Overview

 No More Heroes is a cel-shaded hack-and-slash action adventure title for the Nintendo Wii, created and directed by Goichi Suda (killer7, Clock Tower and Fire Pro Wrestling) and Grasshopper Manufacture. Published by Ubisoft in the United States, No More Heroes is also one of the most violent games released in 2007 and easily the most violent title released on the Wii to date.  No More Heroes, beyond being a well received video game, also provides an astute commentary on aspects of both Japanese and American game design (particularly the American obsession with open world games).

Plot

In No More Heroes, players take control of Travis Touchdown, a wanna-be assassin/ former wrestler/ otaku. After winning a beam katana (read: Light Saber) from an online auction, Travis is pulled into a mysterious Assassin's league by the sensual Sylvia Christel. Sylvia challenges Travis to become the number one Assassin in the world and to do that, Travis will have to battle an army of minions while killing the 10 powerful assassins in his way. Travis will also take on small odd jobs such as mowing lawns, picking up trash, and washing graffiti to earn the cash needed to vie for the top spot in the guild...and a night in bed with Sylvia!

Gameplay

Players use the A button to make Travis swing his sword, but deliver the final blow with a motion sensing quick time event.

Travis can kick opponents to stun them, leaving them open to powerful wrestling moves.

Recharging the beam katana

To recharge the battery life on the Beam Katana, the player must hit the number 2 button on the Wii remote. Hitting the button will change the perspective onscreen, and the game will tell the player to shake the Wii Remote quickly to recharge the power. While this doesn't sound particularly interesting on its own(as few players are fans of weapon degradation in any capacity). Shaking the Wii Remote, however, will cause Travis to violently jerk his katana up and down, grunting softly under the sound of the rapidly recharging meter(which actually dings once the battery is again completely filled). The entire situation, from the way its seen to the sounds made, make the character Travis seem like he's masturbating. The subtle, hysterical touch ties together violence and sexuality together in a more clever way than any other game to date.

Open World

Between the actual assassination missions in the game, No More Heroes lets players take Travis around the "open world" of Santa  Destroy. Travis can call his motorcycle and drive around Santa Destroy. To obtain the money necessary to set up an assassination match, Travis will have to complete a series of missions.

First, Travis can access a "3rd-Rater" job doing menial, often hysterical labor. Travis will pick up coconuts, mow the lawn, wash cars, and collect scorpions. All of these job missions try and use the Wii remote in a clever way, When mowing lawns, players steer by twisting the Wii remote in their wrists to turn in a different direction. To put a scorpion  in a container strapped to Travis's back, the player much lift the Wii Remote, as if they were tossing the Scorpion over their shoulder.

Exploring the open world