Scott Pilgrim vs the World

[J-Max]

Before I start I would just like to say that I have breathed Beat-em-ups since the days of the Arcades. From timeless classics like Final Fight & Streets of Rage to the more obscure titles like Dungeons & Dragons, i've played them all. Scott Pilgrim from first looks seemed like a harmless and fun 2-D Beat-em-up to reiginite the lost flames of nostalgia that resides in the hearts of all gamers. Does Scott Pilgrim do this? Yes, but it brings along a few problems for the Ride.

Story 8/10
I found the Story of Scott Pilgrim to be actually rather cute. Scott has finally managed to hook up with the Girl right at the beginning of the game but he decides to exact his Wrath on her 7 Ex Boyfriends (A obvious pun on the 7 Koopa Kids from Super Mario World) You choose from a selection of 4 very unique and fun characters and fight your way through 7 Action Packed Zones filled with hilarious Parodies of games (Won't spoil you)

Graphics 6/10
Sure I love old style 8-Bit sprites but Scott Pilgrim falls flat on its face due to the entire game being 8-Bit. Meaning everything you see on the screen is old style Sprites. To be honest i've been spoilt by High Resolution sprites so turned my nose up at the presentation. Luckily the game does redeem itself somewhat with all the Puns on classic Video Games. Take the COin Blocks that spit out coins when hit for example.

Sound 6/10
Now I HATE the 8-Bit style soundtrack in this game. The Soundtrack sounds like it loops every 30 seconds or so and is damn right repetitive. The soundtrack does have a trick up its sleeve though. Around halfway through each Zone the music will change to be more inbetween Modern Day Guitar and 8-Bit which makes the game slightly more bareable. Sound Effects is what you would expect from a 8-Bit game with Electronic Thumps.

Gameplay 5/10
Why a 5 you may be wondering. Well when you first start the game Scott (or whoever you decide to play as) has a rather decent choice of moves to use including Jump Kicks, Throws, FLurries and even a slower but more powerful attack. One major problem though, you are missing most of your moves! Yes, you have to "Level Up" your character to unlock moves such as the Charge Attack, running Slide and even a Counter Move. I personally felt cheated here as I was literally playing as half a character. Also add the fact that the game requires a lot of Grinding to reach the Max Level and unlock all the moves. Beat-em-ups are supposed to be a quick blast, not a Grind Fest. Every enemy that you defeat drops money that can be used to buy numerous items from your characters but apart from some of the hilarious names of the items (Speedy the Porcupine for example) the effects of them are basic including Health and Strength Buffs.

Then I see a enemy and decide to attack him. Mostly every enemy in the game has the ability to block making it dumb luck if you even score a hit at all. In a classic game like Streets of Rage 2, you were the force to be reckoned with, enemies would fall at your feet. Scott Pilgrim? The enemies will eat you up and spit you out, that's how hard it is. Yes, I love a challenge in my games but being surrounded y 6 Enemies of 3 different types? That's not fun at all. Not to mention that once the enemies have you in a Combo, you can't get out of it. There's no A Button escape manovere like Streets of Rage 2.

Overall 6/10
Scott Pilgrim is a blast from the past for most Hardcore Gaers but some really stressful things stop it from being a classic. I could have mentioned more here but then it would become a full review lol. J-Max signing out.