PAX 09: No More Heroes 2 Hands On

I can't lie or pretend otherwise, the game that I was most looking forward to at PAX this year was No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle. Being publicly playable for the first time in North America on the expo floor the demo had players immediately jump back into the role of Travis Touchdown in the middle of an assassination mission at a swank mansion. The action largely unfolded like its predecessor with a few additions that fans of the original will definitely enjoy.

The first big change in the follow up is what felt like a revamped A.I. system for enemies. Most enemies wouldn't simply run up and attack with a single attack. With a variety of projectile and hand-to-hand moves at their disposal, these guys were little harder to predict than the last round of brawler fodder. Don't fret, Travis has a few new moves up his sleeve to take these guys on. With even more "over the top" beam katana finishers, bone breaking wrestling inspired slams, and a new class of melee attacks, Travis has more than enough ways to fabulously eviscerate his foes.

The brief demo included a few rooms for players to get back into the swing of things before throwing them into a boss fight was the strangest pimp with an Irish accent that I've ever seen in a game. After a pithy introduction to each other, the pimp throws his ladies at Travis while launching an attack on the faux hawked hero himself which results in the goriest deaths I saw all convention long. A classically paced, "3 phase" boss battle erupts and before I knew it I reached a grindhouse-like cliffhanger ending that left me wanting more.

After completing Travis's first adventure, one cannot be blamed for wondering how its game director, Suda 51, could top himself. How could it get campier? How could it be any more violent? What kind of mind melting ending can out do Travis' last mission? But the overall feeling that I got from demo was that the title was more intense, much faster, and drastically more brutal. Travis' quest for personal revenge promises to unleash a darker side of the character that was only hinted at in the first title and I cannot wait to see more when the game launches early next year.