Death Jr. II: Root of Evil

Developer: Backbone
Publisher: Eidos
Release Date: May 27, 2008
Systems: Wii (reviewed), PlayStation Portable
ESRB Rating: T
Official Web site

In a nutshell: Always look on the cute side of death.

0:00 I played about five minutes of the PlayStation Portable original a few E3s ago, and it seemed decent enough. We'll see how the concept holds up for an hour.

0:01 The disclaimer screen is all wavy and grainy, like an old monster movie. The title screen, though, has some cartoony backgrounds and some peppy, minor key background music. I can play as Death Jr. or Pandora, an excellent name for a female sidekick if I've ever heard one.

0:02 The difficulty levels are Lively, Healthy, Sickly and Deathly, the last of which is grayed out. I'm confused... Does it mean the enemies are Sickly, or that I am as the player? We'll see, I guess...

0:03 "You want the special sauce, the super-special sauce or the chunky sauce," asks a uniformed Majestic Burger worker named "Ace" (hey, just like my Mii). Death is the customer, ordering a No. 4 combo with hash browns, hold the onions. Death's pager beeps. "I'M ON BREAK," he yells. Ace runs off to prepare the order just as an explosion rocks the food court. It's... the female jolly green giant? "Hmm, this isn't on the schedule. What department are you from?" asks a confused Death. "These people are not meant to die now!" "Out of my way." The green giantess responds, attacking with a shower of brambles that slowly engulf Death. "How could this happen," he cries to no one in particular.

0:04 Cut back to "earlier that day." A guy in a jar, a pair of twins joined at the head, a diseased-looking girl and... a dead guppy are standing in a clearing, talking about getting their "cocoon." Death Jr. and Pandora are the last ones that haven't found one. Hey, they're just late-bloomers!

Read the full review at Crispy Gamer