From the violence, to the good old fashioned difficulty; this game is worth every point.
The game play is top-notch. It has an old school Ninja Gaiden (NES version) feel to it, especially with its gratuitous difficulty. I'm getting constantly beat down on EASY mode! Well, the difficulty comes later, the game play is a standard two button attack system, with a couple of twists. First of said twists is the insane violence. Its almost like the enemies are bags of ketchup.... with guns. But still ketchup. The executions are even more violent, especially against the assassin-like enemies. I'd describe some of the executions, but they just need to be experienced, not talked about. The other twist is actually a weapon: The Shift Blade. This weapon allows you to teleport with the flick of a joystick: and I cant tell you how helpful that is. In the later levels, if you don't Shift, don't expect to last 30 seconds.
That brings me to the story. The story… well, the story… is difficult to explain. From what I can gather, its about a Dishwasher in a world of cybernetic enhancements and androids, said to be the "Enlightenment" and how the Dishwasher tries to stop them. No, the Dishwasher does not have a name, unless its Dishwasher, because Chef (not of south park fame) refers to you as Dishwasher, not THE Dishwasher, so I dunno.
Earlier, I referred to the difficulty. Its extreme, to say the least. Until you get the chainsaw, expect to die anywhere from 2-7 times A LEVEL. These levels are roughly 10-20 minutes long. Did I mention its difficult? The main source of difficulty is your own lack of skill, this game takes some SERIOUS skill. Don't expect to breeze through this or to beat it within a few days.
The graphics are amazing. Artsy, stylish, dark, brooding. Awesome. The animation is incredibly smooth and the particle effects (ex; blood and such) are wonderfully executed. The game has two different blood colors, for what reason, I'm not sure. But the black sure as hell looks awesome.
All in all, the game will give you a week or two worth of entertainment for about 10 bucks. What's not to love? The arcade mode and two-player co-op (story and arcade) add an extra dimension to the fun, and may actually have you playing a little while longer.