God Hand

[AJR]

Sure, its old news now, but after seeing it around for pretty cheap a few weeks ago I decided to pick it up. Quite a few message boards I frequent had been touting it as the greatest thing since slice bread, which seemed to jar quite a lot with the mediocre reviews it got.

So I finally decided to give it a shot, and I have to say, this game is awesome. There’s something special about beating baddies around like rag dolls, especially when you spend them hurling across the screen into a wall. Whilst the regular baddies are a bit repetitive, bosses are quite varied, and offer quite the challenge.

God Hand is also brutally difficult, which I imagine may turn off a few people. You’ll have to be on your toes no matter what the situation, and if you don’t find yourself improving, the game’s not going to get any easier.

I think this review explains it a little better than what I can:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JBqB5LUKh8A

So, has anyone else given this game a shot?

[Tooker]

I haven't played it yet, but it's been way up on my list of games to try for a while now.  I'd seen the same things in reviews and wondered.  Good to see someone who liked it.

[AJR]

The big hurdle is the controls, it's sort of similar to Resident Evil 4 (the camera hangs behind you, and left and right make you turn in place, rather than being able to move in all directions). But once you get the hang of it, things start to click. It's still a bit annoying, since Gene doesn't always lock on like you want him to, but dodging and running away from trouble is pretty easy.

The humor of the game is laid on pretty thick too, which can be good or bad, depending on your sense of humor. You can tell that the use of generic rock music, a plain looking title screen, and palate swapped enemies is deliberate, but it works in well with the wackiness of the game.

[Chimpbot]

I haven't played it yet, but it's been way up on my list of games to try for a while now.  I'd seen the same things in reviews and wondered.  Good to see someone who liked it.

The reviews knocked were low primarily because of the retarded difficulty and the slightly wonky controls. I have it and had a blast with it...but damn, it's one of the hardest games I own.

[Fei]

Are we talking hard as in Contra: Shattered Soldier hard?  That was one of the most rewarding challenges ever, in my opinion.

Or is it more like Ninja Gaiden (any of them) hard?  Impossibly hard.

In Shattered Soldier, you had to memorize and focus, and the game structure was very conducive to that.  That video review of God Hand said that even the slightest lapse in -focus- can mean game over.  That is very intriguing to me.  In fact, I too have wanted to try (buy) this game for a while.  It just sucks to remember bad reviews when you're on the fence on whether to buy anything from EB Games, period...

edit:  There is a write-up for Killer7 called "Hand in Killer7".  I wonder if there is any connection whatsoever to this game...