Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World Game Review

So you may have heard/seen about the epic movie adaptation of Scott Pilgrim vs. The World recently. It’s an extremely good and unique film, but how does the game stack up?

Firstly, this is not a movie tie-in game, it’s only similarity to the movie is that they are both based on the original comics, so no horrible videogame representation of Michael Cera here. What you do get though is a very retro feeling side scrolling beat ‘em up featuring a wonderful 8-bit graphical style, among other things.

The game is set in Toronto, and will have you battling a wide variety of enemies throughout various areas in Toronto, like a Clash At Demonhead concert for example. And when I say a wide variety of enemies, I mean it. You’ll be battling your way through men dressed in dinosaur costumes, punky kids and the odd bat too.

The combat in the game is rewarding, with you having the typical light and heavy attacks at your disposal, along with special moves you earn with leveling your chosen character, be it Scott, Ramona, Stills or Kim, to a maximum level of 16. One thing you will notice when playing through the game alone is that you will die. A lot. The game is tough, even on the lowest of it’s three difficulty settings, Average Joe. However it’s still rewarding to be jumping and dashing around the screen laying the smackdown on men in dinosaur costumes, especially when you team up with up to four players to take on the bad guys. It should be noted though that Scott Pilgrim The Game does only feature local co-op, so no teaming up with buddies over Xbox LIVE or PlayStation Network. Which really is disappointing, online co-op would seemingly have been a great inclusion for this game, but sadly it isn’t to be.

Like I previously mentioned, the game is in an 8-bit style. And it looks great. The environments look really quite striking and the characters all look unique. But the retro-ness doesn’t stop there. Chiptune band Anamanaguchi have created an original soundtrack for the game and it’s a perfect fit. Anamanaguchi have really made the game pop with the soundtrack, it’s vibrant, it’s upbeat and it gets you in the mood for some side scrolling beat ‘em up action as your favourite teenage geek, Scott Pilgrim. The game is so retro that it even features cheat codes. Cheat codes have really been a thing of the past in recent years for gaming, but they are featured here and can do anything from turn the coins that enemies drop into adorable little animals, or make the blood from enemies turn into loving hearts.

So, what do you get from this game? You get a great side scrolling beat ‘em up with a beautiful 8-bit graphical style and an amazing chiptune soundtrack from Anamanaguchi. Oh, and if you defeat the evil ex’s, you get Ramona Flowers of course! What you don’t get from this game though is online co-op and an easy ride. However this doesn’t extract from the experience too much, it’s hardly trouble to gather up a few friends for a good ol’ bit of local co-op gaming, and by doing this you make it easier too, happy days. Well worth the slightly below average price of 800 Microsoft Points in my book.