Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Goichi Suda
System: Nintendo Wii
Genre: Action Adventure
Release date: Available now
Review by: Christopher J. Troilo

No More Heroes is your typical “boy meets girl, boy falls for girl, boy uses katana to assassinate other contract killers in order to impress girl” story. This is standard modus operandi for the little town of Santa Destroy, where we meet Travis Touchdown, a 20-something punk living out of a motel. Having just discovered he’s the 11th ranked assassin in the world, Travis decides it’s his destiny to be No. 1. In order to do so, he’s going to have to eliminate all of the competition ahead of him.

Travis’ weapon of choice is the Blood Berry — a long laser sword shaped like a fluorescent tube. In addition to the Blood Berry, Travis uses amateur wrestling moves, learned by watching old videos rented from a local store, to subdue his foes. In addition, every kill move Travis performs generates a temporary power-up, like “Strawberry on the Shortcake,” which allows the player to move extra fast.

In order to compete for the spots above him, Travis must raise money as an entry fee. This is then paid to the mysterious and seductive Sylvia Christel, who arranges all of Travis’ fights. In order to acquire these funds, Travis must complete a series of odd jobs, such as picking up trashing or running errands around town. He can also accept off-plot assassination gigs, such as eliminating the owner of a pizza parlor, in order to get cash.

Once the finances are settled, Travis is sent to where the assassin ranked ahead of him is waiting. Usually, he’ll have to battle through this arena, such as a baseball stadium or high school, killing off the assassin’s hired goons with a bevy of attacks. He then challenges the assassin to a duel from which only one of them will walk away.