But there’s more to this game than meets the eye. Between evil bats, mutant fish and the rest of Kuromoku-gumi’s criminal ensemble, the stages are littered with civilians, each with their own worries. Using the right job to smack away the empathy bubbles Gen sees will stop them from worrying and they will in turn send you thank-you notes. Knocking the bubbles into an enemy will cause them to act abnormally. You can also knock enemies into the background to earn more points. One example would be knocking an enemy into stadium lights causing them to shatter in a baseball stage.
Within the game you can also unlock collectable souvenirs. Similar to “Achievement Points” and “Trophies”, souvenirs are awarded for meeting certain conditions like defeating 100 enemies or receiving 10 thank-you letters. While you can’t actually do anything with the souvenirs, it definitely kept us playing even more to meticulously unlock everything.
While we haven’t gotten a chance to play multiplayer mode, Hammerin’ Hero possesses promising Double Dragon-style playability where you can compete wirelessly with another player to get the most points. Rack up points by being ahead of your opponent on the stage, defeating the most enemies and getting items. You get extra points for smashing away worries and striking enemies into the background. That’s more than enough to keep us looking forward to the game’s scheduled April 7th release date.
Feb 20, 2009
