Topic: Sin & Punishment Impressions

[couchmonkey]

I'm sure there are many people on here who are way ahead of me on this game, but in case you're on the fence about it, I've played through a bit of the game, so here are some impressions:

Basically Sin & Punishment is about non-stop action.  There is a story, but it's kind of silly, cliche anime stuff.  There are graphics, they're not that pretty but they're fast and action-packed.  There is voice acting, but it's mediocre and heavily compressed.  There is music...but it's weak and repetitive.

The action, though, is really good.  There are tons of bosses and mini-bosses, tons of regular enemies, and just shoot, shoot, shoot!  At times there's so much shooting to do that it becomes slightly monotonous, but the game switches up the action fast enough that it's generally a really fun.

It's a little hard to play with the GCN controller...you can either use Y and X to strafe and the control stick to aim, or you can strafe with the d-pad and aim with the c-stick.  I don't like the first option because I find it hard to fire with the L-button while I'm aiming, but the second option is a little uncomfortable with the Wavebird's tiny d-pad.  I bet the "traditional" controller would be great, too bad I don't have one!

It's moderately hard and has multiple difficulty levels.   If I'm not mistaken the save system eats credits, so it's kind of like old-school games where you have to start all over again if you don't do well enough.  This works well since I hear the game is short (I couldn't say since I have yet to beat it). It also includes a two-player mode which I imagine would be awesome.

Overall, it's very much an arcade shooter...I've heard lots of comparisons to Star Fox, and I'd also say that it reminds me of classic "beat-em up" games with the short length and swarms of enemies.

I wouldn't say this is a must-have game, it's not super-polished and I hear it's not very long, but it is a really fun diversion.  At 1200 Wii points it's as expensive as VC games get, but it's not a bad deal for a good game that never reached North America before.

[Mario]

You can strafe with L and R which is the best way I find. Option C. The music is far from weak and suits the game quite well. The graphics are also absolutely amazing for N64. You also don't have to start all over again and can choose to play any chapter you like after beating it.

[DAaaMan64]

wow, the Earth Mimicry is really hard!, any one got any tips?

[IceCold]

I might pick this up in the future.. but I find 1200 points pretty steep, and it's not going down in price anytime soon.

[couchmonkey]

Time for some very belated replies and stuff...

Mario: I never tried option C, instead I just bought a classic controller.  It works beatifully.  I still think the music is so-so, but it improves over time.

DAaaMan64: If you haven't beaten Earth Mimicry by now I feel bad for you...basically it's just memorize, memorize, memorize.  One nice thing is that it shoots so much stuff at you that it's pretty much impossible not to earn continues.  I like that a lot, because I'd hate to get all the way to the end of the game and then lose all my continues on the incredibly hard final boss.

IceCold: It is kind of steep, but you have to think of this like finding a cool used game in a store...I'd easily pay $12 for a copy of Beetle Adventure Racing or Castlevania 64.  But I guess that depends on your interest in old games!


My final opinion on Sin & Punishment:

Great game.  Not that long, but it's hard enough.  The Classic Controller is 100% better, you could also try Option C as Mario suggested.  The rest of my original impressions stand, although I warmed up to the graphics a lot and music a little as I played.

89 shots out of 117!!

[mastro]

I just could n't get into this game. Every time I play it I think of how awesome it would be if it were made for the Wii. Don't care for the controls or any of the controller options.

[animecyberrat]

I bought this game the DAY it went up and haven't even played it ONCE. I am that far behindon my VC playing.

[Nick DiMola]

I actually just picked this up in cartridge form off of eBay. I've had a chance to play it a little bit and I am massively impressed by it. The game is like a slick mix of Star Fox and Contra (or some other old school run and gun). The combination of strafe aiming and aiming with the stick is very awesome. When I get in the groove, I just tear everything apart and it is massively satisfying. After all these years of waiting to play this game, it has definitely lived up to my expectations.

I can't comment on how it would play with anything but the N64 controller, but it plays like a charm on the default N64 controller settings.

[animecyberrat]

Well I am holding off to play this game for a reason but I might have to just break my own barriers and give it a try.

[Peachylala]

This game makes my game skills cry.

Damn, I just love it so much. Best 1200 Wii Points spent.