Afro Samurai
Samuel L. Jackson is back and loud as ever, as the voice of Afro and his loud mouth imaginary friend Ninja Ninja. It is the same plot as the Spike Tv animated series except for a different twist. With of course the fights [gameplay] between key points.
Game play wise it is very subtle. Not a complicated button masher. It takes the art of button mashing to a different level. The button mapping is perfect. Simply and uncustomizable. There is no reason to customize the button layout. How much customization do you need with three attack buttons and a jump button. The fight system is not buggy at all. I assumed it would be buggy like most play through fighting games [Star Wars: Forced Unleashed]. You [Afro] have a vast combo list to use on the enemy. The list gets longer and has even more akward names as you level up. There is also a reward for finding all 5 flocks of crows in each stage, you unlock one of Afro’s father’s move. There is an ‘In-Focus’ feature that allows Afro to slice up enemies with one charged slice in a slow-motion sequnce. Once you master the In-Focus technique hacking and slashing your way to the Number 1 [Justice] headbank is easy as pie.
The only odd and interesting thing about the game play is the lack of an HUD [Heads Up Display]. It took me to while to realize that Afro’s health status is noticable by his clothes and the increasing sound of his heart beat. When Afro’s health is low his clothes slowing turn red, to symbolize the blood loss. To replenish Afro’s health you have to kill your enemies or find Otsuru’s bear[s] scattered throughout each stage.
Visually, Afro Samurai has a gritty comic book look. It has a free floating camera which allows for some nice angles [too bad there isn't a capture mode] during those intense In-Focus moments. The cut scenes resemble the game very closely. [Sorry, no footage from the series] The characters closely resemble their television counter-parts. As Afro’s combo hits get longer, more blood gets splatted on the screen. [nice visual]
There is one element that I really enjoyed about this game. The music. They brought in The Rza to do the music. You will of course hear some of the music from the show. It’s nice to have a good upbeat song while you slash your way to the Number 1 headband. The script is also refreshing as well. It’s a script that I wasn’t expecting but should have with Samuel L. Jackson doing the voice. Most of the crazy scripting is for Ninja Ninja, he says some crazy, left field stuff.
Afro Samurai is overall a great gaming experience if you are an Afro fan. It takes the story of Afro Samurai, a simple combat system, a banging score by The Rza, and the ‘voice talent’ of Samuel L. Jackson; Namco Bandi brings Afro Samurai to the Xbox 360, but only as a bon-a-fide rental. The game is too short and there are not any extras to justify the $60 it takes to own it.
Until the next post
~Azinkid
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