Hard as nails but fun as hell
So if I had to describe God Hand in one word it would be 'FUN'. Now that may seem like a very basic and cliche word to describe it but it really sums up the game nicely. You can tell 'FUN' was at the fore-front of everything Clover wanted to achieve in this game.
This game takes us back to the days of the brawler, which has become quite a barren genre after the 16-bit days past. Were not introduced to any long-winded introduction and put straight into the action right after the game boots up. And its only mayhem from then on.
Your given three buttons to do your dirty work and it works nicely. At first you'll be doing your basic punches and kicks but right when you start purchasing techniques and start mapping them to the buttons do you see the real rewarding aspect of the gameplay. You get to decide how you want to play which is great and allows you to experiment. If you want to be stringing a bunch of hard hitting but slow moves go right ahead, although its preferable to have a mix of quick and weak moves to go along with your hard hitting ones too. Overall the gameplay is surprisingly deep, especially for the genre. So top points there.
The game has a stiff challenge but master the gameplay and you'll not find it such an issue. There are regular saves (maybe a questionably forgiveable amount) so your never sent back too far from where you died. If your on the brink of dying and overcrowded your usually allowed to skip to the next area so running is always an option too. But that's taking the fun away from the game in my opinion.
Another aspect which makes this game great is the cutscenes. The game is funny and that is definitely a rare occurance in gaming. When games try to be funny 99% of the time there not and just embarass themselves. Especially when Japanese companies try to be funny as it never translates well to English. But God Hand somehow breaks the laws of nature and delivers quite a few laughs in cutscenes and in gameplay also. You'll grow quite fond of the characters and either want to help them or kick their asses. The dialogue is done surprisingly well with some memorable snippets 'WAAAATEEER'
The graphics are the only slip up this game has. The characters models are nice enough but the enviorments are questionable. A game like this doesn't need lush enviorments but you can't help but think what were they thinking when releasing this game like this. Even a launch game would of done better. My guess is that Clover's funding was dropped before they finished so they had to make sacrifices to the graphics. Regardless its not the enviormenets that'll make or break the game so you'll easily forgive. And the camere could definitely of had some work done to. This was done on the RE4 engine so putting the camera behind the back of you would of been easiest for the developers but its definitely not preferable for this type of game. Your given a radar to help you see your enemies but still have no idea if they are preparing for an attack so expect to be hit from behind many a time.
I give this game ****1/2 because that describes how much fun I had with the game. It has its flaws and the difficulty will put some people off but appreciate the game for what it is and I gurantee you'll at least find something you'll like. This game is Godly (pun totally intended)
