I don't feel like writing a proper review right now, but I spent a good amount of time playing No More Heroes 2 over the weekend, so I know enough about it to give some detailed impressions.

Visually, the game is definitely improved over its predecessor. It takes the original game's art direction and amplifies the quality of the textures, shading and lighting effects to make everything look a bit better than before. I imagine this is due to them removing the open world of the original game, which I admit I kind of miss. I liked driving around on Travis' huge bike, randomly running people over, turbo-boosting for no good reason and power sliding turns. Plus exploring the city to find hidden items and money was fun.

The game definitely feels more streamlined, but I'm not sure this is for the better. In the process, the game wears much more of its meta-this-is-a-video-game feel on its sleeve, which makes it a lot more difficult to get immersed in the "NMH" world than it was the first one. Almost half of the game is 8-bit homage, with 2D pixel graphics everywhere. The minigames are fun though. I actually miss having to do odd jobs in order to make enough money to enter the ranking battles, because I liked the various diversions.

On to combat: it pretty much feels the same as before, but even though I'm playing on the 'Sweet' setting (lowest difficulty) and have upgraded my muscle rating as high as I could for the time being, and purchased the latest of Naomi's weapon upgrades, it STILL feels like it takes forever for me to kill the most basic foes. It seems there are less enemies overall, but they take more punishment. The variety seems better...there are fat guys with axes and chainsaws and generic dudes with guns or bare hands and more. One thing that I noticed was that when you execute a finishing blow, the animation is MUCH slower and drawn out than it was before. It seems to take a full five seconds for Travis to complete the move that decapitates a foe or splits them twain.

And now for the most important part of the game: the bosses. The guys in NMH2 absolutely pale in comparison to the originals (from what I've seen so far). I have completed three ranking battles so far (as well as a ranking challenge) and none of them are particularly memorable. The only fight that I can call interesting is the giant robot fight, which, in retrospect, just felt kind of stupid. It took very little strategy and felt like it was more for show than a legitimate boss battle. Plus they're not announced the way the bosses used to be. In NMH1, when you went to a ranking battle stage, you got this dramatic announcement in a creepy voice speaking the name and then the boss him/herself says a catch phrase. That little element really boosted the feel of going after a dangerous rival. In the new game, they're literally just stage bosses. Yeah, they're strange, like the Scottish hip-hop lover who throws his afro-sporting harem girls at you before the fight begins and the flamethrower-toting ghost, but they're not interesting personalities. Even the way the bosses die is lame compared to the original.

But while it may seem that I've been bashing the game thus far, the fact is NMH2 is still quite fun to play. The 8-bit minigames are enjoyable ways to make money on the side (and they cut down on loading time too). Combat is still almost as fun as it was before...not sure why they felt the need to slow things down. One thing I loved about the original game was being in intense battle against what felt like dozens of goons at once and slashing them two or three times before beheading them, not 8-10 times the way it is now. Still, combat works. If anything, it makes the player think more.

In a nutshell, No More Heroes 2 is good. Great even. Just not as good as the original. But then, what sequel ever is?