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Review  Sin and Punishment
- By Andrew Weatherton
Sin and Punishment is one of the only arcade style shooters on the N64, with its only real competition being Star Fox 64. Of course we all remember Star Fox right? Nintendo’s imaginative shooter introduced gamers to force feedback (the rumble pack was initially bundled with the game). It was a cartoony rail shooter with multiple paths leading to a final encounter with the game’s final boss, Andross. Star Fox was a fun game to be sure, but it lacked the true adrenaline pumping action of a true arcade shooter. This is where “S and P” comes in, the game was produced by treasure a company whose name is almost synonymous with quality shooters. Treasure is the company that brought us Radiant Silver Gun for the Sega Saturn (possibly the best arcade style shooter ever created). S and P isn’t their first game for the N64, they released a game from the Bangaioh series a little over a year ago (Bakuretsu Muteki Bangaioh) which we will review shortly. Bangaioh is a often-hectic two-dimensional shooter, and Sin and Punishment is their attempt to bring a similarly chaotic experience into the third-dimension.
Take one part Star Fox 64, remove all vehicular transportation and age 10 years. Now inject with a large dose of Prozak and there you have it, Sin and Punishment is very similar to Star Fox 64, but it’s also completely different. If you loved Star Fox then read on, if you hated Star Fox, read on. If you have concerns about the game being an import (I highly doubt it will ever come state-side) then put your worries to rest, if you are completely Japanese illiterate (like me) every bit of the game is spoken in English with captions in Japanese. This and the fact that the game will likely never be released in America make it one of the most worthwhile imports ever.
Gameplay:
This section of S and P is ridiculously fun and energizing, there isn’t a dull moment. The entire game consists of action-packed cut-scenes chock full of dramatic camera angles and enhancing effects, and gameplay so full of enemies and particle effects it makes a shooter fan giddy.
The story is very interesting and is explained well through the cut-scenes which appear several times during each stage throughout the game, S and P has an incredible and moving plot that sprints aggressively through the game like a cheetah in hot pursuit of it’s prey. The plot twists are dramatic and strange, but they are interesting and help keep the game moving the right direction. The main characters are all teen-agers and yet as improbable as it may seem, they are in an all out war, which may very well destroy the entire earth. In fact, at one point you must actually defend the Earth itself.
Your two main concerns besides killing enemies are your health and your time (and if possibly your score). If your health runs out you will have to start the section of the level you are on over (and loose one credit). You receive additional health from defeating some enemies and blowing up certain sections of the level. The game’s timer begins at 99 and can never go above this, as time winds down you’ll have to be sure to pick up a time extension (a power-up much like health). If time runs out you will begin to loose health and eventually die. Your score increases when you pick up power-ups or if you blow up anything. You receive an additional credit for every 100 enemies defeated, which can be very helpful if you find yourself running low on credits. If you run out of credits your game is over and you must begin again from the beginning. You may also save at any point during the game by pausing and choosing the bottom option (one game in-progress can be saved at a time).
A game’s story may be able to move along like an F-16 but can it’s gameplay possibly keep up with such an absurdly fast pace? In S and P’s case the answer to that question is without a doubt, “Certainly.” Its actual in-game action is the fastest part of the game. The chaos that is S and P’s one-player experience is one which will have you doing everything from battling humungous spider creatures in a train to flying over a fleet of air craft carriers full of enemy ships, soldiers, and strange creatures with you as their target. Waves of enemies will engulf you, but never to the point of tedium, repetitiveness, or pointlessness. You won’t find yourself getting sick of the same stupid enemies, S and P isn’t a test of endurance in the sense of fending of waves of the same stupid enemies. It’s a test of pure balls in seeing if you have what it takes to out-maneuver and out-shoot enemies while also being out-numbered. Once you are able to defeat one form of enemies then you may meet another form, now you may have to fight both at once and then add a small militia of insignificant gnat-like enemies to distract you while you are being lined up to receive a beating by the first group of enemies. I found that I never got sick of seeing a certain area or certain enemy as they changed very often. Sadly, this also makes for a very short game. I beat it on my second try in just over an hour. So, yes, S and P is quite a short game, but every moment is extremely polished and worth playing.
Your top scores, best times, and most hits are all saved to the cartridge along with one game in progress. After beating a stage you may choose it from the stage select menu, and after defeating the last boss (on normal setting) you will unlock an options menu; which includes a sound test and five other options. I’m not sure what these other options do, but I’d imagine there is some way to enable a hard setting. Otherwise S and P may end up not having a terribly large amount of replay value.
Aesthetics:
Low polygon count, wonderful texture and animation, excellent special effects and a frame rate that just won’t quit, that about sums up the graphics department. The cinemas are well done with dramatic camera angles and a good use of blurring. The in-game graphics are impressive in that no matter how many enemies many seem to clutter the screen the frame rate doesn’t slow down to stare. The low-polygon count is used to give S and P’s visuals a unique look and helps keep the frame rate blazing. The textures are so good that you won’t care about the low number of polygons. The special effects are awesome and some of the enemies are mammoth.
Control:
S and P is a rail shooter in which you can control your character’s lateral movement but are forced to move in a certain directions and are often on “rails” in that you are forced to go in a certain direction. There are three control styles to choose from, but I like the default the best. You use the left and right c buttons to move accordingly and the control stick controls you r cross hairs. By tapping “A” you toggle between a target lock mode and a free form mode. In target lock you can get your cross hairs to target certain enemies or parts of enemies, while in free form you just go “balls to the walls” and shrug off the aid. You shoot your projectile laser by tapping “Z”, and if you double-tap “Z” your gun will momentarily become a sword, using an electrical beam as its blade (this is extremely important.) You can jump using the R button and double jump by tapping it again while you are in the air. To quickly more right or left you can double tap left or right “C”. Also, there is an option to have the control stick move default or backwards (up and down switched). This option is available at the pause menu.
I found the controls to be challenging, but I got to love them. Once you master them you’ll find yourself thinking about destroying the enemies on-screen rather than your favorite N64 controller.
Sound:
The sound track was nice, nothing all to memorable, but I enjoyed it. It has a little bit of a techno rock feel to it. The sound effects do just what they need to in order to emphasize the on screen action. Nothing to complain about, I was actually impressed. Though every track sounds similar they don’t get overly annoying.
Multiplayer:
N/A
OVERALL:
I am very glad that I imported Sin and Punishment; it’s probably the best import only game you’re going to find. If you’ve never imported a game before don’t let it scare you off, just go to NCSX.com and give it a whirl. I promise you won’t be disappointed, just don’t forget to pick up a converter (about $8).
My only complaint is that it’s very short, but what’s there is pure gold. It’s not something shooter fans want to miss!
The Lowdown on  Sin and Punishment
| Aesthetics: Awesome |
Control: Very Good |
| Gameplay: Awesome |
Multiplayer: |
| Sound: Above Average |
Innovation: 4/6 |
| Lasting Appeal: 5/6 |
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Overall: Very Good!
"A Must-Buy"
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This game is:
Very Good
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INFO |
Developer: Treasure
Publisher: Nintendo
Number of Players: 1
Rumble Pak: Yes
Expansion Pak: No
Memory Pak: No
Transfer Pak: No
Release Date:
TBA
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IN A
NUTSHELL: |
| A top of the line shooter filled with non-stop action. |
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