Joe does (he doesn't seem too excited about it, however).

Soon after arriving in the movie world (which has very strange graphics, they are a blend of 2/D, 3D, and cel shading, which makes a very unique look) Joe meets up with Captain Blue. You will, of course, get a tutorial with the basic actions. And after that, you will proceed to begin learning of your true powers and learn to master the VFX! After meeting with Captain Blue you find the V-Watch and turn into...VIEWTIFUL JOE!! Just for those of you who doesn't know what viewtiful means, it means "Beautiful View" (don't ask me). Now you must proceed to learn the VFX powers (VFX means Viewtiful Effects, again, don't ask me).

Let me say, the VFX powers are what makes me give this game's gameplay a perfect score. I mean seriously, this game is so much fun to play with the VFX powers. You have Slow, Zoom In, and Mach Speed in your arsenal. In the game you can dodge enemies attacks (they either attack low or high and by timing it you can duck under them or jump over them and they will temporarily be in a very open position for attack). Using slow will let you see where they are going to attack far ahead of time and when they do, you can attack them even more powerfully then you can normally. If you dodge their attack and then hit them you will immediately KO them and also knock them back into any enemies behind them, very cool. Also, when you use slow you will automatically dodge bullets and missiles. But even better, when in slow you can knock them back at your enemies! Awesome!

Zoom in is a pretty good power. I personally like Slow the best, but the game is made so you have to use different powers to get past certain obstacles and certain bosses are vulnerable to different powers. Zoom in allows you to bust out crazy punch and kick combos and also when jumping you can quickly zoom out and then do a big power drop on the enemies. Zoom in requires a lot of practice to master but when mastered it can be the most powerful of your VFX powers.

Mach Speed is only useful against bosses really. When you find an opening you can use mach speed to move incredibly fast, much faster than the enemy, bust most importantly throw out killer combos in short amounts of time (I mean KILLER combos like as in 100 or so punches/kicks in less than five seconds). Mach Speed can deal out incredible amounts of damage. Be wise about when to use each VFX power. There is a VFX meter that gradually refills over time after being used and can also be expanded on.

A cool part of the gameplay is that by comboing to kill enemies and killing them in more devastating ways gives you more points. These points are then used to buy items, new moves, health meter upgrades, etc. Getting more points is incredibly important in this game. What's cool about it is that if you play in normal mode or above you can keep your stats even after beating the game and use them the next time. This is very useful because the higher difficulties require an improved Viewtiful Joe to beat.

As mentioned before, the graphics in this game are crazy. Crazy-good, that is. I didn't think I would like them when I saw the screenshots originally but after playing the game they are gorgeous. They match the game perfectly. It is obvious there was a lot of work put in to make this game look amazing. The game looks just like a cartoon. All of the characters look far out and out of proportion and the backgrounds and objects look like they are straight out of a comic book.

What's really cool about the graphics is the way they change when you use different VFX powers. It is like entering a different dimension. This part is very appealing to the eye. Viewtiful Joe himself looks very cool. Especially when he goes on fire. There are also a lot of different very well modeled environments spread across the many different levels in this game.

The sound in this game is very well done. The music is very good and it matches the comic book setting. The voice-overs are spot-on. The voices match their characters incredibly well. Captain Blue sounds like a masculine super hero and Joe sounds like a geek. There are a ton of different sounds in this game and they all sound good. A lot of explosions, big hits, etc. Like when using slow the sound slows down and it makes a big boom when crushing your enemies when they are vulnerable. Very cool.
There isn't too much replay in this game, but there is some because of how addicting it is. It definately isn't the longest game in the world, you can beat it in 2-3 days. But it is definately worth at least two play throughs, and people who want to beat it in every mode and upgrade their character will play through it 4-5 times to beat the hardest mode. The unlockables and the ability to play as secret characters such as Joe's girlfriend and Captain Blue add a ton of replay to the game. It's just too bad there isn't some kind of cooperative mode where Captain Blue and Viewtiful Joe could fight side by side.

So overall, this game is just plain incredible. It is revolutionary in my opinion. It should be in the gaming library of every Gamecube owner. You and your friends will have a blast playing it. If nothing else, at least give it a rental. You won't regret it. This game will leave you wanting more, trust me.