[Review] Scott Pilgrim Vs the World: The Game (PS3)

Imagine falling for someone but having to compete for their affections with 7 other exes still carrying some kind of torch for this someone.

[Insert “Bitch, please” meem here…]

This, in essence is what Scott Pilgrim in Scott Pilgrim Vs the World: The Game is having to deal with. He falls for Ramona… who has a history. Now, he needs to compete for her affections with her history – seven exes – and it ain’t nothing like beating up someone for milk money. These dudes have super-powers and mean business, yo! Scott unknowingly also has some powers that don’t come to light until he has to beat ’em up. He and his friends band together to combat them evil forces so he can do more smoochin’ and less beatin’ up.

Scott Pilgrim is a side-scroller game. You have the choice of playing one of four characters, including Scott and Ramona. Each character has a different talent or super-power. As you go through a chapter, you are presented with a new ex which has his own power that you must defeat. Of course, while beating ’em up, your health depletes. As you travel through and defeat the exes’ minions, you can collect loonies and twonies that you find scattered around, which can be used in between battles to do some shopping: for food, drink, videos and reading material. Each item you buy contributes to your overall health and welfare, allowing you to exude more energy to beat those exes up. The battle scenes are challenging, but fulfilling, especially if you play this in multiplayer like I did (you can play with 4 friends if you want to!).

The game pays homage to SNES gaming with its side-scroller game-play that uses 16-bit type graphic animation from the SNES era. When you first start the game, you can’t help but notice similarities to Super Mario 3’s chapter screen. The game is based on the comic book series (which is awesome, btw) and loosely based on the movie. The game also is set in Toronto, Ontario, so those who know Toronto will be familiar with the TTC buses that Scott, et al. have to dodge as they come speeding up the road, or other well-known landmarks like Casa Loma, Rogers Centre and CN Tower. I played this game on the PlayStation 3, but it is also available on the Xbox 360.

Fun, different and highly recommended. Scott Pilgrim Vs The World: The Game is a great comic book / movie / video game tie in. Fans of the series would not be disappointed.

Scott Pilgrim Vs the World: the Game
Publisher: UbiSoft / Universal
Released: 2010