I keep hearing how No More Heroes is THE game for hardcore gamers (what defines a hardcore gamer anyways) on the wii... so while I was at Gamestop rummaging through the power saver deals I decided to look at the Wii games real quick like (seeing as I have next to no wii games). I happened to notice a copy of No More Heroes II sitting there for $11.99. I decided to pick it up & ended up playing it last night... Jesus Christ is it boring. All you do is hack & slash through about 400 enemies (all with the same annoying voice no less) on your way to fight a somewhat (& I can't stress somewhat enough) "comical" boss. The camera is frustrating as all hell & I can never seem to get it to turn to face the direction I would like it to. The story (thus far) is not really all that entertaining & that is partially do to most of the characters being unsympathizable (is that even a word) pricks with no redeeming characteristics (well that and the terrible jokes the try to make... I get it... the laser sword is supposed to be like his penis HAHAHAHAHAHAITSNOTFUNNY!!!). Not to mention the terrible (& plentiful) cutscenes were the camera is focused on the Sylvia's tits the ENTIRE duration.

So back to my earlier question... what makes a person a hardcore gamer? Being able to sit through a complete piece of garbage for the sake of blood & tits apparently.

I always figured a hardcore gamer was somebody who prefers to play more difficult and old-fashioned titles akin to yesteryear's classics despite the shortcomings that may come from a developer decidedly constructing a game within the confines of how games used to be made because those titles require a certain level of familiarity and skill to play successfully.

As for No More Heroes 2, I love that game. Maybe you need to have played the original to get into the proper mindset but I got the impression that the second title would work as a standalone game. I love the juvenile comedy juxtaposed to the warped reality of Santa Destroy, Suda 51 certainly created an interesting world to spend the day in. And I think it's because the characters are so unrealistic and unrelateable that I find them so fascinating. The way they take on their role in the league with such a light hearted and even disinterested attitude cracks me up. And the gameplay gets really frantic, I think you have to enjoy brawlers like Double Dragon and Streets of Rage for their repetitive combat to enjoy NMH. And there are some seriously epic boss battles in the game that take dozens of tries to get down right. I dunno, but I really liked it and I'm going to play it again.

Different strokes, different folks, amirite? At least you only dropped 12 bucks on it.

Personally I enjoyed all of the actual gameplay in No More Heroes. What I couldn't stand was the filler in-between the missions, but all of the missions themselves I thought were fun and entertaining. I definitely understand your issues with the comedy; I didn't think it was very funny either, and if you don't think it's funny that's a big part of the game completely lost on you (us). It's been a while since I played though, and even though I enjoyed it a bit, I would never recommend it to anyone because of its problems.

I accept anyone as a hardcore gamer who managed Super Mario 3.

The No More Heroes games are pretty awesome boss based brawlers. They also happen to do everything completely over the top, from the TnA and blood, to the plot and characters. I can understand why people wouldn't enjoy it, but I think you should be looking into stuff like gameplay and Suda51's previous output instead of whether it is considered a "hardcore" game by some people before picking something like this up.

I thought MadWorld was the game most targeted to hardcore gamers on Wii.

They probably mean 'hardcore gamer' as in 'not a casual gamer' as in 'someone who didn't got the wii for wii fit and wii sports only'. I love No More Heroes 1 & 2, it's humour for me is that it is over the top, you shouldn't really take it seriously as it's really rather intended as a parody, such as the focusing the camera on Sylvia's bewbs is a reflection of how gaming in general treats it's female characters (from Lara Croft to Miranda's arse in Mass Effect 2). It's not intended to provoke a thoughtful debate, rather just everything taken to the extreme for shits and giggles. It also parodies mecha anime, anime in general (Strawberry Cheescake!), violence in video games, etc.

Oh and once you have finished the game and unlocked the higher difficulty settings try playing it on the highest one, if you're after stupidly hard that should satisfy you.

Hardcore gamers and wii in the same sentence. ^^
Other than that I heard that it's a fun game.

"Hardcore Gamer" is an oxymoron. Or misnomer. Or something. Anyway, the joke is that gamers that consider themselves "Hardcore" aren't "hard" in the "core" at all. They're pretty soft around the middle from all those hours sat in front of the screen, and are light in the wallet from all those funds spent on subscription fees. This is opposed to a "Casual" or "light" gamer, who is someone that will spend at most the majority of his or her coffee break playing Solitaire or Peggle.

I guess it's easier to define "Casual Gamer" than "Hardcore", since the Casual Gamer doesn't really do a whole lot to make definition difficult.

But Peggle is awesome!

No More Heroes is like a giant insider joke. It's crazy because it can. You charge your sword with a motion (and visual cues) that allude to masturbation. The open-world aspect feels purposefully shitty. The bosses are magnitudes of insane that most games don't cross. Conversations sound like ramblings from a madman. You perform tedious jobs before you get to go on your next killing spree.

It's an interesting game, but it certainly isn't for everyone. It's also really, really hard.

I love that part, that thing was more bitchin' than the DragonZord!

I know, I never said it wasn't. I'm just saying it could be classed as a "casual" game because a normal play session would be between five and fifteen minutes (if you can break yourself away from it, addicting as it is). When I hear "Hardcore Gamer", I think of someone who spends thirty-two hours a day playing WoW. He or she is so hardcore that he/she can warp an extra eight hours into a terrestrial rotation, just to play his or her game that much longer.

Look, for a WOW player Monday at noon is just Sunday at 36 o'clock. Time to sleep for 4 hours before they get up to farm for 2 hours before raid. If they're lucky they'll get a brief shot between farming and raid to work on leveling their 7th alt.

I managed to beat it without using the flute exploit. Am I hardcore now?