God Hand

"Did I just play a good Beat em Up?"

Did I just play a good Beat em Up?

In the recent years of gaming, the genre we all knew as Beat em Ups has seemingly been wiped out of existence, and any attempts to revive it result in laughable failures. God Hand offers enough to take the genre and bring it back with the power of a God. From well-animated, fast paced fighting to fully customizable combos, there's enough hyper active fighting style so slick it'll make you drool.

Game play

More seriously, the the element of game play is what drives this game so dramatically far. The combat system is placed together with a great deal of thought. Players obviously start out with a preset command list to use, but as progression is made; players can set up their own combos based on what moves are the most badass/most strategically useful. Once the game mechanics are picked up (which doesn't take long at all), it's one of those games that really put off a visual bravado.

The game is extremely straightforward with what it's putting out, players will find themselves pummeling through the entirety of the game. With the exception of a few optional mini games, players won't be wandering around, solving puzzles or looking for items. The most time players will spend out of combat will either be at the appropriately themed casino or simply in character customization. The introduction to more overwhelmingly powerful foes and acquisition of sexier roulette attacks and combos throughout the game keep the feeling of repetition at bay. Once again, the game play element makes this game as addicting as candy.

Sound

The music is also another prime root in this game's dignity. The composer that brought you the music from Killer7, brings on an extremely catchy compilation of tracks that add a tremendous measure to the style of the game. The songs are nicely upholding to the premise of the game, from unleashing your God Hand to the amazing end theme, music isn't even an issue here.

Not much to knock with the sound effects that the game offers. They're often dramatic and add a more involved violent sensation, needless to say. Smashing people into walls or just knocking them off their feet and into shattering tables or barrels sounds just as incredible as it should be.

Voice acting can go two ways, it's not very involved so there's a lack of depth at times. Yet, at the same time there's not much of a need for involved conversation in this game, which you learn quickly. Some of the things that are said by random enemies throughout the game are some of the best quotes since Starfox64. Not to mention the voice acting throughout the plot is often humorous as well. Overall the voice acting goes extremely well with the atmosphere this game advocates.

Story

I won't lie, if you're looking for an involved storyline; don't look here. If you haven't already guessed from the style of game play, the storyline exists mainly for humor and to glue the game together. Being the kind of game that God Hand is, it's hardly a good reason to shun the game. More than likely you'll catch yourself laughing out loud at some of the ridiculous scenarios that take place. Basically, players are thrown right into the story, and as the game progresses you find out why Gene (protagonist) has the God Hand and what relevance it has to the forces of evil. Not much else to be said really.

Graphics

Aside from great character models, this is the primary element holding this game back. Maps and environments often feel rushed and unexpressed. Although maps are mediocre, it's just a factor that's often overpowered by the visual effects of fighting and animation, which seems to balance things out decently. The animations in the game are incredibly good, the movements of not of only Gene but the enemies he encounters is cooked together to make the game look very appealing and while players are in the heat of combat (which, as stated, would be a majority of the time) noticing any graphical flaws would be whimsical. In conclusion, graphics could be considered pretty average.

Play Control

Play Control in this game is another fierce detail. The system of evasion, the special attacks, and the combos all come together to make the game very broad in how the players want to approach combat. The combos that Gene has at his disposal are completely up to the player, so memorization and sloppy combos aren't a problem here. The game has an auto-lockon type system that seems to target the closest enemy. This sounds like it could be frustrating but it's really one less thing to worry about, not to mention easy to work with considering the enemy AI usually backs off when fighting multiple foes and doesn't overwhelm you. The only problems the might occur are when you're trying to make those quick turn-arounds to lock on an enemy when you've got more than one coming at you, and perhaps at bosses after losing sight. Overall this game has excellent controls for what kind of game it is. Controls are perhaps, one of the most addicting aspects of the game.

Breakdown

An insane, fun, outright experience. You won't see many games like this one anymore (in addition to the closing of Clover Studios, maybe not any). It's mostly just plain enjoyment with no strings attached, it took a good combat system and went all out with it. It also offered another important ingredient that most games these days forget to acknowledge: a good challenge. This game is good enough to condone as many playthroughs as one can endeavor. If you miss playing games how they used to be, then here you go.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/11/06