A Ball Bustingly Hard Game
God Hand is the swan song game by developer Clover Studio, best known for their games in the "Viewtiful Joe" series as well as the stylish action-adventure game "Okami." It is a beat 'em up game set in a post-apocalyptic, science fiction backdrop with numerous queues from the anime; "Fist of the North Star."
The game puts you in the role of a young man named Gene who, after a fated meeting with a girl named Olivia, gains possession of the Godhand, a divine weapon that bestows upon its user great strength and the ability to slay demons with ease. Gene travels with Olivia while she has him do various tasks with the end goal being to defeat the Demon King, Angra. While the premise isn't exactly deep, God Hand makes up for it with it's really unique sense of style as well as oddball humor sewn throughout the game.
God Hand will have you fight across numerous locales including dusty western-style desert towns, and even a circus big top. The level designs themselves, however, are pretty bland in design. The path presented to you in a level is often very straight forward leaving little in the way of varying paths for the player to take. Also, while the character models look great, the environment textures come off as a little muddy in spots and don't really stand up well when compared to the character models. The sound in this game fairs a little better. God Hand is accompanied by a unique and interesting soundtrack encompassing various genres of music including Techno, Metal, and even Surf Rock. Though some of the music seems out of place at first, you quickly realize that it's so out of place that it's actually quite fitting. The sound effects are another strong point with Gene's blows sounding fittingly brutal and hard-hitting.
However, there is one thing that God Hand does very well; and that's the combat. The gameplay in God Hand hearkens back to the classic beat 'em up games of old, the difference here being how the player can customize Gene's various moves in the game. At the start of the game, Gene has a basic 4 hit combo, as well as 2 other attack buttons. All the attack buttons in the game can be customized in the Techniques menu where Gene can change how each move in his combo acts and what special moves he can use. While the gameplay can get repetitive at times, this is alleviated by the sheer number of movies available to Gene throughout the course of the game. There are literally hundreds of moves at your disposal, ensuring that no two player's combos will be identical, and keeps the combat fresh throughout the duration of the game.
The other primary way players do battle in God Hand is through the Roulette Wheel, which is by far the most intriguing part of God Hand's gameplay. The Roulette Wheel stores all of Gene's "Special Moves" that are available in the game. They often are capable of dispatching many regular enemies in the game in a single move, and are able to deal considerable damage to boss characters as well. Gene is limited by how often he can perform these movies with the number of Orbs at his disposal. Stronger moves take more orbs to use, while the weaker ones only require a single Orb. The Roulette Wheel provides an interesting strategic level to God Hand's gameplay as the player must carefully decide when to perform these moves. Do you use it on this large group of thugs to quickly end the battle? Or do you save the Orbs for the upcoming boss fight? The one blemish in the controls is that Gene’s movement and camera controls are quite archaic in function. You’ll often find yourself struggling to find an enemy around you and properly line yourself up with said enemy to attack him. Trying to run away from battle can also be quite difficult at times.
God Hand has a very unique sense of humor. The Dialog in the game sounds intentionally campy, and the absurdity of the story is sure to get more than a few chuckles out of you here and there. The humor is even shown in the gameplay through Gene’s various actions and attacks. For instance; Gene has a move on the Roulette Wheel called the ‘Ball Buster,’ which… does exactly what it says. Gene kicks his enemy in their nether regions, temporarily stunning them so Gene can deliver a devastating combo or suplex. Yes, there are wrestling moves in this game.
God Hand certainly isn’t a game for everyone. The humor might be off putting to some, and others might find it difficult to deal with the movement controls. But to anyone able to overlook that, God Hand is a unique action game quite unlike anything you’ve ever played before.
