Review

Hammerin' Hero

By Aaron Koehn
April 07, 2009 09:46 AM PST
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If players are able to tolerate mounting body counts and confusing boss battles, they'll find a very straightforward title that will remind them of games they played years ago, only with much more charm and color.

Aaron was charmed by the game's nostalgia factor, but it wasn't long before the frequent deaths and monotonous gameplay began to take their toll.

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Hammerin' Hero is the latest game to cash in on the old-is-new, retro craze that is currently sweeping gaming. In it you play as Gen-san, a young carpenter who is skilled at beating things with various occupational tools. However, Gen is an adapt learner, and as you progress through the 12 pictorial levels, he'll learn new traits that correspond with other occupations, such as scuba diver, baseball player, and DJ. This nostalgic game is at its core a very simple 2-D brawler, but there are a few platforming portions and several other gameplay variations that attempt to keep this game from becoming too monotonous.

That being said, a player attempting to navigate through Gen's colorful world must have a great deal of patience, because frequent death is a very recurring event. After your tenth one-hit demise, the game does start to teeter on monotony. This is increasingly evident when boss battles begin and no discernible plan of attack presents itself, making Gen-san no stranger to getting crushed, shot, or bludgeoned to death

Overall, the strongest aspect of Hammerin' Hero has to be its charismatic personality. Its levels are bright and vibrant, the voice-acting is over-the-top and charming, and the characters are well fleshed-out and humorous. On several occasions, players will find themselves laughing with the game and not at it, which certainly isn't a trait that many of yesterday's games could claim.

PROS: Good, Varied Graphics; Humorous Story; Levels and characters have lots of personality
CONS: Frequent Death; Confusing Boss Battles; Borders on monotony