Treasure

Side-Scrolling in Style

HIGH Realizing that I was good enough to finish on Normal after my initial stumblings.

LOW I don't like straining to see my character in a sea of enemies.

WTF My first Hard Mode attempt lasted a minute—literally.

A Masterclass in Mayhem

HIGH Finding yourself overwhelmed by giant bubbles in the underwater stage, then realizing you can turn them into missiles by hitting them with your sword to unleash all kinds of destruction.

LOW Playing the so-called "2 Player" mode with a friend for the first time expecting chaos of the highest order, only to discover that the second player really doesn't get to play at all.

WTF When a boss rips off a piece of itself, dribbles it like a basketball, and then throws it at you like you're its own personal bowling pin, you know you're playing a Treasure game.

Virtue and Reward

HIGH The Lovecraftian transformations of Armon Ritter.

LOW The painfully sluggish sword fight against Hibaru Yaju.

WTF So, the hideous bird-lion boss is our new best friend?

Game Description: Sin & Punishment: Star Successor is rail shooter for Wii that challenges you, whether playing alone or with a friend, to survive an onslaught of attacks by enemies large and small. Players have their choice of a male or female playable character, each with defensive and specific offensive abilities, and the ability to battle huge bosses and other enemies from the ground or from the air using a variety of devices. Additional features include multiple controller options and online international leaderboards and more.

Calling something ‘hardcore' doesn't prevent it from sucking

HIGH Having a robot for a main character is always a perk.

LOW Everything else.

WTF The utter lack of a difficulty curve: it's all just this side of infuriating.

Game Description: In this DS remake of the classic Bangai-O, you take the roles of Riki and Mami and strap into the powerful Bangai-O suit to undertake the task of catching criminals red-handed. Bangai-O Spirits provides gamers with shooter gameplay and punishing supermoves, along with strategic and tactical elements. The game also offers co-op, competitive multiplayerfor 1-4 players via local wireless, and a powerful level editor tool which allows players to edit in-game levels or create new ones from scratch.