Impressions: Sin and Punishment 2
Sin and Punishment began life as a late-era Japan-only Nintendo 64 game. Some would classify the game as a “cult classic,” like many games in Treasure’s storied library; but I wouldn’t be so hasty to say that. Nintendo’s been hyping the series, including Wii sequel Sin and Punishment 2 quite heavily — they even released the original game on the Virtual Console which, I’ll have to admit, was kind of an effortless endeavor considering that S&P1’s already translated in the usual, broken Engrish Treasure manner.
So what is Sin and Punishment 2 and why should we be excited for it? Well for one, it’s awesome. In the presence of better descriptors, I’ll have to say that the game is a triumph in rail-shooting action, using both the analog stick and motion control for precise aiming and dodging. It’s pretty damn action-heavy, but never gets to the level of Cave manic shooter insanity. Getting back to the controls, the run/jump/aim action really suits the system well. The same sort of action controlled on the N64’s analog stick was kind of iffy, but it fits the Wii naturally.
The demonstration level was pretty intense, forcing the player to jump in the action and learn the controls on the fly (a tiny, unreadable card was attached to the demo kiosk explaining the controls, too). It depicted a run-down city perfectly showing off the game’s run and gun tendancies — enemies were chasing you down highways and up skyscrapers. Of course, there were tons of bullets and discarded enemy carcasses flying everywhere, in grandiose Treasure tradition. I saw a total of two miniboss fights, where the action slowed down a bit and the player needed to rely on the analog stick to dodge enemy fire. Overall, a pretty darn invigorating demo; can’t wait to see more of the game come TGS.
Sin and Punishment 2 is coming out next Spring.
Sin and Punishment 2 Gallery:
Nice game. Too bad I don’t have a Wii. Can I have your cellnumber, rubs?