Looking for a challenge? Viewtiful Joe delivers, with an incredible sense of style and a great sense of humor. This incredibly quirky cinematic side scroller brings back classic beat'em up action with some fantastic new twists and a unique visual style that really sets it apart from other Gamecube titles. Wonderfully animated backdrops, inventive enemies, and difficult boss battles set Viewtiful Joe apart from the pack as a truly incredible game and a must have for every Gamecube owner.

You begin the game as Joe, your average hyperactive movie geek out for a night on the town with his neglected girlfriend Silvia. While watching a classic Captain Blue action movie, the main villain suddenly reaches out from the movie and kidnaps Silvia. To rescue his girl, Joe jumps into the world of the movies and is tutored by his mentor, Captain Blue, on how to turn into the super-heroic Viewtiful Joe. The game looks incredible, with stylish cel-shaded graphics that really pop. When you run around as regular Joe the world has a grainy effect like old film, and the world explodes with clarity and color when you transform into Viewtiful Joe.

From the cinematic qualities of the different special effects to small touches like applause when you pull off a really cool move, the game keeps reminding you that this is the world of the movies. The over the top and strange character designs add to the otherworldly theme, as do the wide range of inventive and lovingly rendered environments that you encounter. The flashy and bright visuals of the game are matched by the audio. From the first time Joe shouts "Henshin a Go-Go, Baby!" to Silvia's triumphant "Finished!" at the end of each level, the sound quality is both clear and appropriate. It's almost impossible to not smile watching a pink-caped superhero stylishly fling disposable baddies around to the light and cheerful soundtrack.

While Viewtiful Joe can kick and punch with the best of them, martial arts are not his only weapons. He also has a bag of cinematic tricks, including Slow, Mach Speed, and Zoom In. Slow is your basic slow motion sequence. While slowed, Joe can dodge bullets, leap over attacks, or unleash super powerful punches that send his opponents flying. Mach Speed lets Joe unleash a series of punches and kicks so quickly that he catches on fire, and can also be useful for getting away from nasty hazards. Zoom In lets you get closer to the action, letting Joe perform more complex maneuvers and giving you better detail for the area around him. While all these special abilities are useful in a fight, they are also necessary for many of the puzzles you come across.

Slow can let you make sure you get exactly what you want from the high speed spinning reels of a slot machine, or create huge water droplets to put out fires. The special effects are used very cleverly, and for the first couple of levels Joe's watch will glow when you are close to a puzzle that needs one of his special effects to get you into the right mindset for conquering them.

In addition to Joe's cinematic abilities, he can also purchase a variety of goodies during Break Time, which are basically your intermissions between levels and before big bosses. There's a wide variety of things to buy with the coins you pick up during gameplay, including bombs, new skills, and continues. This leaves you with a wide variety of ways to approach each level in Viewtiful Joe, a facet that is sadly neglected during boss battles. Boss Battles have more in common with the environmental puzzles you encounter during the course of the game than with combat. Each boss has a set pattern, and only learning this pattern and determining when he is weak will allow you to defeat them. This can be frustrating for people who aren't into retro gaming and old school side scrollers, especially since when you run out of continues you'll be shot back to the beginning of the level instead of the beginning of the fight. However, the over the top story and incredible sense of fun in the style and presentation of the game will be enough to get most people to master the moves necessary to continue.

In a market dominated with dark and gritty World War 2 shooters, Viewtiful Joe is more than just a breath of fresh air. He's a successful return to old school sensibilities, with a ton of new technological tricks up his sleeve. While the difficulty of some battles may have you ready to smash your controller at times, the rewards for getting past the hard battles are more than worth the frustration. Viewtiful Joe is one of those rare must-play games that people will still be talking about 10 years down the road.