Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble
November 22,2005 - Back for another installment of comic book stylized hijinks, Viewtiful Joe enters into the portable melee with Double Trouble, an aptly named action title for the Nintendo DS. And while certainly bringing twice the usual charm and gusto of the series to the dual screens of the DS, gamers should be warned: returning Joe players will find nothing as impressive as previous Joe installments here, and new gamers will likely find more frustration than enjoyment from a title better suited to the big screen. But that’s exactly what Joe would want anyway, right?

Viewtiful Joe is a super hero whose powers are only activated when he’s inside a movie. While visiting Movieland, a movie-themed amusement park where his sister is co-starring in the most recent Captain Blue adventure, the nefarious Madow villains appear and steal the reels of film. This loosely pieced together plot starts a chain of nonsense and annoyingly “manual” cut scenes that comprise the story of Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble. To keep it simple, Joe must traverse the different areas of Movieland, chasing after the Madow gang and righting the wrongs they cause all around the park. But what about the fact that Joe’s superpowers only activated when he’s in a movie himself? Thankfully Joe’s steadfast girlfriend, Silvia, is willing to sit this one out. Instead of fighting crime herself, she instead follows Joe’s progress through the theme park with a handheld video camera, which allows Joe to transform into Viewtiful Joe, action hero extraordinaire. Don’t bother asking what happens every time Joe the average citizen walks into the path of his bank’s security camera, and simply let the story ride.

The old-school beat’em up style is prevalent from the very beginning. Themed levels vary absurdly, allowed to do so by the weak and treacherous plot. Mostly the levels are humdrum and droll, except for the Resident Evil shoot-outs scattered throughout the “Zombie Movie” level. The formula for success is mostly simple; Joe progresses forward a small amount, defeats a set number of enemies or accomplishes a location objective, then progresses through a door to the next stage. Lose all of Joe’s energy through different harmful means, and its curtains for Joe and the game as well. Or at least having to start back at the latest save point.

The enemies are rather slow and bumbling for the most part, easily defeated with a combo of kicks and punches followed by an uppercut. Larger enemies usually mean projectiles to dodge, a task made somewhat easier by the “slow down” power that Joe possesses. By slowing time, the player is able to tackle seemingly insurmountable tasks, ranging from punching thrown knives back at an enemy to slowing down spinning wheels in order to enter a password. A simple push of a button, and everything on screen, Joe included, slows to a crawl, all the while using up Joe’s “V-Points.”

V-Points are a staple of Double Trouble. Using V-Points, Joe can use any of his special powers in the game, including his new “Scratch” ability, in which a dizzied or stunned enemy can be held enthralled while scratched with the DS stylus. Doing so will rain an assortment of objects, assumed to be props, down upon the head of the villain, hopefully causing their demise. Other uses for the points include the new “Slide” ability, in which the screen can be cut in half using the stylus so that objects impassable or untouchable can now be manipulated, or switching the lower and upper screens of the DS, so Joe can be close up to enemies or objects which can be tapped, turned, pulled or flicked with the stylus. V-Points refill slowly over time, though if Joe loses all of his points he reverts back into regular Joe, with weaker punches and kicks, no double-jumps and no special powers at all. And of course, Joe can collect objects throughout the game which can be spent at a shop in between levels, where new V-Point abilities and combos can be purchased.

The game aims to bring a lot of elements to the table, but Viewtiful Joe: Double Trouble bites off more than it can chew. For starters, using the stylus in an action game is a questionable idea at best. Forcing gamers to use the stylus in the middle of action sequences is a task envisioned for gamers with a third hand growing out of their chest. Frustration abound, players will die more often while trying to figure out a “Slide” puzzle or “Switch” technique than from any ordinary enemy encounters. And just to add insult to the injury of only having two hands, the game rates the performance on each level, ranking time V-Points and Defense as the marks of excellence. But how is a player supposed to rank “Awesome” in anything but defense when all of the V-Points ran out due to clunky puzzle designs and all of the time ran out waiting for V-Points to regenerate?

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