Completion Notes: Osu Tatakae Ouendan 2

The Japanese love their rhythm games hard, apparently. Ouendan 2¸ much like its Japanese predecessor, ramps the difficulty of some songs up into an area that is most definitely unapproachable by the majority of the DS population. In contrast, the US entry in the series – Elite Beat Agents – was easy to the point that I completed all difficulty levels in the span of a week. This last entry in the series cramped my hand over the stylus countless times before I even reached the hardest difficulty (with the female cheerleaders) and had me fuming well into the night during ill-advised before-bed playing sessions.

The core of a rhythm game is in its song selection, however, and this was a bit of a mixed bag. Since I’m not up-and-up on J-pop and don’t have any built-in bias (as I did with Elite Beat Agents and selections from Cher and other songs I can’t stand) I grade the songs in Ouendan based purely on how fun it was to tap out the rhythm and how often I found myself hearing songs in my head and enjoying them. In this, Ouendan 2 falls short of its Japanese predecessor. I found myself trying to get through songs as fast as possible and not look back (e.g. not replay for a higher score) to the point that I’m not certain I unlocked all of the bonus songs. Even without unlockable songs in the first game I remember playing through 5 or 6 of them just for the hell of it.

B

Completion Notes: Gun

Finally got around to this one, picking it up used and at heavy discount for the 360. What this game represents is a great start for a franchise that doesn’t seem to have any legs (unless I’m mistaken, I’ve not seen word of a sequel). This is unfortunate, since the core elements of Gun – the western setting, effective and fun storytelling, and simple and approachable combat system – do a very good job of creating an enjoyable experience. Where Gun could have improved in a second iteration is in the following areas:

Length

Gun is short. Very, very short. I finished the entire game in one sitting on a lazy Sunday afternoon, nearly completing even the optional side missions. I enjoyed what was there, but it all felt rushed and was definitely over too soon. They took the time to hire top-flight talent for the voice acting, did a nice job crafting the game world and most of the characters, but breezed right through it like a middle schooler reading Cliff’s Notes for a book report. I want the novel next time, not the abridged version.

Variety

The majority of the story missions are straight combat. Go from point A to point B, and shoot everyone in between. I’m fine with that, to an extent, but the combat situations very rarely challenged me to use some of the more interesting combat techniques in a fight until the last boss battle (where it was an unfortunate requirement, and I didn’t think to use it for a long time). They give us a bullet-time skill that makes killing very easy, but no situations where I felt like its use was clever or important.

Optional Content

Side Missions are provided and unlocked in a sort-of-Grand Theft Auto kind of way. Finish a story mission, get a few more side missions. Rinse, repeat. Unfortunately the side missions provided are very spotty, ranging from the fun (more combat) to the mundane (herding cattle) to the tremendously irritating (timed “Pony Express” delivery runs that have you fighting with the controls). I did them because I felt compelled, and because it’s the only way to power up your skills. Side missions should be fun diversions and not made such a core element to the equation, especially when they aren’t fun.

Despite those shortcomings, I still strongly recommend a play-through of Gun, but only as a rental. $5 and a weekend seems the best way to experience the game and walk away satisfied.

B-