Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes Complete Edition

Even if you're aware that what you're experiencing is supposed to be a form of satire, something still doesn't feel quite right -- and it goes beyond the game's lackluster action. The combat in Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes Complete Edition is simple, repetitive, and not particularly satisfying. You'll fight groups of generic enemies -- some of whom will put up more resistance than others -- using a mix of light and heavy attacks as well as the occasional dodge and special attack. The individual games Travis plays don't last long -- about an hour each, if you're playing on normal difficulty -- but even that's long enough for a sense of tedium to set in. The hacking and slashing just isn't very entertaining, which works against the story argument that gamers are supposedly lured to love violent games because they're so much fun. Additional elements baked into each of these games-within-a-game -- such as solving neighborhood mazes and a drag racing mini-game -- are just as basic and underdeveloped as the combat.

Potentially even more problematic is that Travis just isn't likable. Granted, we're not really supposed to like this capable but conceited jerk so much as understand what he's meant to represent. But loathing the character you're playing as makes for a long slog, even in a game as short as this (around eight hours). The Complete Edition adds more content with two new characters to play, along with new clothing and skills. Unfortunately, you have to fight your way through the game to access this content, and the main story might not be enjoyable enough for some players to want to check out these extras. Bright spots, few as they may be, come in a kind of retro visual styling -- the long-lost console and games Travis uses were designed decades ago -- as well as some inside jokes for passionate gamers, including references to indie games and designers, some of which are delightfully obscure. But a few clever cultural references do not good satire make. It's debatable whether the No More Heroes series was ever an effective lampoon of western games and gamer culture or simply one more log for the fire it professed to parody, but this latest entry really misses the mark.