REVIEW : No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle (PC)
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle will be released with No More Heroes for PC. Unlike its predecessor, this is the game’s debut appearance on a non-Nintendo platform. Unless you count the fact that it’s on Amazon Luna. That’s a bit of a quandary. Simply, this port suffers from the same issues as the original game. It appears to be included in the Switch version as well, but it is a significantly better game in certain regards. It has a lot of ludicrous violence and puerile offensiveness. But the issue remains: is No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle’s PC port worthwhile?
Once again, this is a stripped-down port. When you click the play button on Steam, you have the option of playing the game or changing the configuration. It has FXAA or MSAA up to x8, as well as mipmapping. That’s all there is to it. There are no resolution alternatives like there were in No More Heroes 1. It simply starts from whatever location your desktop is set to. The framerate issues persist across all ports. With my 5700 XT, I get erratic performance at 4K that is well below 60 frames per second. For a different Wii game. Great.
I should clarify that using finishers on adversaries does not cause the framerate to drop in No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle. That’s an improvement over the NMH 1 port. You may also quickly exit the menu and the game without having to use Steam. To play, you’ll need a controller, the same as in the previous port. Once again, the game failed to identify my DualShock 4, forcing me to use DS4Windows to play. Oh, and the game has the potential to crash. During combat, the game was right on top of me. At least the missions aren’t too long, I suppose.
From open-world to menus
The storey of No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle follows up three years after the events of the first game. Travis left the murder business after reaching the pinnacle, but just as he believed he was out, they drew him back in! Travis gets drawn into a fight to exact revenge on his brother, Helter Skelter, by the 51st rated assassin in the United States. Travis murders him and takes the 51st position, which he is no longer interested in. When Travis’ best friend, video store owner Bishop, is assassinated on the instructions of the number one assassin, he embarks on a revenge quest in which he hopes to retake the top place. So, yep, the basic setup is the same as in the previous game. Kill everyone to take the top rank.
Of course, there are distinctions. Travis started the first game by killing the 10th rated assassin, but it doesn’t imply there are more bosses this time. The most obvious alteration is that the open-world layout of Santa Destroy, which you could previously joyride through, has been replaced by a menu. Assassination contracts are now retribution missions in which you kill the number one assassin’s henchmen in order to track down the men who killed Bishop. Furthermore, you are not required to grind for money in order to unlock further storey missions.
However, side occupations are now much better, as they are represented by 8-bit minigames that are usually quite good. Travis can even boost his stats by visiting a gym run by an unpleasant stereotype. The best enhancement, though, is simply that the battle is better. It’s more fluid and noticeably less cumbersome. The aesthetics are also much better, with improved textures, geometry, character models, and effects. No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle is simply a better game, albeit not by much.
