Reviewed: September 1, 2005
Reviewed by: Mark Smith
Publisher
Konami
Developer
Backbone Entertainment
Released: August 16, 2005
Genre: Action-Adventure
Players: 1
ESRB: Teen
7
6
5
6
6.7
Supported Features
Screenshots (Click Image for Gallery)
My first experience with Death Jr. was at E3 and I must admit I was impressed. But at the time there were only a few games out for the relatively new PSP and with the exception of Ape Escape none wh\ere of the 3D action-adventure variety.
At first glance Death Jr. might remind you of Grim Fandango, at least as far as the leading character is concerned. He is that atypical bobble-head skeleton that is more humorous than scary, even if his touch can cause instant death.
And when you start to play the game you might think you have been suckered into a platform title. Death Jr. can run, jump, double-jump with a spin, and zip-line with his scythe and there is even some jumping sections, but rest assured this is primarily an action title with a smattering of platform and adventure thrown into the mix.
Of course the most interesting element of Death Jr. has to be the unique characters, both Death Jr. and his assorted group of gruesome (yet funny) friends, all designed like they were to be cast in the next Tim Burton movie. The opening movie that introduces them all is one that I watch almost everytime I load the game.
The story is classic. Death Jr. and the rest of his classmates are at the museum on a fieldtrip when DJ opens up a mysterious box that even Pandora cannot open. The Evil is unleashed and DJ’s friends are left soulless. It’s up to DJ to retrieve their souls and defeat this Evil.
Gameplay is fast and furious with minimal exploration and near-continuous combat. DJ has his trusty scythe, which not only serves as transportation to zip down cables or to grab onto ledges and catapult upwards, or swing from rafters, but also makes a devastating weapon for slashing and overhead attacks. Using combinations of the Square, Triangle, and X buttons you can even create some multi-move combos.
Control is pretty good for DJ but a more intelligent camera system is really needed. There is way too much manual tweaking of the camera going on most of the game, and it really takes away from the fun when you are constantly adjusting your view by moving slightly then tapping L1 to re-center the camera.
You can lock onto targets, which also stabilizes the view and allows you to focus your attacks and even perform a handy dodge move. DJ has an awesome array of weapons that can be cycled with the D-pad. Twin pistols, the Freeze Thrower, Shotgun, Chain Gun, Rocket Launcher, and Flamethrower are just a few of the weapons you can use to defeat the Evil at large.
It would have been nice to assign specific weapons to the directions on the D-pad rather than cycling through what quickly becomes a long list of firepower. Often, when trying to perform creative mixes of weapons the effects of the first weapon would wear off before you could ready the next.
As you vanquish the demon horde you will reap their souls and these are used to open soul doors that block your way to new areas of the level. This ensures that you won’t get too far too fast. Health extenders and continue pick-ups are in limited supply but they are crucial to completing the game.
There is also a substantial collectibles list, so while you are exploring you will want to keep an eye out (no pun intended) for Soul Pieces used to revive your friends back in the museum, which also serves as a hub to all the worlds you will explore. Weapon Widgets can be used to upgrade your various weapons and you will also find ammo scattered about the levels.
At the end of each level you will receive a report card that grades your performance on a variety of stats including; kills, object destruction, combos, and special items. If you get a high enough grade you will get a bonus widget for your weapons.
Death Jr. is dark and not in a good way. I typically reserve my handheld gaming for those times when I am on the go or at least away from my PC or big consoles. Unfortunately, once you get past the opening movie Death Jr. is so dark that it cannot be played with any ambient light. I even tried to play this game on a recent plane trip with the window shade shut and it was still too dark.
This ultimately had me playing a lot less than I would have liked since I had to set aside special time at home in a dark room. Don’t get me wrong. The graphics (when you can see them) are very colorful and well designed, but making a game this dark defeats the very purpose of putting it on a portable system.
Character design is cute but not all that detailed in their textures. You’ll see an overused brown and muddy red color pallet with some blue thrown in, which certainly makes DJ’s ghostly white face stick out. It also helps to enhance all of the glowing particle effects.
Technically, there is no pop-up and the framerate remains smooth as glass, even in rooms full of enemies, and the draw distance is as far as the eye can see.
There is minimal music in the game’s soundtrack and it grows repetitive really fast but is also easily tuned out so it won’t annoy you too badly.
Sound effects are a bit better with original sounds for each of the weapons, but since most of the game is combat even these grow a bit stale after a few hours. There is no speech during the game but the cutscenes are rich with excellent dialogue and quality voice acting that matches the charming character design.
Death Jr. is about an 8-10 hour ride that takes awhile to get going, but once you get some of the better weapons and advance beyond the repetitive combat of the early levels, things really heat up. There’s no real incentive to replay the game unless you are a stickler for getting an A on your report card and there is no multiplayer of any kind.
With an existing comic book, a line of toys, and a feature movie on the way, this won’t be the last time we see DJ, but hopefully his next foray into video games will be a bit more polished. This one comes pretty close. Just brighten up the levels and give me some camera scripting and this game would have scored a full two points higher.
I’d really like to see this franchise get a shot on a big console. While I enjoyed the basic concepts of Death Jr., character design, gameplay design, and the large assortment of weapons in the combat-intensive action title, I just don’t think the PSP was the best place to debut this unlikely hero. Still, if you like hardcore action in a small package then Death Jr. will deliver.