No more Mk-II

I had enough for the next title bout and could have entered it. Instead, I went and bought the latest model of the beam sword from Dr. Naomi. This is the Tsubaki Mk-III.

This one's the truest beam "katana" yet. Based on Thunder Ryu's katana (surprise!), it features a classic square cross guard and long hilt. Based on the way Travis swings it around in extra big arcs, it's quite a bit lighter than the Mk-II, as well. However, because of those big arcs and its light weight, it's pretty lousy for defense. Thankfully, the Mk-III's speed really makes up for that. Without the attachments to reduce the power it uses and to increase its reach, though, it's not yet perfect. 

Anyway, the thing that allowed me to afford this £50,000 sword and then recoup that amount (with a little extra to boot) is assassination mission no. 18. This is a timed free fight against a random group of respawning minions. It's in fairly close quarters so simultaneous kills are easy to pull off. You get £1,500/kill, but in three minutes it's downright shocking how close you can get to 100 of them. Add in the pocket change you pick up from each one, and you've got a very lucrative, short mission indeed. Much shorter than the 100 kill mission that gives you 5 minutes to get there, and in a tighter space too. At times what shows on the screen is veritably Quentin Tarantino's grindhouse wet dream - just absolutely absurd fountains of spraying, misting red blood that fill your view.

It sounds like it's way over the top. And it is. But somehow this hyper violence is removed enough from reality to keep it from being absolutely abhorrent. I've got Trauma Center: Second Opinion on my list of games to play, and am more worried about that one being too gory to take in my usual half hour doses. No More Heroes is just far too excessive in its violence to be anything other than an absurdist indulgence.