While out at Westfield yesterday evening, I ventured into HMV and picked up a few bits of entertainment for the idle moments I'm aiming to avoid during my time off work next week. Two new Wii games and one DVD, specifically Another Code: R, Okami (finally!) and the UK release of the movie based on the OniChanbara (aka Bikini Zombie Slayers) games, Chanbara Beauty: The Movie.
I dared to watch the latter this evening, as it appears that Burn Notice has skipped this week's schedule.
I was... disappointed on many levels. OK, sure, I could hardly expect a Japanese movie based on a videogame to include the kind of gratuitous T&A the subtitle alludes to... but the darned thing is an 18 Certificate and, aside from the blood splashes on the camera - a trademark of the games - it's probably one of the tamest zombie movies I've ever seen... not to mention one of the silliest (for example, the zombified version of Gogo from Kill Bill, complete with spikey-ball-on-long-chain weapon). And, I'm sorry, but the rose tattoo on the protagonist Aya's arm was quite clearly peeling toward the end.
I'm not even sure it attempted to follow the plot of any of the games, or if it was intended as a prequel - certainly the conclusion of the film seemed to be leading into the Wii version of the game.
There was barely a hint of peril to be seen throughout, until the gun-toting biker babe found herself overwhelmed by the undead... and she could have been saved had Aya dropped into Rage Mode but a moment earlier. But then, seeing her comrade overwhelmed is what triggered it, so perhaps that's a circular argument.
Sadly, even the comedy sidekick didn't help matters - he wasn't inept enough, and certainly wasn't particularly funny... And the sorry story of his sister carried very little weight.
On the upside, I started playing Another Code: R shortly afterward and, with expectations suitably lowered by the movie, I found it remarkably entertaining. In many ways, it's probably not quite enough of an upgrade on the DS version (D-Pad controls seem almost an afterthought compared to the clickable on-screen arrows, and the pointing interface just screams 'stylus')... but the story is good so far... if a little predictable.
It comes across like a combined 'interactive mystery comic book'/reading course - the language and the use of repetition suggests that the player is intended to read out loud (amusing, considering I decided to get this game after watching a Let's Play on YouTube, where the teenage Player was barely literate, and unable to pronounce much of anything that used more than two syllables). I've not played very far yet, but the 'mild peril' the protagonist has experienced is 'so far, so teen drama', including implicating herself in a robbery, and having to prove her innocence by presenting photos that - if the player is playing attention - were taken at the opportune moments shortly before she is cornered.
The strangest thing about it is that it apparently never saw a Stateside release... which probably explains why the English translation is so very... English. There are 'packets of crisps' rather than chips... and much of it seems to be written as a means of instructing teenagers - or, more likely, younger kids - on the importance of politeness and tidiness
Not that that's a bad thing. So many really need it...
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