It's difficult to write about titles like Capcom's Viewtiful Joe. It's been a while since the Gamecube original and in those months the excitement around the little spandex-clad hero has faded to all but nothing. In addition, such games are fighting an uphill battle, with punters unwilling to fork out for what is essentially a year-old title. That said, Viewtiful Joe's cel-shaded-hyper-hardcore-button-bashing-beat-em-up action was unrelentingly addictive on the Cube, so how does Joe fare on the PS2?

The opening scene sees the lovable Joe transfixed in his local cinema by the on-screen doings of Captain Blue. With his cutesy chick vying for his attention, he misses the podgy Captain Blue's demise and somehow ends up in the movie. Unsurprisingly, Joe's lady is abducted, giving the perfect catalyst for some punchy-kicky exploits. After some rudimentary training sessions, Joe hits the big screen in earnest, encountering numerous but typically cutesy adversaries from dancing skeletons to giant robots to Captain Blue himself. Thanks to the cinematic nature of the storyline, things remain fresh throughout with regular boss battles and mid-level power-up shops allowing access to extra lives, weapons and skills.

The fighting itself is delightfully simple and is masterable in minutes, plus with the addition of extra skills it maintains its elegance and satisfaction right to the end of the ten or so hours of play. The most interesting gameplay mechanics and the ones that really satisfy are the slow down, zoom and mach speed, which either slow down the action or speed it up to ridiculous levels. This is where Viewtiful Joe truly shines in the same way that Max Payne dominates the third person shooter genre; these dynamics never get dull and are what will keep you playing where other titles have you reaching for the off button.

Viewtiful Joe isn't a game about fighting or surviving in the traditional sense. Yes, there are only a finite amount of lives, something of a novelty nowadays and you rarely need to use the slow down and speed up functions but the action is focused far more around how stylish a beating you can give. Enemies hit either high or low and with the effortless dodging techniques things take on a Woo-esque feel. Punching bullets and other projectiles out of the air also features heavily, as does punching one baddy into another to take them both out. The speed up/slow down buttons are also used to help you take care of various puzzles, like Indiana Jones style ball rolling affairs and switch flicking numbers. These puzzles come at regular intervals and whilst they rarely tax your grey matter, they serve as perfect little breathers when the action starts overloading your brain. The only major difference between this and the Cube version is a cameo appearance by Devil May Cry's super cool hero Dante - nothing to write home about but it's amusing to see the bighead version of this legendary demon slayer.

There are also noticeable differences in quality between this and the original version where the visuals are concerned. Not to say that it's not pretty, but the frame rate is a little jumpy at times and it just doesn't come off as slick as it could. The effects are snazzy and fresh; whilst the screen is loaded with combat pretty much all the time, the camera keeps its cool and the action never gets indecipherably cluttered. The pseudo 3-D environments and beautiful animation add to this and make for a unique and striking ocular extravaganza from start to finish.

Again, in the cinematic style the tunes are suitably impressive and have an unmistakably Capcom feel to them - Japanese techno meets tense guitar rock - and with the occasional sound-byte from Joe it's not just your eyes and thumbs that get a battering. Although much of the presentation, from the character models to the death cries and combat noise vary very little, the sheer exuberance of the package makes up for any repetition issues.

Whilst it may not be either up-to-date or particularly novel any more, Viewtiful Joe is unique and shows a great deal of competence and effort on the part of the developers. The cutsey graphics and outrageous effects enhance the title past the ordinary and in conjunction with the graceful combat mechanic, it's hard to put any downers on it. Viewty is, as they say, in the eye of the beholder, (I swore I wouldn't make any 'Viewtiful puns, but it had to be done.) and this beholder sees viewty by the bucketful.

Reviewed by Tom LeClerc for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).