Afro Samurai – CuriousOnion’s Review

April 16, 2009 by Delon
Filed under Featured, Playstation, XBox

I was excited about this game for a long while before it came out and although I’ve never seen the Anime series I am a big fan of the genre. In this review I am going to ask you a series of fandom questions and if at any point your answer is no, feel free to stop reading because if your answered no you will have gained all you need from this review.

Are you a fan of the Hack and Slash genre?
The story of Afro Samurai is one of an insatiable need for revenge on Afro’s part, which began after he witnessed his father’s death by bullet decapitation when he was just a boy. It took me almost 3 hours of playtime to discover that because the games story is a bit of a hodge-podge of the original one. It’s this drive that compels Afro to face hoards of enemies in furious battles, cutting them down one by one, one after another and believe me when I say, you are going to be doing a lot of cutting down.

Afro can switch into Focus Mode, where time slows down and as he charges his sword a glint of light travels from the bottom of the blade peaking in its brightness as it nears the top. As it reaches the top the controller rumbles letting you know it’s time to separate your enemies limb from body after which you are left with an immense rush of satisfaction.

Would you enjoy beautiful visuals of blood and body parts juxtaposed with an awesome soundtrack?
The music melts superbly with the action to such a degree that you actually feel like you are fighting to the rhythm of the beat. It’s a groovy mix of rap, rock and the odd oriental sound composed by The RZA and a member of the Wu-Tang Clan. Add these funky tunes with the delight of chopping an enemy’s face in half to see his brain ooze out or taking his legs off at the knees having him plop into his bum kicking his stubs wildly in the air as blood geysers paint the ground red. You will smile.

Are you a fan of Bruce Lee and Martial Art movies?
The game plays like a Bruce Lee movie, Afro exudes a silent confidence that Bruce Lee’s was known for, his voice, his style and his words radiate with coolness and after a short while playing you will want to be like Afro.

In order for Afro to avenge his father he needs to acquire the number two headband because only the one who wears the number two headband can challenge the one who wears the number one headband. The vice is that, anyone can challenge the one who wears the number two headband for the chance to challenge the number one.

The enemies are aplenty and attack in wave after wave and when you think you’ve killed them all, you will be wrong. Ninja’s, Androids, Peasants and half clothed swanky girls will try and take your head off but as the game goes they all begin to look the same and eventually become quite indistinguishable. Combat is made fun by using the Focus Mode but in the end you’ll just spam the heavy strike and be done with them.

Are you a fan of the TV series and do you like Anime in general?
The games art style is beautiful and reminded me of Prince of Persia. The attention to detail is immaculate and it actually feels like you are controlling pieces on a canvas of art, it looks so good that the in-game graphics are actually better than those of the TV series.

The storyline is the same as the series but with a lot less information. You get an idea of what is going on but the story has been edited down a long way and it leaves you rather feeling confused the entire game. Samuel L. Jackson lends his voice to Ninja Ninja who is a character made up of Afro’s detached emotions as in the series. He has some great one-liners that are genuinely funny but at the same time, he constatnly repeats himself which will lead you to dish out some rather scurrilous one liners yourself.

Do you absolutely have to finish every game you play?
Afro Samurai can be a pain to play. The camera is far from perfect and at times, it’s just downright nasty. During boss fights it will infuriate to the point where you want to just call it a day. Toward the end of the game there is an injection of platforming - that was a really bad idea because not only does Afro get caught-up on seemingly small cracks in the wall but he’ll miss close poles and fall, forcing you to start again right from the bottom.

The game's finial boss battle is a complete cop-out. The environment looks like it was put together in a day along with his annoying attacks and dreary monologuesn- it’s an ending that does the game no justice and it probably would have been better to not include it at all.

Have you read this far?
If you have read this far then it is safe to say that you will enjoy the game. If you skipped sections to get here then you’d be better off either, not buying the game or renting it for a week. Afro Samurai is a visually great game and by golly it sounds superb and certainly proves that blood is beautiful but if you are after a story and get annoyed by imperfect controls you should just get the DVD instead.