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Fun and addictive gameplay. As you progress through the level, you are constantly met with simple objectives (hack the enemy, get the item, dodge the thingie, etc), and rewarded with simple pleasures (sounds, special effects, power-ups, etc.). The power-ups give you abilities that make you feel more powerful. The short (smack the monster), medium (get to the check point), and long (complete the level) term objectives are very well paced together.

Each monster has its own simple, unique way of beating it. Everytime the player encounters an enemy he has to approach it a different way.

Each level has its share of nokes and crannies to search and explore. Although the levels are fairly linear, the side pockets give it an element of open-endedness. Being able to select a few levels at a time in each area makes it a little more open-ended too.

The environment rumbles and moves around as you go through it. The level's landscape varies: plains, canyons, hills, gaveyards, pathways, and more. Each area also has its own theme: Graveyard, Swamp, Ice, Fire, and Castle. This gives the game an element of robustness.

The characters have some quirky, likable personalities.

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Most of what's going on in the plot is not revealed until the ending cutscene. The fact that Maximo was on a quest to defeat Akillies because he has the ultilmate evil power of the underworld, and to save his girlfriend Sophia was not explained until the very end. At the beginning of the game, there was a scene with this guy that got this power and then I was in a place somewhere slashing at undead monsters. Ok... Then there's the girls that appear after you defeat a boss for some unknown reason. The sophistication of storytelling in this game is not much better than the original Donkey Kong.

This is just another game where you show up, kill crap and avoid hazards, hacking, slashing and jumping for hours, for little reason. And the reason is not truly explained until the ending cutscene.

The mouth movements during the cutscenes were still in Japanese, and looked strange with the English voice over.

The art style is kind of cheesy.