Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble

When Viewtiful Joe first came out, I admired the avant-garde artistic direction the game took and the action-packed gameplay that drew gamers into Joe’s emmersively wacky world. Now, Joe is going portable in his first adventure on the PlayStation Portable, Viewtiful Joe: Red Hot Rumble. Although I eagerly welcome the innovative game designs of the VJ series to the PSP, this addition may be too chaotic for its own good.

The game starts as Captain Blue is in the process of filming his next motion picture. Having a difficult time in deciding the right leading actor, Captain Blue decides to put together a tournament where all the Viewtiful Joe characters must compete to win the role (I don’t encourage Hollywood to require actors to fight to the death for movie roles, as this would result in a surplus of Chuck Norris and Steven Segal titles).

There are quite a few characters that you can choose, varying from old favorites like Joe and Sylvia to newer ones including Captain Blue’s sidekick, Sprocket. Certain characters are much easier to learn than others. The balance issues, unfortunately, will deter gamers from fully utilizing the characters that require more effort to learn. All the characters have special moves they can unleash if they obtain VFX power orbs that pop up in game. These orbs give the acting fighter a small advantage over his opponent to win the events, generally lasting no more than one minute. These events are packed full of intense action and require a fast-reaction time, varying from one-on-one fist fights to more unique challenges including defeating as many baddies as possible. While playing, you collect coins to determine how well your “audition” is going.

Sadly, Red Hot Rumble’s major shortcoming derives from the chaotic gameplay VJ is known for. Simply put, it’s too much to handle. Your attention on your own character gets lost as special effects and a wide assortment of in-game distractions blow up in your face. And considering the PSP’s screen is already small, these drawbacks hurt the game’s replay value hugely. The multiplayer experience allows users to connect Ad Hoc with up to four players using only one UMD. I appreciate Capcom’s inclusion of UMD sharing and wish more developers would follow their lead. Just as you’d imagine, however, having four players on screen simultaneously increases the madness exponentially, making it even harder to figure out what is going on.

Viewtiful Joe is known for its vibrant characters, levels, and effects. Luckily, the PSP version doesn’t fail in delivering colorful and crisp graphics when playing. The game takes place on very diverse film sets such as backgrounds for westerns and space movies, with a certain level of interactivity within each specific set. Sound also comes out strong with zany voice acting, recognizable music, and explosive sound effects.

Red Hot Rumble is an out-of-control experience never before seen on the PSP. Serious problems, however, do arise in terms of character balance and unfocused presentation on the small PSP screen. It’s not something every gamer will like, but if you enjoyed previous VJ hits and are interested in going head-to-head against other characters in a very chaotic style, give it a try.

Gameplay: 7.2
A bit too crazy for its own good.

Graphics: 9.2
VJ is as colorful and crisp as ever.

Sound: 9.3
”Go-Go, Baby!” This game sounds great!

Difficulty: Medium

Concept: 7.5
Destroy your opponents for a movie role? Welcome to Hollywood!

Multiplayer: 7.6
I enjoyed the UMD sharing capabilities, but it falls victim to the same gameplay issues in single player.

Overall: 7.3
Red Hot Rumble is an out-of-control fighter experience never before seen on the PSP, but problems in the game design may confuse and irritate gamers.