Sin & Punishment

Treasure a developer who has brought so much to gaming. A developer who continues to innovate and release original titles on various systems. Yet a developer who has attracted recent attention in forums. The question being asked - Are Treasure over-rated? Play Sin & Punishment, before you answer that question.

Immediate reactions point in the direction that Treasure have obviously been inspired by a combination of Space Harrier, Panzer Dragoon / Panzer Dragoon Zwei and Starfox. Sin & Punishment contains aspects from all three. It would be slightly unfair to conclude that Treasure have simply imitated these three games, since Sin & Punishment does offer enough variation to stand out as a game in its own right.

The game follows the basic premise of the above in that you run into the screen following an on-rails path of destruction and mayhem. The frantic pace of the game is set, since you are unable to control the speed at which you travel. Instead you are more concerned in targeting the large amount of alien desperados attacking you at great speeds. This is where the influence of Panzer Dragoon is evident. With a similar system to PD you have the ability to move your character to the left and right in order to avoid approaching enemies and obstacles. This is linked with your aiming cursor, which allows you to aim independently of your movement. Your sight is controlled with the analogue stick, which allows smooth tracking of the numerous enemies on screen. Hitting the trigger button unleashes your firepower to destroy the targeted enemy. Treasure has included two different methods of aiming. I have just described the "free" sight, with the "tracking" sight offering the ability to lock onto an enemy that your character will automatically track around the screen. You also have a secondary weapon, which is similar to a light saber from Star Wars. This weapon allows you to attack enemies at close range. It also contains a defensive element in that it can be used as a pseudo shield to protect you from incoming fire.

At the heart of Sin & Punishment lies a three-edged sword. The three factors which directly contribute to how successful you are at this game. These three factors are: health, the timer and your score. The timer and health are interlinked. Following the tradition of the majority of shooters when hit by enemy fire your health drops until you die. In addition to this threat of death you have to contend with the time meter, which clocks down during the gameplay. When the timer reaches Zero, the character's health starts to drop at a quicker rate. The only remedy is either collecting a power up to help resolve the situation or complete the level. It reminds me in a sense of Tomb Raider. While Lara is underwater you have the air meter, which ticks down, after its depleted the health meter drops at a quicker rate. Poor analogy, but hopefully it will help you understand the principles of the timer/health.

I can't state enough how frantic this game is. The intensity of the gameplay is the main factor separating the game from the above mention games. This is where two strengths of Treasure really come into play - level design, and boss design. The levels of Sin & Punishment are successful in portraying the post-apocalyptic world in which the game is set. The level design is interesting, and exciting adding to the intensity levels of the gameplay. Each level is filled with hundreds of awaiting enemies ready to increase your blood pressure up to an unhealthy level. Boss design is also extremely strong, and Treasure continues their landmark of imaginative creative designs. Like the individual stages the boss characters are no push over, resulting in the gamer receiving no rest from the frantic pace. .

Interestingly Treasure has tried an unusual method of implementing the 2 player mode. Unlike traditional shooters where you could expect split screen action, both players control the same character. Player One controls the character on screen movement, while Player Two controls the aiming and shooting. Does it work? Not really. It becomes far too much of a muddle, and holds little enjoyment. Innovation for innovation's sake? Perhaps not, but this method adds nothing to the gameplay.

Graphically Sin & Punishment is strong especially when you consider the hardware platform it is running on. Treasure has compromised by designing the on screen characters with a low polygon count. While this does have the side effect of making them appear blocky at times, it does allow the Nintendo 64 to display a large amount of enemies on screen at once. Treasure has succeeded in coaching the N64 to display some wonderful effects. The game is full of wonderful explosions, motion blur and special effects. Importantly the camera works well with this style of game, which is vital to a game of this pace. The majority of the game utilizes a Space Harrier point of view, but during certain areas of the game the viewpoint does change. Some slowdown is present, but nothing to detract from the overall effect or the gameplay.

Sonically Sin & Punishment is a mixed bag. The music is not what I imagined it to be, and it disappoints. Of course, other gamers could disagree with me and feel that the music does fit in with the overall aesthetic of the game. Another man's meat is another man's poison. It's good to report from an import angle that the voiceovers are in English. The sound effects are good, with explosions being nice and meaty. Just what I want from a shooter.

Treasure has created a game of pure arcade action. Sin & Punishment follows the principle of live bright, die young since the game is very short. It is disappointing to reach the end of the game, but perhaps that emotion highlights the success of Treasure in developing such a fun game. If there is one game that you must import, then it is Sin & Punishment.  The game is still fairly easy to track down online, either via retailers or ebay. The game is fairly import friendly with the voiceovers being in English. The game text is in Japanese, but it is fairly straightforward, plus there is a translation FAQ which removes all excuses. Whether or not Sin & Punishment will become a collectable like Radiant Silvergun is another question completely. So are Treasure over-rated? With a game like Sin & Punishment, and a back-catalogue like theirs you have got to be joking.