Death, Jr. 2: Root of Evil Preview
May 22,2008 - Featuring the baby-faced Death Jr., the son of the mighty Grim Reaper, both the self-titled game and its sequel Root of Evil on the PSP were full of quirky characters, niche humor, and elements of platformers and shooters. Unfortunately, that wasn’t enough to raise it above mediocre-at-best criticism. Developer Backbone Entertainment looked past its flaws, though, and has decided to bring it to the Wii.

The story of the game remains the same. While on a date finishing a science project, Death Jr., or DJ, and his main squeeze Pandora accidentally bump into a cocoon. Unbeknownst to them the cocoon contains a powerful plant monster named Furi who quickly captures DJ’s dad and sets out to conquer the world.

Using the Wiimote and Nunchuk, players can translate their hand movements into deft swipes with DJ’s scythe or Pandora’s whip. Shooting firearms also takes on a similar aiming scheme as other shooters for the Wii. Wiimote motions also translate to control the camera angle, which was a huge complaint with the PSP version.

Projectile weapons will be upgradeable, allowing players to upgrade their flaming toilet paper throwers or C4 hamsters to more exaggerated and humorous effects. New attack combinations will also debut in this Wii port, which players can switch to from ranged attack with a quick click of the Z button, making for more seamless combat. If you find a friend who wants to play then he or she can easily join DJ as Pandora and you two can battle Furi’s minions together in the cooperative story mode. Regrettably, the co-op is limited to local connections, which means your other friends online cannot drop in and out from their own homes.

Look for the re-touched and re-tuned Death Jr.: Root of Evil arriving for the Wii this May 27th. It will feature a discounted price of $40, which is all the more reason to pick it up.

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