Calling all original Sin and Punishment fans from the N64 days—your long-awaited sequel is now available exclusively for the Nintendo Wii. Originally only available in Japan, Sin and Punishment came to America with a bang for the Wii’s Virtual Console service in 2007. Quickly making a name for itself in the States, Treasure finally decided it was time for a sequel to the rail shooter. The original game featured impressive visuals and fast gameplay that rarely gave you time for a breather—you’ll be happy to hear the sequel does just that and more.

Sin and Punishment: Star Successor begins with the game’s two main characters (Isa and Kachi) on a ship fleeing an unknown planet. Your ship is eventually disabled and forced back to the planet’s surface. With nowhere to go, you are forced to fight your way out of the ship. From the beginning of the game, you can choose to fight as either Isa or Kachi and what difficulty you want to play on. There are 3 difficulties to start with and choosing Kachi will result in auto-locking on targets during gameplay. While auto-locking makes the game easier in some ways, it also reduces the damage you inflict. If you’re playing 2-player co-op, player 1 will be Isa and the other will play as Kachi. Once you fight your way out of the ship, you will continue to fight in various areas on the planet. As you progress, you’ll eventually learn about the Nebulox who are trying to kill Kachi and how they originally tasked Isa with doing the job. Isa has a change of heart and protects Kachi throughout the game while also fighting against the Nebulox.

Just like the original game, you’ll progress through various levels with an array of different enemies, sometimes 50 or more on screen at the same time. Every so often you’ll come across a boss called a ‘Keeper’. There are several bosses in each level so be ready for a veritable shooting gauntlet. Just when you think you’ve beaten the level, you’ll probably be presented with another boss so don’t rest that trigger finger for a second.

The controls for Sin and Punishment: Star Successor are much improved over the first game. All movement is done with the joystick on the nunchuk and aiming/shooting is done with the Wii remote. The aiming is incredibly fast and accurate and allows for much faster dispatching of enemies. You can still evade attacks like the original and even use a melee attack for objects/enemies at close range. Charging ‘A’ will release a powerful blast which helps for boss fights, but it can only be used every so often. You’ll find yourself getting used to the controls very, very quickly and players of the original will feel right at home using the Wii remote/nunchuk. You can also use the Wii Zapper to play, but I wouldn’t recommend it. You’ll find yourself more accurate by simply using the Wii remote/nunchuk, trust me.

Progression through the game is very straight forward: shoot enemies, fight a boss, shoot enemies, fight a boss, and repeat. While the formula is simple, the gameplay and levels are diverse enough to keep your attention going the whole game. Add a friend in the mix and you’ll be blasting away for hours. As you play, you’ll unlock various medals and you can even post your high scores to online leader boards.

Multiplayer

Star Successor’s multiplayer is done like most other rail shooters on the Wii, by adding a second pair of crosshairs. You’ll still only see the one character (Isa or Kachi depending on who you chose and the beginning) on-screen, but you’ll have double the firepower. While more firepower is good, keep in mind that both players share the same life points, so be sure your player 1 knows what they’re doing.

Conclusion

Overall, Sin and Punishment: Star Successor is exactly what you would expect, a very solid follow-up with impressive visuals and fun gameplay. There isn’t much in the way of new innovations, but more of the same in this case is a good thing. Fans of the original should definitely pick this up. And even if you’re not a fan of the genre or feel like the gameplay is too intimidating, you should at least give this one a rent.

Sin and Punishment: Star Successor gets an 8.6/10