Bloody Right: Bring More Than Gore

Lou Kesten - Associated Press

At a recent industry conference, "Parappa the Rapper" creator Masaya Matsuura urged other video-game designers to move away from "games that motivate the player to use physical attacks as a way of establishing superiority." He wasn't really taking a stand against game violence; rather, he was urging his colleagues to look for more creative, constructive ways to play.

In theory, I agree with Matsuura. After 2007's glut of first-person shooters, I can't work up any enthusiasm for a middling effort like the new "Turok." I'd rather mellow out in Nintendo's benign "Endless Ocean" than endure the nihilistic violence of "Kane & Lynch: Dead Men."

Then again, my favorite games of last year included the bloody, Mature-rated "BioShock," "Mass Effect" and "Call of Duty 4." And every now and then there's a game with such gleeful, over-the-top mayhem that you can't help but marvel at its sheer nerve - something like "No More Heroes."

-"No More Heroes" (Ubisoft, for the Wii, $49.99): The last console game written by Goichi Suda - aka Suda 51 - was 2005's "Killer 7," the spectacularly weird tale of an assassin with multiple personality disorder. "No More Heroes" isn't quite as bizarre, although it's perverse enough that fans will definitely recognize the Suda touch.

The antihero, Travis Touchdown, is a young hit man with an itch to make a name for himself in the brutal town of Santa Destroy. He's the low man on the assassins' totem pole, and the only way to advance is by killing everyone ranked above him. His rivals are a colorful bunch - a gunslinger named Dr. Peace, a wannabe superhero called Destroyman - and a lot of the fun comes from witnessing their distinctive attacks.

You wield Travis' "beam katana" by pressing the Wii Remote's A button; finishing blows are accomplished by swinging the remote and nunchaku to match on-screen prompts. The mix of button-mashing and physical exertion creates an unusually visceral experience, especially after you've made a garage full of henchmen explode like blood-filled pinatas. "No More Heroes" suffers from some lackluster side missions, but the primary assassination jobs are so deliriously entertaining that they're almost as much fun to watch as to play. Three and a half stars out of four.

-"Devil May Cry 4" (Capcom, for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, $59.99): You wouldn't expect much originality out of a game with a "4" in its title, but "Devil May Cry 4" does throw a few curveballs at fans of the series. Longtime demon-hunter Dante has been demoted to supporting character; the prologue is an extended duel between the erstwhile hero and new leading man Nero.

Nero flashes some familiar weapons - a big gun and a bigger sword - but he also sports the Demon Bringer, a glowing right arm that he can use to rip apart monsters or zip across the landscape. As the game progresses, the weapons become more powerful and Nero's arsenal of moves becomes more varied.

Despite the new hero, none of this is particularly fresh, and the level designs are obvious and repetitious. But "DMC4" looks spectacular, and working Nero into a demon-slaughtering frenzy can be highly entertaining. Three stars.

-"Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles" (Ubisoft, for the Nintendo DS, $29.99): If you enjoyed the free-roaming acrobatics of last year's "Assassin's Creed," you may be skeptical about Ubisoft's ability to pull off something similar in a DS game. And you'd be right.

The hero of the prequel "Altair's Chronicles" is a slug compared with the grown-up Altair of the original. "Chronicles" is a much less ambitious hack-and-slash affair. For the most part you travel on a linear path, slicing up anyone who gets in your way, as you search for a legendary artifact. There are occasional interludes where Altair may need to pick a pocket or interrogate a villain, but there's very little need to be stealthy.

It also represents a missed opportunity to fill in some of the gaps in Altair's history. This assassin is as generic as they come, and "Altair's Chronicles" is just an adequate adventure lacking any of the personality of its predecessor. Two stars.

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On the Net:

-"No More Heroes": http://nomoreheroesgame.us.ubi.com/

-"Devil May Cry 4": http://www.devilmaycry.com/

-"Assassin's Creed: Altair's Chronicles": http://assassinscreed.us.ubi.com/  

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Copyright 2012 by Associated Press