Rock'em Sock'em Movie Tie-in - or - Scott Pilgrim Vs. The 8-Bit World

I've liked you for 1,000 years.

After watching an advanced screening of the film and starting in on the graphic novel series I got hands on with Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game on the PS3. The game takes it's style from classic coin-op side scrolling beat'em ups with slightly stylized 8-bit graphics, however there are a couple of RPG elements strung in like shops, stat growth, and leveling. Here a group of friends can join forces as Scott, Steven Stills, Kim Pine, & Ramona Flowers to fight off the hordes of Canadian hipsters and the League of Evil Exes. Knives Chaou also appears as an assistant in the same sense of assist characters in the old Maximum Carnage game.

Toronto City Ransom

The game features combination moves, power ups, weapon (and enemy) pick ups, and some fun hidden areas (like shops). It is pretty similar to those 4 player arcade games we all loved like The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle games, The Simpsons, Streets of Rage, and so on. I have only had the pleasure of playing this game on the PS3, but it does seem like the controls are a little unresponsive as there is a little lapse in time between the button and the action performed and the stats are pretty arbitrary. The actions performed also do not coincide with what you press, as I found out when trying to perform a grab on a downed enemy and continuously started to back elbow at the air. Meanwhile, the game features a Mario 3 like overworld map, which just seems unnecessary.

He sorta looks like a pirate.

Besides the a few aesthetic problems, as in the game developer wanted to throw in as many nods to the old NES as Bryan Lee O'Malley did in the graphic novel series, the game turned out to be as much fun as reading the series and watching the movie. The cutsey 8-bit graphics and 8-bit tuned Sex Bob-omb songs drives the game and the visual style helps bring out the more silly comedy of the characters.

Honestly the game is fun and I feel that the $10 price tag it carries is well worth the shelf life and replayability you will get out of this title. The game can be played through solo, but there isn't much fun be Scott alone - the real substance and good times roll in when you have a full house or at least the whole band running around on screen being tearing it up NES style on the latest gen of consoles. But players beware as there is friendly fire. But if you find your self dying, you friends can always lend a hand in bringing you back from the dead.
My only character gripe is that Crash 'n The Boys only show up for a couple of seconds.
Either way - fans of Scott Pilgrim, arcade beat'em ups, and NES games will all be pleased with this title, but give the controls a chance before you throw down the control for the less than fast response.

Whatever happened to the teenage dream?