First released: PS2 (2006/2007)
Now Available On: PSN
Clover Studio may not have lasted long, but with games like Viewtiful Joe and Okami under their belt, they sure made a lasting impression.
The studio was also responsible for God Hand, a hardcore roaming brawler that hearkened back to arcade and 16-bit classics such as Streets of Rage and Final Fight.
It's a genre that thrived in the late 80s and early-90s, but one that was all but dead by the time Clover decided to gamble on God Hand back in 2006 (or 2007 if you lived in Europe).
It's difficult to say anything about God Hand without first pointing out that the game itself was massively flawed on a technical level. The story, characters and cutscenes were utterly ridiculous - although in the case of God Hand, this is very much a term of endearment - the camera, the bane of many a third-person action game, was absolutely no help whatsoever, and the environments were bland, boring and repetitive from start to finish.
Fortunately, when you're dealing with enemies that include a Lucha Libre wrestling gorilla, a mini pack of Power Ranger wannabes and a heavy metal rock band with a human drum machine, you're paying less attention to where you're fighting, and more to what it is you're up against.
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In fact, it's really probably a good thing that you weren't focusing on the backdrops because these enemies were tough, and completing God Hand was no easy feat, even on the lower difficulty settings.
While the challenge must have been a barrier for some, it made God Hand a go-to game for the hardcore gamer. Every victory was accompanied by a keen sense of satisfaction, because even the standard enemies were no slouches - especially when you were surrounded and got caught out by the game's dreadful camera.
Beating those bosses and besting each section was also the only way you would get to see those cutscenes, which were nonsensical and immature, but ultimately hilarious.
The game revolved around a man named Gene who finds himself in possession of one of the mystical "God Hands" after his right arm was hacked off by bandits. It had a Fist of the North Star flavour to it, only with an emphasis on comedy and Japanese pop culture references.
But the best thing about God Hand, without doubt, was the fully customisable combo system, which let players assign a wealth of moves to different face buttons.
The square button was generally best for fast-acting jabs and low impact kicks, which would stun the enemy when chained together and trigger entertaining contextual moves like pummelings, stomps and suplexes.
Slower, more powerful moves like kicks, guard-breakers, launches and juggles were generally best saved for the other face buttons, although there were no set rules and players were free to experiment.
If, for example, you were in an area packed with block-happy enemies, you could pop a guard-breaker into the middle of your speedier square button combo and follow it up with a powerful roundhouse kick.
Finding that balance between speed, strength and special abilities took a lot of time and tinkering, and fans like myself spent hours trying new combinations for every new move we unlocked.
Gene was also able to access a selection of increasingly spectacular roulette moves, which saw him launch enemies into space with punches, kicks and bats, and occasionally bring them to their knees with the self-explanatory ball buster kick.
The roulette moves were the icing on the cake of what was a fine combat system, and the saving grace of a game with enough rough edges to require gloves.
With Clover closing down in 2006, and God Hand failing to sell many units - the same was true of Okami, which was equally, if not more deserving of praise - chances of a sequel are pretty slim.
However, with key members of the studio going on to form Platinum Games - including God Hand director Shinji Mikami (before he founded Tango Gameworks) and producer Atsushi Inaba - a little bit of that God Hand magic lives on in the likes of MadWorld for the Wii, Anarchy Reigns and, of course, Bayonetta.
The game is currently available as part of the PS2 Classics range on PSN. It may not be perfect, but if you fancy a laugh and are up to the challenge, God Hand is a must.
