Each level you will gain V-Points, which will allow you to purchase abilities when you reach a store. You will also gain bonus V-Points after you defeat a boss, but you will also get a bonus if you collected all the V-Tapes in the entire level. You can buy things like hearts, and extra lives, which is great when you find yourself being pummelled. You may also purchase new abilities, and combos, which drastically makes the game easier. I found the “Slide” attack you can purchase, quite helpful to the game, as you could quickly create combos to demolish your enemies with little difficulty.

There are three level’s of difficulty, kids, adults, and V-Rated. V-Rated can only be unlocked after you beat the game on adults. The “adults” difficulty was still pretty easy so I would have enjoyed being able to play through the game immediately on V-Rated difficulty. Thankfully the action on the stylus made up for this little shortcoming.

The music sounds great, combined with the sound affects, and it is a joyride from the start to the finish. The storyline, much like the previous Viewtiful Joe games, is not that deep. There are a few amusing moments, but those are few and far between, as the true joy comes from the game-play. Now some say “the older the violin, the sweeter the music”, and while this fighting style is dated -- only without including the special abilities -- this game is a great experience. While familiarity breed’s contempt, this game is such a fresh breath of air, that you savour each and every moment, especially with the stylus.

I did find the activation of some of the abilities a little cumbersome. I found myself wishing I had a third hand, so that I could continue fighting while activating slide mode. Even though you are able to change the button configuration, you still need to reach for your stylus often, which is a love and hate relationship. It might have been nice for the powers to be activated by breathing into the microphone, but beggars cannot be choosers. This game also is only a one-player game, so there is no one else to join in the fun with. Since the game is fairly short, I would have loved to see this changed to combat enemies with a friend.

All and all, this was a fantastic game for the DS, and another shining example of a fun Viewtiful Joe game. While the game is rather short, and the love/hate activations of the some of the Viewtiful powers, this is an extremely fun game. I would recommend this to anyone whom liked the previous Viewtiful Joe games. All and all, Captain Gordon gives this game... a B+.

Questions? Comments? Contact the author at CaptainGordonEdward@gmail.com .