Welcome to the life of Maximo. He's just returned from battle. His war-buddy has turned evil, taken over the kingdom, and snatched away his girlfriend. What's a guy to do? Well, first things first - he must die. Yep, right off the bat, the main character dies at the hands of King Achille, his war-buddy. But not to worry, this isn't Executive Decision and the main character is not, thank goodness, Steven Segal. The opening CG footage shows Maximo die, then promptly fall into the dark abyss that is the underworld. Then, out of the blue, we're introduced to a crucial, if not odd, new character: the Grim Reaper.
And what an introduction it is: the Grim Reaper enters screen left and yells "Boo!" to which Maximo simply responds with a perplexed look. The Grim Reaper then quips, "What? Not afraid of death?" The humor is subtle and brilliant. So, of course, the question that needs answering is how the hell does Maximo return to the world of the living to start the game? Well, simple. You see, King Achille has built a giant drill and is drilling into the underworld, stealing the spirits of the dead. The Grim Reaper is none too happy about this, and recruits Maximo to put an end to it. He agrees to return Maximo to the world of the living to 1) collect the spirits that Achille has taken and 2) defeat Achille.
Ladies and Gentlemen, we now have a quest drawing its inspiration from the old-school (I mean 1985-only-playable-in-the-arcade old-school) classic Ghosts 'n Goblins, which spawned NES and SNES sequels Ghouls 'n Ghosts and Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts respectively. Maximo: Ghosts to Glory is one worth owning.
Gameplay:
This game is hard and it's unforgiving. It all comes down to Maximo, his sword, shield, armor, and his uh...boxers. That's right, his boxers serve as Maximo's crucial last line of defense. The game uses his clothing to reflect the status of his health meter. When sporting full armor, Maximo's health bar is full. After a few attacks, his armor falls to the ground, his health meter lowers, and Maximo is left wearing ordinary clothing. Repeat this process and Maximo is left in his boxers. Get hit a few more times and rather than losing his boxers, Maximo dies. Hope you have an extra life.Each article of clothing, or each health bar, can only withstand three or four attacks. So you can only allow Maximo to be hit a handful of times before he dies. It's surprisingly harder than it seems. As the enemies, who are often skeleton warriors fighting for Achille, surround and gang up on you, you can start losing life fast. Not to mention that the game uses an adept collision detection system: if you're too close to a wall when you swing your sword, it will clang off the wall and render you vulnerable for a second.
You're given three lives and theoretically unlimited continues, with one caveat: the Grim Reaper grants you continues. To obtain a continue from the Grim Reaper, you must collect death koins for he requests one, then later in the game, two, three and four before allowing you to continue. If you don't have a death koin, game over.
Timing your sword attacks and blocking are far more crucial in this game than in any platformer that I've played in recent memory. It makes the game difficult but surprisingly rewarding. Challenging gameplay is back and I like it.
Grade: A
Graphics:
Overall, the graphics in Maximo are clean and above average, but it's noticeable that the game was originally in development for N64 in the late '90s. Maximo's shadow, for instance, is blurry and jagged. Sure, it's a small feature but it's noticeable. And likewise, some of the textures are blurred and could show more detail.
But to be fair, the animation is great. It appears that developer Capcom (Devil May Cry, Onimusha, Resident Evil) understandably focused its attention on using the PS2's power for character animations rather than the background textures. And it was a wise decision as Maximo's and his enemy's animation is flawless.
And there's always the question of that ubiquitous fog, something that seems to pop up in every game now. It's even in the new Tiger Woods golf game! It can be done well and it can be done poorly; the fog in Maximo is excellent and its presence perfect. After all, the first stage of the game takes place in a graveyard. What is a creepy graveyard without cool fog effects?
Overall, the graphics in Maximo are good: not amazing, but solid.
Grade: B
Sound:
From the clanging of your sword, to the moans of pain as Maximo is hit, to the comical quips of the enemies (such as the guards who pace back and forth chanting "Hut two, three, four. Hut two, three, four"), it's the little things that make the sound stand out in Maximo.The background music is fitting: it is simple and fun - exactly the music that you'd expect from a cartoon that takes place in a graveyard. It is not creepy, but it certainly provides an upbeat, exciting, adventuresome atmosphere. Just what is needed for this quest.
Grade: A-
Replay Value:
The game is hard. It will take upwards of 15 to 20 hours to beat the first time through. And short of an RPG, that's a substantial chunk of time for any game. And best of all, it's fun. So as often as you may die, you'll keep coming back for more. And the feeling of accomplishment after finally beating some of the more challenging levels is immense.
Not to mention that you can beat each level without truly mastering it - each time you beat the level, it tells you what percentage of the level you've mastered. The fun of playing and running through a level here and there could draw you back for quite some time. The replay value is quite high.
Grade: A-
While it may not be the best platformer on PS2 (I reserve that title for Jak and Daxter), Maximo: Ghosts to Glory is certainly one of the better ones. The fact that its gameplay is challenging and unforgiving makes it unique unto itself among modern platformers. If you want a challenge, start swinging your sword: Maximo is for you.
Overall: A-
