EDIT (02/29/'20): After taking some time to replay and actually "complete" this game (
it does have a definitive story mode ending, but the post-game content goes on to a level cap of 255), I'm actually going to take it upon myself to re-evaluate it as a whole. I feel as though my initial judgment (
which I will be leaving up for posterity) was too harsh. You can still read the old review here, but know that most of the things there I have changed my mind on.
That said, this game is a lot of things: it's particularly grind-heavy, incredibly monotonous in its theme, and sometimes even a bit ugly... that's not to say that makes it an exceptionally bad game, however.
Yes, the controls are hard to grasp at first... but once you acclimate and finally get the hang of operating the camera and movement in tandem, sort of like a dual-stick shooter, it's honestly not terrible. And yes, I would certainly prefer mouse-based camera and whipping control instead of using the arrow keys and other spaced-out buttons, but while your movement hand naturally conforms to the W/A/D buttons, your thumb sits rather comfortably on the Spacebar, and your pinky on the Shift key. At the end of the way, it tends to work out.
Graphically and gameplay-wise, I've said all that needs to be said—it's very one-note in its execution; it's more or less merely about working with initially awkward controls and learning to master them. Everything you need to know, I've already told you above: tricks for boosting your speed, efficiently lowering your "Crazy Meter" and quickly incapacitating girls. Surprisingly, the real richness of the game comes from the overarching plot, which if it wasn't so poorly translated into English would actually be quite engrossing. To sum up,
you meet back up with your estranged wife one day, who has incurred a massive debt that you end up having to help pay off; in order to lower the burden on you, however, she takes part in the same contest as you except as the victim... and later down the line, you discover a legendary contestant that sometimes makes the rounds in the arena known as the "Iron Dog", who secretly turns out to be your daughter after your wife turns up missing from their home, leaving the debt squarely on the daughter's shoulders. From that point on, the story ends but the game can continue as long as you'd like it to... and as a reward for defeating special key fights throughout the story, the sparse furniture in your room is slowly replaced by women that serve as props for your amusement.
Honestly, I think I gave this game a fairly bad rap at first. It's not perfect by any definition of the word, but provided you're someone who prides themselves on mastery of a craft, the few hours of entertainment you get from this game should be enough to tide you over. Do be prepared for the occasional loss, however, as the power balance can quickly shift at the drop of a hat, especially when you get the opportunity to pick up women with special abilities that increase their difficulty, but also their prize output. Being able to master the mechanics of the game, you can rather quickly gather funds to level up your character... and while some of the upgrade-able stats have much less overall value than others (
cough cough, speed, cough, late leakage), they're obviously all valuable in their own respects... some more so than others, but you'll figure that out yourself.
I grant this game an additional two stars, bringing it to a grand total of 3/5. Serviceable, but by no means excellent in any respect—pretty middle-of-the-road, if anything.