*** THE CASUAL GAMER ***
| Main | Rating: Transcendent |
Way of the Samurai
Way of the Samurai is a PS2 game destined to be a sleeper hit. It was generally passed on by critics and gauged slightly above average. I am here to tell you that this game rocks, and is worthy of good gaming dollars.
Most articles about this game that I have read seem to say that this game is good and unique, but somehow they don't think that the game is as good as it could be. I disagree. This game is surprisingly deep and addictive. The gameplay is solid, deep, and quite ambitious. The develpers took on quite a grand idea and managed to pull it off.
The gameplay and story of the game revolve around the choices you make as an independent samurai. There is a story that changes depending on the choices you make in the game. The story unfolds in numerous possible scenarios over two days. You can choose to be good, bad, or neutral. There are a lot of different choices you can make in this game, making for a large amount of replay value. You will want to replay, too, because the fighting in the game is a lot of fun.
Although the game revolves around a storyline, the real meat of the game is in the swordfighting. There are dozens of different swords in the game that you can use. Each has its own set of moves, and must be used to unlock more. The combat system is like a mini fighting game withing the larger storyline. It is surprisingly deep, with lots of attacks, blocking, jumping, parrying, and throwing. It is a lot of fun to fight in this game, and you can pick a fight with almost anyone in the game. It is truly great.
The few shortcomings in the game are mostly in the graphics department. The graphics are good, but look like they could be better. There are visible seams in the backgrounds in many areas, and there is also some questionable collision detection in places. Other than that, I don't remember anything much keeping me from loving this game. The actual game doesn't take long to beat, which some may complain about, but that is so you can play through again and again to try all the different scenarios.
This game is fantastic, and fuck the critics for passing on it. It is a deep and unique game that deserves a lot more attention than it has gotten. Check it out, buy it, whatever, just so that the developers will make a sequel. It is great.