Sin and Punishment 2: Star Successor Review

Star Successor is legendary developer Treasure’s latest take on Shooters – and it’s not anything at all like the rest of the shooters on the market today. Trust me, that’s a good thing.

Unlike every competitor out there, Sin and Punishment doesn’t feel the need for a first person take on shooting: on rails suits it just fine. As a direct sequel to the Japanese only N64 game, which only recently saw a release in North America, it honours the original quite nicely – as well as every other good “on-rails” shooter in history.

The difference is, Star Successor has the benefit of the Wii Remote. The controls are just so fluid and natural feeling. Sure, it is frantic and fast paced, but Star Successor gets it down the first time. There are two characters to play through a story that seems all too unimportant, but the difference between them isn’t all that distinct. Regardless of your choice, you’ll find the default control options fit perfectly.

Strategy emerges from this simple set of controls. Keeping in mind the weapon you have from the beginning is the weapon you have at the end, the amount of learning that naturally occurs is astounding. You can lock on to an enemy, but it’ll cost you power. Melee attacks are there for last minute saves, and you can perform a charge attack for awe inspiring results.

It should also be noted that this isn’t an all ground affair this time, either. Both characters are fly boys/aliens, meaning the entire screen is your oyster, and you better be prepared to use it. Of course, another facet of Star Successor that uses the entire screen are the enemies. They hit hard and fast, frantically, leaving you a little lost as to what is going on at times. That’s not a bad thing, but even the easy difficulty seems to be a bit harder than it should be. Then again, Nintendo hasn’t published a lot of truly challenging games – so this is a welcome addition to its lineup.

While the enemies are gone in a flash, the bosses are not. In fact, these are what make Star Successor worth a purchase. Each and every one of these long fights is relentless, and will require even more skill than one can imagine. It’s rare that boss fights stand out to me, but, with the exception of the first, I can safely say that Star Successor has some of the best bosses in gaming. Sure, they don’t quite compare to Psycho Mantis of Metal Gear fame, but the action (and dirty tricks) involved is mindblowing.

Unfortunately, as previously mentioned, the story just doesn’t add up. I found myself bored of it, and the poor voice acting in both Japanese and English. Really, I wish it was all just dropped and the amount of space used to create cut-scenes went to creating another level or two. It’s clear that the story was not the intent of the game, but all too often it seems forced.

The same can’t be said for the addition of the second player. Much like Super Mario Galaxy, the additional player takes the form of an on screen icon that can shoot at foes with you. To give this second player incentive to buy the game, or at least start their own run, they are limited to just shooting. No fancy charge shots or locks for them. It’s very similar to your Luma friend in Super Mario Galaxy, except, much more sensible. With how busy the screen is at any given time, this addition is a respectable one.

Ultimately, Star Successor isn’t about the multiplayer experience, the poor story, or the stylized, but busy, graphics. It truly comes down to the action that emanates from every orifice, and with that, Star Successor does not disappoint. Truly, this is a crowning achievement for Wii.

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