Review: Sin & Punishment 2

I'm not known for being a huge fan of the Wii's controller. I feel there are one too many unambitious developers working on traditional genres and forcing them onto the Wiimote. Instead of creating an original idea around the unique controller, they often deliver mediocre versions of genres that control better on other platforms. The best Wii games (much like with the DS) are the games designed, from the ground up, with the Wiimote as its inspiration. Traditional genres can be great on the Wii too, but usually when they keep to simple gestures (like Mario Galaxy). The games that require the player to look around and aim by pointing the Wiimote are often my least favorite. So when I decided to try a rail shooter on the Wii, I was expecting a similar disappointment. I was wrong. This is the exception to the rule, as I've discovered this genre is actually better with a Wiimote and nunchuck set-up. But unfortunately, Treasure's Sin and Punishment 2 is a tease. It presents us with a great new way to control a fading genre, but ultimately frustrates the player with manic gameplay fueled by visual inconsistencies.

Sin and Punishment: Star Successor (Wii)
Developer: Treasure
Publisher: Nintendo
Released: 06/27/10

While inherently limited in terms of player control, rail shooters allow the game's director to present fast paced cinematic scenarios often impossible in games with full player agency. When at their best, rail shooters are visually exciting roller-coaster rides. But what separates a great game in this genre from a mediocre one, is the player's ability to understand, follow, and interact effectively with the action on screen. This is where Sin and Punishment 2 falters. The game is a chaotic mess. If not for the extremely forgiving checkpoint system, a spammable dodge button, and a stupidly generous health bar, this game would be unplayable.

But the problem with the visual language in Sin and Punishment 2 is not so much the fault of the genre, but instead Treasure's manic style of game design. They love variety and spectacle. As if it was their signature, Treasure games are easily identifiable by the frequency of their boss fights. Why? Because every five minutes you are fighting a new one. Even regular enemy encounters are completely different from one minute to the next. And while it is certainly reasonable to want variety in games, Treasure took it way (way) too far this time. Sin and Punishment 2 suffers from an inability to coherently communicate to the player what the hell he or she is seeing, doing, or interacting with.

While most games might have the player readjust to new situations or enemy types, they don't do it every five minutes. Pretty much every game we play strives to have a somewhat coherent visual language that allows the player to adapt to new encounters. If a dude has a gun and is shooting at you, you shoot back. If he throws a grenade at you, you run out of its range (or throw it back if the game allows that). In Sin and Punishment 2, the "bad dudes" are never the same, and the shit they throw (or shoot) is always different. Some attacks you can dodge -- some you cannot. Some projectiles you can knock back -- some you cannot. Some objects you can navigate through -- some you cannot. Some enemies can be attacked by your sword -- some cannot. Some attacks stay in the foreground -- while some attacks go through the foreground. Ugh. Again, the problem is that Sin and Punishment 2 changes up these rules every few minutes. The result is a lack of satisfaction often obtained when learning a game's systems. You can try to adapt to each new situation, but it is not worth the effort when something different is only a few minutes away. So the best course of action is to mash on the dodge button (which makes the player temporarily invulnerable) until the overpowered bomb attack is ready to be used again. Release the bomb, dodge some more, and repeat. It's silly just how repetitive the gameplay actually is considering how different everything on screen looks from moment to moment.

These problems are especially frustrating considering how well the game controls. I tried playing the original Sin and Punishment prior to starting the new sequel, but ran into the problem I've always had with action rail shooters. The pat-your-head and rub-your-belly like method of controlling your aim fully independent of your on-screen character has always been a challenge for me. Surprisingly, something as silly as separating the controller into two parts actually solved this problem. The Wiimote and nunchuck controller is, without question, the best way of playing this very niche genre. Because character movement, including jumping and dodging, is relegated to the nunchuck, and all forms of attacking are on the Wiimote, it allows players to easily separate in their minds the defensive and offensive gameplay. Since character movement has zero influence on how you shoot, this set-up feels very intuitive.

I can't help but imagine how much better of a game Sin and Punishment 2 would have been had Treasure eased off the cluster-fuck lever and cleaned up some of the visuals. With their history of making fantastic shoot-em-ups, Treasure should understand more than most the satisfaction of navigating through a well choreographed bullet pattern. But there were one too many fuzzy lasers and blurry bullets (with often indecipherable hit-boxes) on screen at any given time to give the player the confidence to do anything other than spam the dodge button.

Let me be clear here. With the exception of a couple of boss fights and one or two stretched out checkpoints, I did not find the 6 or so hours I spent with this game particularly challenging. After a couple of deaths fighting the final boss, I turned off the game from sheer exhaustion. This game's idea of "challenge" is simply filling the screen with more confusing projectiles and forcing the player to spam dodge faster and harder. My point is, if I had a more difficult time getting through the game, I might have questioned my "spam dodge" strategy. But it was by far the most effective option in nearly all situations. When I defeated a boss it almost felt random, or if by accident. There was rarely a satisfying sense of accomplishment when I overcame an obstacle in the game.

Sin and Punishment 2 does have its moments of awe inducing craziness, but anything memorable is fleeting when combined with the tedious dodging and inconsistent rules. I love a good fruit medley, but if it's littered with small little turds, it will be hard remembering it being anything other than a shitty bowl of fruit.

Score: 69 out of 100

Pros:
- Some cool boss fights
- A couple of really cool level locales (crazy underwater tunnel!)
- The controsl work amazingly well

Cons:
- The action on screen is inconsistent and chaotic
- More like Sin and Punishment 2: Spam Dodge
- "Trial and WHAT THE FUCK IS HITTING ME" Gameplay
- I didn't even care enough about the story to put it in the review
- It's not Bayonetta, and I don't like anything that isn't Bayonetta