Thoughts / Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game

I really didn't expect much from this game. I saw the movie previews and had no idea what was going on, or what the movie was even about. Last Tuesday I noticed that the Playstation Network had been updated with a free demo of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game. I had no idea a game version of the movie was coming out. I knew that game versions of movies never tend to be good, but to my surprise, it's one of the most enjoyable games I've played on the PSN to date. Right up there with the Pixel Junk series of games, and a few others like Flower and Fat Princess.


I'm only talking about the demo here. I went through the first stage with my 10 year old niece and barely beat the first boss. This game plays like a lot of old-school beat em ups like Double Dragon and Streets of Rage. The stuff that had me hooked was the level up system, and how you go into shops during the levels to purchase stat and health upgrades. This game does everything so well; it's simple enough for my niece to play it, but I can also grind out some levels and upgrade my character if I want. When we finished with the demo I looked up some reviews for the game and it seemed to average about an 8/10 overall. I immediately purchased the full key unlock for a measly $9.99 (Along with a $0.49 Darkstalkers Morrigan avatar I had been waiting to buy)

I've just now completed the 3rd stage out of a total of 7 and Scotty P. rocks. The story is epic, like nothing I've seen before in recent memory. A kid named Scott loves a girl named Ramona, but she has 7 evil ex-boyfriends that you gotta take out. This perfectly sets up 7 stages and I'm assuming 7 unique boss battles. I've seen 3 so far and they have varied quite a bit. One has magic type powers and can summon winged demon chicks to distract you, another has a skate boarding posse, and the 3rd one even had a quick guitar hero inspired intro. I can't wait to see what the other stages and bosses are like. The only beef I have with this game so far, is that the 1-4 player co-op is only available locally. Meaning you need a friend sitting next to you to play, who does that anymore? I understand having the option but give us some online as well, even that Ninja Turtles remake on PSN had online.

Now for the best part, the music. This game has a great mix of old-school Nintendo sounding themes, mixed with some serious rock. Even after just 3 levels this game probably has my favorite soundtrack of all the games I've bought on PSN, and I've purchased quite a bit. This is unlike anything I've heard before and I've been gaming for a long time. The closest thing I can think of is all those epic NES Mega Man tunes I've heard over the years. Also, the music from Maniac Mansion is eerily similar to one of the tracks.

If you grew up in the 90's you'll probably enjoy this game, at the very least try the free demo! Scotty P. is a game that will tickle your nostalgia bone by throwing out Super Mario, Sonic, Final Fight, and Zelda shout-outs. I've even read that there is an Earthbound shout-out in there somewhere, something about purchasing different colored text borders.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World looks to be the perfect game to play with friends. Wish it had online though, perhaps in a future patch, but that's unlikely. If I was to rate the first 3 stages I've played so far, I'd give it a 9/10. Knocking off a single point for the lack of online multiplayer. Finally a good PSN game released this year!