by Doug Scott

When the Thrifty Nerd himself asked me to review Dishwasher 2: Vampire Smile, I wasn’t quite sure what to say. My only experience with the Dishwasher series was back when Xbox Indie games (then called XNA) had first been announced. Ska Studios led the XNA launch with a simple hack-and-slash game called The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai. From there, Ska Studios won the Dream Build Play contest and The Dishwasher made it into the Xbox Live Arcade section. That simple demo at the launch was all I had played of the series before Dishwasher 2: Vampire Smile arrived in my inbox.

Throughout my experience with Vampire Smile I realized that two people were playing it: 24-year-old Doug, and 16-year-old Doug. 24-year-old Doug enjoys a variety of games, though mostly plays first person shooters. He listens to hip hop mashups and alternative rock. He’s a Libra and enjoys long walks on the beach. 24-year-old Doug enjoyed his time with Vampire Smile because of the simple combat system that controlled smoothly. 16-year-old Doug enjoyed this game for everything else. He played electric guitar, listened to heavy metal, drank Mountain Dew, and spent a lot of time on Newgrounds playing flash games. Vampire Smile managed to tap into 16-year-old Doug with its simplistic gameplay, defined art style, and most of all its heavy music composed by the man behind Ska Studios, James Silva.

Vampire Smile has two separate campaigns following The Dishwasher and his step-sister Yuki (also known as The Prisoner). The stories within the campaigns are different, but the levels are the same for both characters. The protagonists have identical goals: disposing of the three people who run humanity’s society on the moon. The Prisoner is motivated by revenge, and The Dishwasher is trying to save Yuki while stopping a cyborg infestation. Eventually the two unearth the evil that controls the world around them and have their justice.

The two characters play nearly identically apart from the weapons they use. The Prisoner’s movements seem to flow better with her attacks, while The Dishwasher at times feels stiff. Another notable difference is that The Prisoner can do her teleport dodge using any of her weapons, while The Dishwasher is unable to teleport when using select weapons.

Having had an exceptionally fun time playing Vampire Smile, I had to go back to Dead Samurai and find out what sets this sequel apart. Everything. Everything has been improved massively. Character movement and animation improved drastically. The camera became more focused on the player allowing you to see what you’re really doing. In Dead Samurai the camera is pulled back farther making all of the characters in the game seem small. The graphics and art style themselves are cleaner and presented better. Overall Vampire Smile is bigger, better, and far more badass.

At 800 Microsoft Points ($9.99) Dishwasher 2: Vampire Smile is modestly priced. With two campaigns, an arcade mode, a survival mode, and a co-op experience (and a secret couch co-op featuring the animals that follow you) it’s definitely not lacking in content. With its unique art style, original metal music, and more blood than a Tarantino movie, you’re sure to get your money’s worth if you enjoy the genre. Fans of the series will not be disappointed. Newcomers may be reluctant to dive right in, but as a newcomer myself, I’ll level with you – 16-year-old Doug wants to play this game every day.

This review is based on a retail copy of The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile provided by Ska Studios, LLC. It is an XBLA exclusive.

Screens from The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile

Tags: Review, The Dishwasher: Vampire Smile, XBLA, Xbox Live