Back in 2009, the world was introduced to the manicness of James Silva, the head (and solo programmer at the time) of Ska Studios. His indie project, The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai, turned plenty of heads when Microsoft introduced it, with its unstoppable handfuls of violence and ridiculously stylish visual presentation. It wasn’t quite everyone’s speed, due to its high difficulty level, but those who got into it were promptly rewarded with blood-drenched enjoyment. Fast forward to two years later, and Silva’s back for another round with the highly anticipated The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile, a sequel that sticks with the credo “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. But that’s hardly saying it’s a recycled effort. In fact it’s a genuine sequel if there ever was one, bringing everything that worked so well in the first game and throwing in the much-needed addition of co-op. The game has a new lead character, the troubled young girl Yuki. She awakens in what appears to be a nightmare, with everyone coming after her from all sides while she has flashbacks to a calmer time in a…mental ward.
The story goes every which way but loose from there, and even more havoc surfaces when the original Dishwasher returns. Between the two of them, bad guys are just asking to be carved like steaks, and their blood will flow. Like the previous Dishwasher, Vampire Smile is all about crazy fighting action. You can chain together combos quite easily no matter what weapon you’re using, and it’s cool watching guys succumb into a pile of bloody sushi by your hand. What’s more, there isn’t a dull weapon in the bunch. The Violence Hammer is a personal favorite, letting you pound down folks like they were nails. The dual meat cleavers are also outstanding, as is the traditional sword. You’ve got plenty of firepower as well, including a wicked chaingun that can take rogue robots down from the sky. Other weapons become available over the course of the game, along with health-regenerating items (like the ever popular Moonbread) and more.
The single-player game is entertaining, with plenty of carnage-inducing moments that are worth repeating. It gets hard too, but you can adjust difficulty as you wish. There’s also a Pity Princess difficulty available, which, apparently, video game reviewers love. (That’s what the Achievement told us.) But if you really want to get the most out of the game, you’ll invite a friend along, either online or local. One of you controls Yuki, while the other controls the Dishwasher, and you go through each stage, shredding secret agents and zombies and having a complete blast doing it. All Xbox Live Arcade games need a co-op factor this good. Along with the gameplay, The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile also shows vast improvements in the presentation. The game’s music is nothing short of awesome, almost as if it were ripped straight out of a stylish Hong Kong action flick. Furthermore, the game does without lame voicework, instead using quaint sound effects that fit the bill, loud shouts of “HYAHHH!” with each attack and cool enemy noises, such as roaring monsters and beeping robots. It’s ideal for a game such as this.
This feature review concludes on the next page, please click Page 2 below to see our final thoughts on The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile.
