God hand

It's easy to mistake God Hand for a terrible game. But look past the rough exterior, the abrasive presentation, the comically bad environments and tongue-in-cheekiness of the characters, and -- we promise -- there's a diamond of gameplay to be found.

It's hard to guess by looking at it, but God Hand comes from the minds behind polished favorites like Resident Evil and Okami. With God Hand, the elite producers at developer Clover Studio wanted to recapture the essence of classic 2D brawlers like Final Fight and Streets of Rage. The influence is manifested in the nonsense flood of enemies, pick-up pipe weapons and breakable boxes that drop health.

But contrary to the typically shallow gameplay of old school beat-'em-ups, God Hand gives players access to a deep, freedom-loving combat system that allows for all sorts of creative combo beatings. The game is genuinely tough -- ball-bustingly tough, say the game's creators -- and demands a healthy knowledge of the combat system. Some enemies need to be tripped before getting axe-kicked into the air for a devastating juggle combo while others require more specialized techniques for breaking down defenses. God Hand is a seriously good game... once you get past the seriously hideous exterior.