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"No More Heroes" Out now! - "If I become #1, will you do it with me?"

SpeedySwafSpeedySwaf Registered User regular
edited July 2008 in Games and Technology
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Welcome to the official No More Heroes hype thread!

Official Website!

What's No More Heroes?
No More Heroes is the latest game to come from Grasshopper Manufacture, a game development house that's most well known for their work on Killer7, but have also worked on other games including Michigan, Contact, and game adaptions of Samurai Champloo and Blood+. It's being developed exclusively for the Wii.

Okay, but what is No More Heroes?
No More Heroes is an action game that follows the adventures and exploits of one Travis Touchdown, wrestling fan, otaku, and newbie assassin who's just entered the arena. The opening can explain his situation better then I can. As it suggests, the main point of the game is to go around Santa Destroy, killing off rival assassins until you're No. 1. But while you do that, you also complete smaller gigs to build your funds, like collecting trash, mowing lawns, maybe killing a few nobodies here and there...hey, no one ever said that it was a luxurious lifestyle, right? Oh, and you can raise a kitten. And ride around town in a sweet motorcycle.

The gameplay is simple enough to understand: instead of swinging the controller, you press the A button to attack, but depending on how you hold (low, medium, high) you could use different moves, and you'll have to, if you want to get around some of the baddies defenses. Of course, being the wrestling fan he is, you'll also have the option of performing some classic moves on baddies to finish them off, plus the occasional finish move with your beam katana.

Now, onto the cast!

The "Good guys."
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Travis Touchdown

The hero himself, you'll be controlling this guy the entire game. Right now he's only 11th in the UAA, but you'll utilize his beam sword and wresting moves to rock your enemies and climb to the top spot.

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Sylvia Christel

This babe is the one who gets Travis into the assassination gig in the first place. She'll hand Travis all of his major assignments, and keep track of your progress. But why is she so interested in making him No. 1?

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Doctor Naomi

This woman will be making and upgrading all of your weapons...if you can pay her.

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Thunder Ryu

A former Yakuza and Travis' sensei, this guy will teach him his sword and wrestling moves.

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Randall Lovikov

A man who's constantly drunk and hailing from Russia, Randall will make "Memory" beverages that will give you special abilities, such as increasing your attack power, or running faster on the field.

The rival assasains.

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Death Metal

10th in the UAA. Lives in a mansion on the outskirts of Santa Destroy. Invites beautiful women to his house everyday. Uses a beam katana.

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Dr. Peace

Expert Gunslinger, and 9th in the UAA. You'll fight him at the baseball stadium. Is supposed to be guilty of some minor crimes, including fraud and trafficking.

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Shinobu

A Japanese highschool student who uses a katana, and is 8th in the UAA. She may have a grudge against Travis.

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Destroyman

7th in the UAA, this guy dresses up as an American superhero, but he can fly and shoot lasers at you.

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Holly Summers

6th in the UAA. This bad girl uses a shovel, grenades, mines and that leg of hers? It's a rocket launcher. In short, be prepared for pain.

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Bad Girl

Shrouded in mystery, this lolita uses a blood-stained bat as her weapon. Her positon in the UAA is unknown.

Updates for 12/01/07
Bloody Massacre (lots of blood, duh. Also hear Dr. Peace speak)
Killer Carnage (warning: gore galore and spoilers for Death Metal boss fight and aftermath)
Meeting Death Metal (Cut-scene before boss)

SpeedySwaf on
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Posts

  • Shujin KatanaShujin Katana ClubPA regular
    edited June 2007
    i didn't even know what this game was about, so for the likes of me, i took the burden of copying some information from wikipedia:

    General:
    No More Heroes (ノーモア・ヒーローズ, Nō Moa Hīrōzu?) is a video game directed by Goichi Suda (aka Suda 51), developed by Grasshopper Manufacture, and published by Marvelous Interactive Inc. and Spike for the Wii video game console.

    The game is not a sequel to Suda's earlier game, Killer7 for the GameCube and PlayStation 2, but an all-new game running on a new engine. Suda says that while Killer7 focused on political issues, No More Heroes will deal with social issues. The working title of the game prior to November 29, 2006 was Heroes.
    Concept and Gameplay:
    The story of No More Heroes revolves around Travis Touchdown, a typical otaku who lives in poverty in the fictional town of Santa Destroy, California. Somehow, he manages to win a beam katana in an internet auction. Soon thereafter he becomes a hitman and kills Helter Skelter, which earns him rank 11 by the UAA, the governing body of assassins. Sylvia Christel, who was shown in the trailer to challenge him to be the best assassin, is a French-born agent of the UAA. Other killers in the UAA include a girl named Shinobu, who wears a short school girl outfit, attends Santa Destroy high school, and is ranked 8th in UAA. A woman named Naomi is also revealed, who is a swordmaker and an ally to the main character. Also revealed, as also apparently part of the top 10 is Destroyman, a deadly superhero assassin.

    Unlike Killer7, the player will control Travis only. The game will have a free roaming world similar to Grand Theft Auto. Travis can move around either on foot, or on his motorcycle, the "Schpel Tiger." He can also ride in any other vehicle, though he is unable to steal them. Like GTA, the gameplay is open-ended, but the player will have to kill the top 10 assassins in order for the storyline to progress. Numerous side quests also exist to gain additional weapons and make money, such as trash pick-up, a part time job as a stamper, and even weird jobs such as human bowling. Travis will have a wide range of swords available to him. The player will also level up through experience points, but the exact details have not been revealed.

    Each day will start with the main character, Travis Touchdown, in a motel where his outfit and equipment can be changed. Control will be done through the Wii Remote and nunchuk attachment, where the Wii Remote will control the beam katana and the nunchuk will control Travis. While the sword will not follow the exact position of the remote, it will be able to distinguish between three different height levels and the angle of your attack. Most attacks will be performed using the "A" button, though certain moves such as finishing strikes and sword lock breaks can be executed by following on-screen instructions. Successful execution of the moves, such as breaking from a sword lock, will provide additional chance for attacks. Additionally, since the sword runs on energy, the player will have to shake the remote from time to time to recharge it. The most recent trailer, shown at the 2007 Game Developers Conference, shows off a number of the game's moves, including using the beam katana to physically split a man in half and chop off enemies' heads. A third move involving both the Wii Remote and nunchuck was shown in which Travis grabs an enemy and performs a Dragon Suplex, a type of suplex where he locks his opponent into a full nelson and drops him on his head backwards.
    Development:
    In recent interviews, Suda 51 has stated that this game will be violent, though different from Killer7. He stated that he will try his best to make No More Heroes as violent, or even more violent than Manhunt 2 (which recently received the AO rating). He cited El Topo as a key inspiration for the game.[1] Suda 51 has stated that he is "very interested in online play" and that if it isn't incorporated in No More Heroes, then it will be used in his next Wii game.[2]

    A scan from Famitsu magazine was released on November 29, 2006. The scan revealed that the game's character designer is Yuzaki Yuusuke, who had designed characters for Speed Grapher. Others on the team include Okama (costume design), who designed the OP for Densha Otoko, and Shigeto Koyama (weapons and mechanics design), who worked on Eureka Seven as an illustrator.

    As of April, the game's development progress is at 70%. It will use a completely different engine from Killer7. The visual style has taken a semi-cel-shaded look, rather than the look of the trailer or Killer7.
    Release Date:
    An interview with the head of Rising Star Games, the publisher in Europe, revealed that No More Heroes is expected to be available in Europe by early 2008, and, "definitely before the spring."

    On June 13, 2007 a Japanese countdown web site for No More Heroes appeared online. It is unknown whether or not this countdown is for a developer's blog, or a firm release date, considering that the Japanese release is planned for Summer 2007. As of June 22, 2007 the countdown timer is still at "00 day remaining". This apparently corresponds to the release of screenshots and information to Famitsu Magazine[3].

    Shujin Katana on
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  • crack hitlercrack hitler Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    interesting

    crack hitler on
  • NORNOR Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Yeah, this is looking better and better all the time.

    NOR on
    Swehehehehehahahahahahahahahawhawhawhaw
  • ZekZek Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    I don't know what to make of this game, so I'll be waiting for the reviews. At least it's a real exclusive.

    Zek on
  • core tacticcore tactic Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Rocket Launcher for a leg?


    Oddly familiar.

    core tactic on
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  • Dublo7Dublo7 Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    For those who cannot read Moon Language, what exactly is the game?

    It looks rather neat. I like cell shaded games.

    Dublo7 on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • BedlamBedlam Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Dublo7 wrote: »
    For those who cannot read Moon Language, what exactly is the game?

    It looks rather neat. I like cell shaded games.
    You play a guy who wins a beam sword in an online auction and then start killing assassins so that you can be ranked number one.

    The trailer has some of the most horrid voice acting ever heard by human ears.

    Bedlam on
  • Dublo7Dublo7 Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Maybe I take back what I said earlier. The whole neat thing.

    Dublo7 on
    [SIGPIC][/SIGPIC]
  • RamiRami Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Dublo7 wrote: »
    For those who cannot read Moon Language, what exactly is the game?

    It looks rather neat. I like cell shaded games.


    Basically, you're an up and coming assassin who bought a beam sword off ebay. You have to take down the 10 assassins above you to become number 1.

    The game takes place in a city that you can travel around freely GTA style. Also, you can collect anime t-shirts because Travis is a huge geek.


    Also, fuck yeah, they've decided to put blood in after all! And the image of the guy sliced in half...this is going to be awesome.

    Rami on
    Steam / Xbox Live: WSDX NNID: W-S-D-X 3DS FC: 2637-9461-8549
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  • SpeedySwafSpeedySwaf Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Dublo7 wrote: »
    For those who cannot read Moon Language, what exactly is the game?

    It looks rather neat. I like cell shaded games.
    Essentially you play as Travis Touchdown. A anime nerd ("otaku") he was able to win an online auction for a beam sword, and somehow ended up in the world of assassination. Either because he's forced to or he thinks it might be a fun timewaster, he now strives to be the top assassain by eliminating the competition. Using the wiimote, you determine whether your attacks are high, medium or low in height, and press A to attack, while using onscreen prompts for special moves, involving either the beam sword or his wrestling moves.

    You get to roam around the city of Santa Destroy on you bike, taking on side missions and fighting other people. During all of this you can update your t-shirts, beam sword and possibly some other things we haven't found out. It's a relatively low-budget game, but a lot of people are very interested because it's from the makers of Killer7, and carries with it a lot of style.

    SpeedySwaf on
  • sixteensixteen Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Bedlam wrote: »
    Dublo7 wrote: »
    For those who cannot read Moon Language, what exactly is the game?

    It looks rather neat. I like cell shaded games.
    You play a guy who wins a beam sword in an online auction and then start killing assassins so that you can be ranked number one.

    The trailer has some of the most horrid voice acting ever heard by human ears.

    Did you hear the recent trailer? It's better.

    sixteen on
  • SpikedFreakSpikedFreak Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Didn't suda at one time claim it was going to be more violent then Manhunt 2?

    I wonder if he's rethinking that now? :P

    SpikedFreak on
  • NaromNarom Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    SpeedySwaf wrote: »
    It's a relatively low-budget game
    This was not my understanding. It doesn't seem low budget to me.

    Narom on
    <cursive>Narom</cursive>
  • NaromNarom Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Didn't suda at one time claim it was going to be more violent then Manhunt 2?

    I wonder if he's rethinking that now? :P
    Heh. I imagine that it's in a different context though (not sadistic, so much as over-the-top similar to Kill Bill).

    Narom on
    <cursive>Narom</cursive>
  • Kewop DecamKewop Decam Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    I so fucking love SUDA 51!

    Kewop Decam on
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  • JJJJ DailyStormer Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    looks neat.

    JJ on
  • BedlamBedlam Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    I so fucking love SUDA 51!
    What else have they released other than killer 7?

    Bedlam on
  • SpeedySwafSpeedySwaf Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Narom wrote: »
    SpeedySwaf wrote: »
    It's a relatively low-budget game
    This was not my understanding. It doesn't seem low budget to me.
    Relatively low budget. It's not dirt cheap to make like D3 games or the like, but isn't blockbuster, either.

    EDIT: On second thought, the director mentioned that he wasn't working with a large budget on NMH, but didn't actually say it was a small budget title, either.

    SpeedySwaf on
  • Rabid_LlamaRabid_Llama Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    I was wondering why he was hitting people with a flourecent light bulb, then I realized it was a more realistic take on the lightsaber. Looks like a cool, fun, silly game.

    Rabid_Llama on
    /sig
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  • The_SpaniardThe_Spaniard It's never lupines Irvine, CaliforniaRegistered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Hexagonal cans are the wave of the future.

    The_Spaniard on
    Playstation/Origin/GoG: Span_Wolf Xbox/uPlay/Bnet: SpanWolf Nintendo: Span_Wolf SW-7097-4917-9392 Steam: http://steamcommunity.com/id/Span_Wolf/
  • PharezonPharezon Struggle is an illusion. Victory is in the Qun.Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    That looks awesome.

    Pharezon on
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  • VothVoth Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    I hope it's just as confusing as Killer 7 was.

    Voth on
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  • SpeedySwafSpeedySwaf Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Voth wrote: »
    I hope it's just as confusing as Killer 7 was.
    Nah, the story is supposed to much simpler.

    Of course, simple != bad. Who knows, he could surprise us.

    SpeedySwaf on
  • BurtletoyBurtletoy Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    I thought the last time we had a thread about this game it was stated that the developer had given up o the cell shading idea and was going for a more realistic look. I'm glad these shots went back to cell shading since they looked way better.

    Burtletoy on
  • Speed RacerSpeed Racer Scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratchRegistered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Bedlam wrote: »
    I so fucking love SUDA 51!
    What else have they released other than killer 7?

    Contact, an Earthbound-esque RPG for the DS that showed insane levels of promise but ended up not actually being very good.

    Speed Racer on
  • Neo RasaNeo Rasa Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Bedlam wrote: »
    I so fucking love SUDA 51!
    What else have they released other than killer 7?

    Shining Soul II, Contact, Blood: One Night Kiss, Silver Jikan, and SUDA 51 himself worked for Human Entertainment/ASCII on various games of quality such as the Fire Pro series.

    Neo Rasa on
    "You know how Batman hangs people over the edge of buildings and gets them to spill information. That's Neo Rasa's way of it, but instead of information, he just likes to see people suffer." ~Senor Fish
  • Speed RacerSpeed Racer Scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratchRegistered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Neo Rasa wrote: »
    Bedlam wrote: »
    I so fucking love SUDA 51!
    What else have they released other than killer 7?

    Shining Soul II, Contact, Blood: One Night Kiss, Silver Jikan, and SUDA 51 himself worked for Human Entertainment/ASCII on various games of quality such as the Fire Pro series.

    Well yeah I guess that's true too but the point here is that I really wanted Contact to be an awesome game and it wasn't.

    Speed Racer on
  • Neo RasaNeo Rasa Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Neo Rasa wrote: »
    Bedlam wrote: »
    I so fucking love SUDA 51!
    What else have they released other than killer 7?

    Shining Soul II, Contact, Blood: One Night Kiss, Silver Jikan, and SUDA 51 himself worked for Human Entertainment/ASCII on various games of quality such as the Fire Pro series.

    Well yeah I guess that's true too but the point here is that I really wanted Contact to be an awesome game and it wasn't.

    What did you dislike about it? It's basically a more colorful iteration of the oldest Xanadu and other OLD computer RPGs. Not for everyone but I wouldn't say it's a bad example of its kind. The artstyle caused people to think it would be like a more generic adventure game though so I could see how that would cause people to be turned off upon playing it. The only thing I dislike about it is the skill balancing. It takes literally days of grinding to achieve every skill, yet the earliest ones you get around the beginning of the game are potent enough to carry you all the way through. One of those games where you get tons of attack options and absolutely no reason at all to use them.

    Neo Rasa on
    "You know how Batman hangs people over the edge of buildings and gets them to spill information. That's Neo Rasa's way of it, but instead of information, he just likes to see people suffer." ~Senor Fish
  • Speed RacerSpeed Racer Scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratch scritch scratchRegistered User regular
    edited June 2007
    The combat system was sort of.... shit.

    Walk up, push a button, sit and watch.

    Not exactly engaging.

    Speed Racer on
  • Neo RasaNeo Rasa Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    The combat system was sort of.... shit.

    Walk up, push a button, sit and watch.

    Not exactly engaging.

    That's what I mean though, it was never about combat being engaging, quite the opposite. If you play Dragon Slayer or even the oldest Ultima games as an example, it's not even as interactive as Contact, just walk into enemy until someone dies. It adds in luxuries such as lifebars instead of numbers to crunch. It's a game in one of the most archaic and esoteric genres ever. From a Japanese developer no less, which for this sort of game invariably trade in game length and a huge world for more atmosphere.

    Whether or not it succeeds on that aspect is debateable, but I wouldn't say it's a bad game for what it is.




    Either way, No More Heroes looks totally rad. I like the character artworks on those scans too. Are those from Grasshopper Manufacture or from the magazine itself?

    Neo Rasa on
    "You know how Batman hangs people over the edge of buildings and gets them to spill information. That's Neo Rasa's way of it, but instead of information, he just likes to see people suffer." ~Senor Fish
  • AbsoluteZeroAbsoluteZero The new film by Quentin Koopantino Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    I hope this game is fun to play, unlike Killer 7.

    AbsoluteZero on
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  • cj iwakuracj iwakura The Rhythm Regent Bears The Name FreedomRegistered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Neo Rasa wrote: »
    Bedlam wrote: »
    I so fucking love SUDA 51!
    What else have they released other than killer 7?

    Shining Soul II, Contact, Blood: One Night Kiss, Silver Jikan, and SUDA 51 himself worked for Human Entertainment/ASCII on various games of quality such as the Fire Pro series.

    Not to mention Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked, which all of three people bought, myself included. :P

    And does that mean Suda worked on Vanguard Bandits?

    cj iwakura on
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  • Neo RasaNeo Rasa Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    cj iwakura wrote: »
    Neo Rasa wrote: »
    Bedlam wrote: »
    I so fucking love SUDA 51!
    What else have they released other than killer 7?

    Shining Soul II, Contact, Blood: One Night Kiss, Silver Jikan, and SUDA 51 himself worked for Human Entertainment/ASCII on various games of quality such as the Fire Pro series.

    Not to mention Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked, which all of three people bought, myself included. :P

    And does that mean Suda worked on Vanguard Bandits?

    I don't believe he did. I think Grasshopper Manufacture was already being formed at that point (they did a few adventure/investigation type games for the PSX, not too unlike Hotel Dusk I guess, supposedly both are extremely good but knowledge of Japanese is a must).

    Count me as the fourth buyer of Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked. Never saw the anime/read the manga before but the game is great. I sometimes consider importing Blood+ on the basis of its quality alone. Though I kind of kept naively hoping that Bandai Namco would bring it here once more Blood stuff started coming out in the US.

    Neo Rasa on
    "You know how Batman hangs people over the edge of buildings and gets them to spill information. That's Neo Rasa's way of it, but instead of information, he just likes to see people suffer." ~Senor Fish
  • taliosfalcontaliosfalcon Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Man..i really like the look of this game (which is odd because i've never seen another cell shaded game i liked) and it sounds awesome..but after looking up him up i've hated every one of his games/games he's been affiliated with that i've played..hmmm =/

    taliosfalcon on
    steam xbox - adeptpenguin
  • ZekZek Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    Suda 51 definitely isn't a guaranteed-hit developer. This game has a really awesome concept and oozes style, now it's just a question of whether or not it's fun.

    Zek on
  • Houk the NamebringerHouk the Namebringer Nipples The EchidnaRegistered User regular
    edited June 2007
    the first screens i saw were very meh. i dunno what it is about this new stuff, but it makes me much happier in the pants.

    Houk the Namebringer on
  • KiwistrikeKiwistrike Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    i think it looks pretty refreshing. in the same way that killer7 was. i mean that game was innovative for simply proving that the industry would let something so unorthodox out into the public. i hope no more heroes continues in that direction.

    Kiwistrike on
  • SimBenSimBen Hodor? Hodor Hodor.Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    I should probably go back and finish Killer7 sometimes (I've had a save in the final chapter forever, then I lent the game to a friend, got it back 6 months later, and sorta forgot to finish it). Actually, I should probably just go back and start over again to try to wrap my head around the impossibly convoluted plot.

    Seriously, that shit makes Metal Gear and Silent Hill look like pieces of cake.

    I should probably get Shining Soul II and Samurai Champloo, too (I bought Contact on the Grasshopper name alone but haven't played it yet, I just bought it on launch because I knew it'd become one of those impossible-to-find DS games). If anything, I want to encourage a developer that's so unafraid to go against the mainstream and really put innovation in games.

    And does it seem to anyone else like No More Heroes will be a huge commentary on the mainstream always pointing to videogames as the source of all evil? What I've heard of it sounds very satirical and very hey-Jack-Thompson-you're-an-idiot-here's-why. Killer7 was a very political game, so I guess it's normal to expect NMH to also be.

    SimBen on
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  • Kewop DecamKewop Decam Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    NMH is actually about social problems, not political

    Kewop Decam on
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  • slash000slash000 Registered User regular
    edited June 2007
    This looks awesome. Hopefully the wii mechanics will spice up the gameplay and make it as fun and exciting as the concept sounds.

    slash000 on
This discussion has been closed.