Death Jr. = Not so good

[warning]

6.5 from GameSpot.

As periodically intense and initially charming as Death Jr. can be, the whole of the game isn't engaging. The fact that there's no real storyline or charm to latch onto makes the unremarkable gameplay and presentational components that much worse--not to mention how short the whole adventure is. Hopefully, DJ and his pals can one day star in a game that gives them some personality and a captivating adventure, because Death Jr. offers them neither.

67% so far at GameRankings.

I was hoping this might be the game to get me to buy a PSP.

Now what game is going to sell me on one?

[Calvin]

This game was what I was originally holding out hope for on the PSP. I eventually gave up holding out for it since the utter dearth of other titles made it not economically feasible to buy the system, but this game sucking makes it a little easier for me to not revisit the idea.

[Destructor]

Now what game is going to sell me on one?

All the classic SNES and Genesis titles of old that you already own.

On a more serious note though - there are very few games actually worth putting time to on the PSP. I should know - I got mine near the US launch, and all I own is Wipeout and Lumines. That's it.

Everything else...just isn't that good.

[wonderpug]

On a more serious note though - there are very few games actually worth putting time to on the PSP. I should know - I got mine near the US launch, and all I own is Wipeout and Lumines. That's it.

Everything else...just isn't that good.

If you told me several months ago that by August I'd be thinking of selling my PSP and buying a DS, I'd have called you loony, but that's just what I'm thinking.

[semiconscious]

On a more serious note though - there are very few games actually worth putting time to on the PSP. I should know - I got mine near the US launch, and all I own is Wipeout and Lumines. That's it.

Everything else...just isn't that good.

add in metal gear acid, & i agree...

my long-awaited copy of death jr's arriving tomorrow, & the reviews have indeed been painful to read. oh, well, at least it gives me a reason to take the damn thing out of it's case for a few days (*sigh!*)...

i can kinda understand the control/camera problems, but the fact that the story/presentation itself is (supposedly) pretty flat is a bummer - something went wrong, somewhere, it looks like...

[Devil]

Still IN!

The problem isn't the PSP games, it's you!!!

MLB, NHL, Hot Shots, NBA Street and Lumines have kept me very busy with my PSP.

My DS is collecting dust...

[Gratch]

On a more serious note though - there are very few games actually worth putting time to on the PSP. I should know - I got mine near the US launch, and all I own is Wipeout and Lumines. That's it.

Everything else...just isn't that good.

If you told me several months ago that by August I'd be thinking of selling my PSP and buying a DS, I'd have called you loony, but that's just what I'm thinking.

That's what I just did.  Put more play time into my DS in the first week than I did my PSP in 2 months.  Meteos is horribly addicting.

[warning]

The next six months for the DS look to be killer:

Nintendogs if you are comfortable with your sexuality
Advance Wars: Dual Strike
Mario & Luigi 2
Lunar
Age of Empires
Animal Crossing
Castlevania
Plus Rebelstar for the GBA

[Devil]

I love how every PSP thread breaks into how great the DS is.

Not going to bash the DS, but I just don't get it.

[AgtFox]

Yeah, let's veer back to talking about Death Jr. (if there's anything to talk about that is given the bad reviews).

[DarkEL]

Well I'm hoping to get Death jr tommorow as a b-day present. Like most of you - I've had my hopes held pretty high for this one too.

So those numbers are a bit discouraging. But I'm not cashing in my PSP just yet. There's still some glimmers of hope this holiday season - stuff like burnout, daxter, midievil (sp?), GTA, and a prince of persia title give me hope.

Heck even if Death jr really does dissapoint - at least I can look forward to namco battle Museum next week for a little dig-dug, galaga, and galaxian love.

But I really want to enjoy Death jr.

[Devil]

I should be able to give some feedback tonight.

I hope it doesn't just completely suck.

[Bullwinkle]

Death, Jr. is what sold me on the PSP.  That and, oddly, Mercury.  I got Mercury and it's okay.  I'll be passing on DJ.  Now I'm holding out hope for Medievil (though it's not a high hope).

I also have to add Ridge Racer to the list of very good PSP games.  Better than Wipeout, IMO.  Hot Shots, Lumines, Ridge Racer, Wipeout and for my platform addiction Ape Escape are the main games I've played.  NFL Street a lot, too, which is odd for me, but it really shines on the PSP, much more than it's big console counterpart.

Anyway, more than anything, Death, Jr. is making me think the PSP is a waste of time (and that it desperately needed another control nub).

[DarkEL]

Death, Jr. is what sold me on the PSP.

Oddly enough that was the same experience for me. I saw the PSP at the big unveiling at last years E3 and thought it was really cool but it wasn't till I saw the Death Jr. Screenshots that I decided that this it was something that I definetly wanted.

(kind of like how i laughed at the nintendo DS till I saw the metroid demo)

Seems like a lot of you had also had Death jr being a factor in your decision to purchase. Which is making me wonder why? What was it about this game that said to us "system seller" - as far as I've seen there wasn't a huge media blitz about it - just a few screenshots sprinkled out here and there for most of the last year.  Heck I didn't even see my first gameplay video of the game till this years E3.  

I dunno - just trying to figure out why so many of us had such high hopes for this one game.

[warning]

Now I'm holding out hope for Medievil (though it's not a high hope).

Do you mean this Medievil (link)?  Doesn't look so good either...

[AgtFox]

I don't own a PSP, but Death Jr. was certainly one of the games that I was interested in for the system.  Too bad it hasn't been received so well.  You guys can go to Blockbuster and rent it probably since they now rent PSP games.

[semiconscious]

Now I'm holding out hope for Medievil (though it's not a high hope).

Do you mean this Medievil (link)?  Doesn't look so good either...

oh, man, that eurogamer review really hurt - made the game (problems'n'all) sound amazingly like... death jr!...

but will i get it just to listen to tom baker if for no other reason? probably ...

[Kevin Grey]

I dunno - just trying to figure out why so many of us had such high hopes for this one game.

I think because it was really the first game featured that was a totally new IP from a first party.  Sony generally has a very good first party track record and most assumed they would try to make their first new IP for the PSP a real system seller.

[Devil]

Played a bit at EB - It's not nearly that bad. Granted, I didn't play too long but what I did do was fun.

Should have more of an idea later...

[Bullwinkle]

Do you mean this Medievil (link)? Doesn't look so good either...

Yeah, I saw that review.  I said my hope wasn't high.  Actually, though, the big complaint on eurogamer, if I remember correctly was that it wasn't very innovative.  Honestly, I kind of want a game that plays like the original game.  That won't bother me so much.  And since this review came out so long before release, I have to take it with a grain of salt.  Of course, the same can be said for the good Play review, too...

But to get back from the derailing and answer this post:

why so many of us had such high hopes for this one game.

I think it has something to do with the concept being so rich and such obviously fertile ground that the very idea that this potential would be wasted was alien.  I mean, it clearly rang of good, early Tim Burton stuff.  Also, it evoked Voodoo Vince for me a little bit, and that was an amazing, underrated platformer.  Ah, well...

[The_Man]

I got Death Jr. yesterday and it's not nearly as bad as reviews and other people make it seem.  The graphics are excellent in my opinion as it looks as good as most console games on the Xbox or PS2.  The controls are not hard to pick up.  The analog nubstick moves DJ while the square button equips and uses the Scythe, a melee weapon while the circle button equips and uses a gun, a range weapon.  Your weapons are upgradable and I've already gotten one upgrade for my Scythe and have been given a shotgun that is much better than the pistol you start with.  The X button jumps and as you progress, you get more moves that you can do.  For example, to jump up to a ledge, you tap X to jump and then hold square and DJ will pull himself up using his scythe.

The game is pretty standard platform fare as there are multiple enemies of various difficulties, some that fly and others on the ground.  This insures that you will be using both weapon types a lot.  There are lots of powerups and combos that are at your disposable as well and I hardly scratched the surface  so far.

The camera is pretty good about staying where you can see what's in front of you, but if by chance it does get off, you can center it behind DJ by tapping the L shoulder button.  You can also go into first person mode by holding the R trigger, but I haven't tried that yet.

The gist of the game is that someone has captured all of DJ's friends and you must travel through all these levels to find missing pieces of their souls to release them,  Nothing new here as the game operates out of a central hub, a museum and as you finish a level, another one at the hub opens up for you.  Again, nothing new here, but it really doesn't have to be since it's only the second platform game on the PSP.

The game package itself is quite nice.  I second box comes shrinkwrapped with the game box and inside that box is all the limited edition extra stuff.  I only glanced at the extra stuff, but from what I could see there are 2 Death Jr. UMD cases and another disc which contains a comic and some music and other multimedia files.  There are instructions how to copy this stuff to the PSP memory stick so you can view it, but like I said I haven't messed with any of that yet.

The game itself didn't really blow me away in what little I've played, but if you like platform games, you'll probably enjoy it.  I don't think I'd run out and buy a PSP to play the game, but if you already own one I'd say it's definitely worth picking up.

My only complaint so far is that at times there are a lot of enemies attacking you and things can get quite confusing, moreso than most other platformers.  Also, it appears that enemies respawn behind you after you kill them.  In other words, I was progressing forwards and somehow got turned around and wound up back at the beginning of the level and the same guys I had already killed were back...at least some of them were.

There is a save option that you can access anytime, but it appears it only saves up to the point that you have completed in the game.  In other words, if you're in the middle of a level and save, when you restart you wll be back at the beginning of the level.  I could be wrong about this, but this is how it looked to me.

Personally, I like the game and I'm just glad to finally have a new game for my PSP.  It's certainly not Mario or Ratchet and Clank, but it is a very adequate platform game.

[Devil]

Played more last night and it's pretty good!

I just think they should have put a map somewhere on the screen. I get lost!

[semiconscious]

Played more last night and it's pretty good!

I just think they should have put a map somewhere on the screen. I get lost!

yeah, a map would've been nice - tiny as the areas are, it can get a little confusing for sure...

aside from the camera quirks (switching the camera from free-floating to following dj helps a lot), my only complaints so far are how dark some level sections are, & how glaringly devoid of any real story the game is - really a shame, that last one...

[Larraque]

Still IN!

The problem isn't the PSP games, it's you!!!

MLB, NHL, Hot Shots, NBA Street and Lumines have kept me very busy with my PSP.

Which NHL game? Is there another besides Gretzky?

I like the MLB game but I find it very hard

[Devil]

Gretzky was what I was talking about. It's not the greatest game ever but I've enjoyed it!

Oh, and bumping up the brightness in Death Jr. helps a lot!