Reviewed by: DNM
Developer: CAPCOM
Publisher: Sony

Initially a Gamecube release around October 2003, and brought to the PlayStation 2 a year on, Viewtiful Joe is definitely one of those games that lifts the eyebrows and makes you realise just why you still haven't grown up and are still playing games!! I don't usually refer to the final verdict so early on in a review, but there just can't be any denying just how damn good Viewtiful Joe is.

Joe is a big movie fan, who takes his girlfriend Silvia to see one of his favourite movies 'Captain Blue'. As you can imagine she's none too enthralled with this particular date and attempts to divert Joe's attentions via other means; actually, watch the intro movie at the start and tell me it doesn't look dodgy! Anyway, some dark evil dude grabs Silvia from inside Movie Land and Joe follows in hot pursuit. So begins the adventures of Viewtiful Joe, ably tutored by Captain Blue himself.

Essentially 'Viewtiful Joe' is a side-scrolling platformer, but what makes it rather unique is the cartoon world you control him in. A blend of 2D and 3D cartoon graphics produces an excellent visual effect. I suppose in places the graphics remind me of the old children's animated series 'Paddington Bear', only the backgrounds are coloured in. Hmmm, I know what I mean! It is actually rather difficult to describe it, and is certainly something you have to see with your own eyes.

Joe begins with very little in the way of Viewtiful skills (Viewtiful means beautiful view apparently), and begins life as just himself within the movie. Before long you meet up with good old Cap'n Blue who gives you your first lesson which then gives you your first Viewtiful skill, and your own bright red super hero gear! There are three main skills to Joe's arsenal, the first being 'Slow' that enables Joe to slow down time, which makes dodging bullets and taking down enemies extremely easy. The next skill you learn is 'Mach Speed' which makes you run faster, and hence punch/kick quicker. The final skill is 'Zoom' that enables powerful attacks like the upwards spin and downwards spiralling shockwave. Naturally you can combine Slow with Zoom, Zoom with Mach Speed, enabling you to perform some truly classic moves. Care has to be taken not to overuse Joe's powers as you only have a limited amount of VFX before you a transformed into the normal powerless Joe. It doesn't take long for your VFX meter to recharge, but can be the difference between life and death in hectic situations. You are further aided by 'shop' items which you can purchase if you have enough Viewtiful points. These include deadly boomerangs and bombs, along with new moves for Joe to perform and also you can purchase extra lives too.

The special moves also play a huge part in solving the games many puzzles. While these won't ever particularly tax the mind, working out which of Joe's skills to use can be rewarding. For example, you will soon learn that when in Slow mode this causes certain objects to drop to the floor when previously they weren't accessible, and that Mach Speed will cause them to rise higher. I haven't mentioned a game specific example so as to not spoil the game for others, but the following sentence is ghosted out and DOES contain a spoiler:- One puzzle involves jumping on top of a bus and leaping a long cavern below. To do this you need to use Slow to really get the outboard motors (yes quite!) firing up and then use Mach Speed to propel you over to the other side. Hello again!

The enemies in the game come in the form of Pawns, a kind of crash test dummy looking foe built up with mechanical parts. There are a few different Pawns, including the Cowboy Pawns who will leap up and fire off a salvo at you, and the Heli Pawns who as the name suggest fly above you dropping bombs. These are the basic enemies, but there are others along the way. Where the game really stretches your skills is the boss encounters. Obviously Joe's main skills come into play, but you have to work out which skill or combination of skills is best to take the boss down.

Presentation wise the game is nothing short of stunning, with the aforementioned layered cartoon style really working nicely especially when Joe turns corners and the whole thing wraps around him. The visual effects while in the three different skill modes are fantastic, in particular when in Slow mode where you see the Pawns disintegrating in a pile of spare parts! Sound is your typical classic CAPCOM arcade style with pleasant tunes backing up the violence within!

I can safely say that Viewtiful Joe is another of those moments in your gaming calendar that will write itself permanently in memory. There are only a few games to do that to me in a lifetime, ICO being possibly the last one for me as far as console games are concerned. To entice the PS2 folk further, you can play through the game again once complete as Dante from Devil May Cry!! This opens up a new game experience with Dante's style differing distinctly from Joe's. And all of this comes to you on at the princely sum of £19.99! Life is grand, life is Viewtiful!

Presentation	9
Superb layered cartoon styled graphics, loud and proud arcade sound and visual effects to die for.
Gameplay	8
Excellent balance throughout, but the difficulty of some of the bosses may well frustrate.
Value	10
Astonishingly good value, with a RRP of £19.99, and you can pick it up for £14.99 in some places.
Benchmark	9
A definite leap up a platform or two for the side-scrolling platform genre. You always think you'll never say that again!
Score	9
An all round polished and compelling game... Viewtiful in fact!

Buy 'Viewtiful Joe' for the PS2 from GAME!

Minimum Spec	Reviewed on
A PlayStation 2 would be to your advantage!	A PlayStation 2!