Most gamers these days are jaded souls. Whether they have been playing games for a few months or twenty years, it soon becomes clear that certain genres dominate the scenery. Driving games, FPS’s, football games, etc. Every publisher out there seems to want a piece of the same pie and will endlessly rehash tired ideas and worn-out genres as long as people still flock to buy them. Occasionally, a game comes along with true originality that makes reviewers and console veterans alike salivate uncontrollably – followed by selling approximately 3 copies. There are also mass-market games that straddle both critical and commercial success and simply improve on what has gone before. But every so often, a game comes along that almost defies pigeonholing and despite stealing bits here and there from a myriad of other games like a demented magpie, somehow gels all the parts together so self-assuredly that it feels like a new type of game altogether. Suda 51’s No More Heroes is just such a game.

Players take the role of anti-hero Travis Touchdown: an assassin for hire and a man on a mission to reach the top of the assassin rankings. To do this, he must eradicate the other ten killers that stand between him and the number one spot. Along the way he can take on other assignments for money and may also participate in some very odd jobs to make ends meet. The basic purpose of the game is to save enough money to be able to enter the next ranking battle by performing the various side missions. Then Travis must fight each one in turn to climb the charts. However, there’s far more to the game than that simple summation.

From the outset, it’s difficult to know what to expect from No More Heroes. The manual doesn’t go into a whole lot of detail and the opening level does not do justice to what is to follow. Indeed, it is only once a few hours have been spent in the fantastically named town of Santa Destroy that the game's true identity begins to become clear. What initially appears to be a straightforward, though incredibly stylish, slash-'em-up, rapidly turns into something far more intriguing. Not only does the game liberally borrow from several different genres, it also plays with their conventions and occasionally lampoons them with surprisingly hilarious results. It's the gaming equivalent of a Tarantino movie: if you know where the creator gets his ideas from, you can enjoy his knowing references with acknowledged glee. If you are not steeped in gaming history, you will simply believe that Suda 51 has created all these elements himself from scratch. Either way, it still makes for an enthralling experience.

As with most Wii games, graphical power is never going to be a selling point. Instead, the game relies on having its own particular style and feel and appears to be the lovechild of Jet Set Radio and Crazy Taxi. Like both of those games, there is a whole self-contained town to explore, but this is no GTA. Instead, there are just a few set locations for the player to visit. The hotel is Travis’s base of operations and allows him to save, replenish energy, view collected items and fixate over his extensive wardrobe. The Job Centre provides Travis with various wacky part-time jobs: everything from cleaning graffiti to collecting scorpions. Successful completion of these jobs then gives him access to assassination missions from the shady K-entertainment store. Once enough money has been earned, it’s time to head for the ranking battle on his Judge Dredd-style motorbike.

Every level begins with a fight through a particular building or arena against a number of cannon fodder assailants. Depending on the level, some of them can cause minor problems but they are basically there to tee you up for the main event. And this is where No More Heroes truly shines. Not since Metal Gear Solid has there been such a memorable and motley crew of bad guys and girls. There’s a mourning schoolgirl; a one-legged beach babe; a singing doctor and a baseball-bat-wielding dominatrix, to name just a few. To say nothing of the granny with a giant laser gun in her shopping trolley! Each one feels different from the last and all of them provide a unique and deadly challenge.

Despite the curiosity to keep driving forward to see the next deranged maniac, the need to acquire money through side missions never frustrates. In fact, they provide some of the game's most enjoyable moments and reveal far greater depth than is initially apparent.

The nunchuk stick controls Travis’ movements, whether on foot or on his bike, with the Wiimote used to look around the environment. The z-button is used to lock onto enemies Zelda[b[-[/b]style with the A button used for attacking enemies with Travis’s weapon of choice: the beam katana. A lightsabre by any other name, the beam katana can be used to slice and dice anyone foolish enough to stand in your way in a variety of gruesome ways. At fist it spears as thought the developers have missed a trick by not utilising the Wiimote's motion sensor for katana control. Instead, the player repeatedly bashes the A button to unleash a flurry of impressively devastating blows. There are no combos to learn or finishing moves to master; instead, it's all a question of timing: dodge, block and then attack in a flurry of crimson. It may sound too simplistic, but in practice, the amount of chaos and devastation on screen makes the player glad that they don’t have to try a pull off a manic button combo. With every kill, a fruit machine wheel spins at the bottom of the screen. Line up 3 symbols in a row to enter a devastating power-up mode. In fact, the on-screen carnage occasionally gets a little too much and the player can sometimes take a hit simply because they can’t see what is going on. In spite of this, the sheer amount of blood and pyrotechnics on display impresses far more than any small gripes detract from the action.

In battle, Travis can also execute a number of wrestling moves which are performed by simultaneous movement of the Wiimote and nunchuk following on-screen prompts. There are various other parts of the game with Shenmue-style QTE events which again show the game’s schizophrenic and kleptomaniac nature. Sometimes the game blatantly steals, sometimes it simply borrows and improves and sometimes it pastiches with fantastic creativity. Despite this, the game never feels as though it has lifted from other games wholesale; merely that it has taken the best ideas from a dozen or more other games and incorporated them seamlessly.

Though the game has a cartoon-like appearance, the amount of violence, blood, bad language and sexual references make it a true adult experience. Thankfully that means adult in its best respect rather than some of the schoolboy nonsense that passes for adult gaming these days. In fact, the style of the game and its sheer balls-out audacity is what impresses the most: the game almost overwhelms the player at times with its cocky exuberance. Any game that suddenly throws in an old-school vertical shooter in the middle of a level deserves massive respect for simply attempting it. To actually pull it off successfully takes it into a whole new level of kudos. In fact, the game constantly surprises and delights: just when you think you know what is coming next, No More Heroes knocks your expectations out of the park.

Thankfully, No More Heroes is less of a Marmite experience than Suda 51’s previous Killer 7. There is far more freedom within the game environment and everything can be attempted at the player’s own pace. Sometimes hours can be spent trying out the various side-missions and earning extra cash, which can be spent in a variety of ways. New weapons and upgrades can be bought; Travis can expand his wardrobe at the clothes store, increase his strength at his master’s gym, or even buy new videos to watch at home. There’s also money and T-shirts hidden around the town and even a strange Russian who will teach you new skills and moves each time you collect seven of his lost balls.

If the game sounds somewhat bizarre, that’s because it is. However, it is definitely not a case of style over substance. Every element of the game provides players with a unique and delightful experience and deserves to be sampled by anyone tired of the usual suspects. There can be no more complaints from gamers looking for a unique experience when gems such as this are out there to be sampled. Miss it at your peril.