Derrick
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- Joined
- Nov 22, 2010
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- Reaction score
- 5
Overall, Afro Samurai comes across as a bit of a double-edged katana: the splendid visuals and art direction, the pumping soundtrack and the brutal combat really makes the player feel like they’re wielding the razor-sharp sword themselves, but the exasperating platforming and inconsistent level design override this and ultimately forces Afro Samurai to commit a particularly slow and painful hara-kiri.
“I’ve had it with these motherfluffing mistakes in this motherfluffing game!”
We’re sure this is what Samuel L. Jackson uttered after playing Afro Samurai, a hack ‘n slash platformer voiced by the King of Cussing himself. Although it tips more than just its hat (or in this case, ninja headband) to genre stalwarts like Prince of Persia and Ninja Gaiden, this blood-soaked kill-fest sadly overlooks the crucial elements that made these predecessors so great.
Despite fantastic art direction and enough blood-spilling to make Tarantino grimace, Afro Samurai starts out like a truly badass ninja but ends up being the fat, cowardly playground bully who steals your lunch money and wedgies you when you least expect it.
The story of the game follows the anime series of the same name, putting gamers in the role of Afro Samurai, an afro-sporting, katana-wielding, chain-smoking badass. He wears the fabled Number 2 headband, an item said to bestow mystical powers upon the wearer, but ultimately seeks the Number 1 which is worn by his father’s killer. Aiding him on his quest for vengeance is the imaginatively titled Ninja Ninja, a jittery, oversexed guide and mentor also brought to life by the foul-mouthed Jackson.
Gameplay in Afro Samurai follows the fairly well established (if not slightly tiresome) combat system of weak, strong and kick attacks, as well as a useless jump button. Controlling Afro from the standard third-person perspective, gamers will slice, dice and julienne their way through waves of enemy ninjas, peasants and even robots as they plough through the levels in search of retribution.
The combat is insanely bloody and graphic, and the whole game plays like the director’s cut of that Kill Bill scene where The Bride mangles scores of unfortunate ninjas singlehandedly (hot schoolgirls not included). Blood spatters the screen as Afro chops up foes and sends arms and legs flying, and death can result from a lost limb, a swift beheading or cutting an enemy clean in half. Making this even more grisly and curiously satisfying is the trusty Focus Mode, a bullet time state in which everything but Afro and his target becomes black and white, allowing gamers to clearly see the action and carnage.
The angle of the katana’s slice can even be adjusted depending on the type of attack, allowing for selective and surgical dismemberment. This is made even more fun by Ninja Ninja occasionally popping up during a fight and offering a game of Body Part Poker, where severing the correct limbs will turn over a series of cards and reward Afro with power-ups. A bit arbitrary, but it adds some variety to the killing.
Sadly, the combat quickly begins to draw remarkable similarities to sushi: it’s novel and colourful at first, especially when served up in such an authentic setting, but after several helpings it all starts to taste the same and ultimately leaves one hungry for something more substantial. The exhaustive list of combos is pointless, and most gamers will find that button-bashing gets the job done well enough. There are parrying moves and evasive attacks, but they just make killing enemies a more drawn out exercise.
Your frag count also results in experience gained, which proves to be as completely superfluous as any piece of clothing ever worn by Megan Fox. Although Afro levels up occasionally, there are no benefits to doing so, and there isn’t even a way to check what level has been reached.
Similarly mystifying, annoying and unnecessary are the loading screens, which offer up weird snippets like one of the characters repeatedly talking about bears or the severed head of Afro’s father breathing heavily and gagging so loudly the neighbours will blush and bash against the wall with a broomstick. We’re told that some of these scenes make more sense if the player has read the anime before, but this is a fairly niche group that the developers should’ve expanded upon.
There are also some balancing issues with regards to the pacing of the action in Afro Samurai: imagine hiring the services of an exotic Japanese geisha, going to her den of iniquity and then being pleasantly ravaged for fifteen minutes before being made to do her housework and file her tax returns for the next hour.
Such are the levels of Afro Samurai, where slaying scores of opposition almost to the point of developing button-mashing carpal tunnel quickly turns into lengthy sections of no combat at all. These bits are so tedious that we highly recommend bribing a friend or family member to persevere through them while you do something more exciting. Like housework or tax returns.
The platforming sections are equally wearisome, and offer the exact opposite level of fluidity that the Prince of Persia series nailed so perfectly. Shamelessly swiped from the aforementioned series are various moves like the wall run and wall hop, but these are clumsy and inaccurately implemented. Jumping puzzles also infuriate rather than entertain, as one wrong step by Afro can result in a rapid decrease in altitude and a rapid increase in teeth-grinding as the player has to start over again and again.
Visually though, Afro Samurai is an absolute treat. The cel-shaded graphics are spectacular, and recreate the comic feel in every rich detail. Although there are some minor clipping issues like disappearing afros and hands wandering where they shouldn’t (no, not the geisha again), the colourful levels burst with anime flair and really make the experience come to life. There are even split-screen scenes that pop up like the frame of a comic, which draw the player into Afro’s world and create a highly immersive vibe.
The music is equally great, with rapper RZA supervising the soundtrack. There are some wicked beats with a cool Asian feel to them, which set an ideal mood to kill to. The sound design suffers a bit as the music often drowns out the effects, but it’s a minor complaint. Jackson’s voice acting is as good as ever, with more sexual obscenities flying around than at a hentai convention.
Overall, Afro Samurai comes across as a bit of a double-edged katana: the splendid visuals and art direction, the pumping soundtrack and the brutal combat really makes the player feel like they’re wielding the razor-sharp sword themselves, but the exasperating platforming and inconsistent level design override this and ultimately forces Afro Samurai to commit a particularly slow and painful hara-kiri.
“I’ve had it with these motherfluffing mistakes in this motherfluffing game!”
We’re sure this is what Samuel L. Jackson uttered after playing Afro Samurai, a hack ‘n slash platformer voiced by the King of Cussing himself. Although it tips more than just its hat (or in this case, ninja headband) to genre stalwarts like Prince of Persia and Ninja Gaiden, this blood-soaked kill-fest sadly overlooks the crucial elements that made these predecessors so great.
Despite fantastic art direction and enough blood-spilling to make Tarantino grimace, Afro Samurai starts out like a truly badass ninja but ends up being the fat, cowardly playground bully who steals your lunch money and wedgies you when you least expect it.
The story of the game follows the anime series of the same name, putting gamers in the role of Afro Samurai, an afro-sporting, katana-wielding, chain-smoking badass. He wears the fabled Number 2 headband, an item said to bestow mystical powers upon the wearer, but ultimately seeks the Number 1 which is worn by his father’s killer. Aiding him on his quest for vengeance is the imaginatively titled Ninja Ninja, a jittery, oversexed guide and mentor also brought to life by the foul-mouthed Jackson.
Gameplay in Afro Samurai follows the fairly well established (if not slightly tiresome) combat system of weak, strong and kick attacks, as well as a useless jump button. Controlling Afro from the standard third-person perspective, gamers will slice, dice and julienne their way through waves of enemy ninjas, peasants and even robots as they plough through the levels in search of retribution.
The combat is insanely bloody and graphic, and the whole game plays like the director’s cut of that Kill Bill scene where The Bride mangles scores of unfortunate ninjas singlehandedly (hot schoolgirls not included). Blood spatters the screen as Afro chops up foes and sends arms and legs flying, and death can result from a lost limb, a swift beheading or cutting an enemy clean in half. Making this even more grisly and curiously satisfying is the trusty Focus Mode, a bullet time state in which everything but Afro and his target becomes black and white, allowing gamers to clearly see the action and carnage.
The angle of the katana’s slice can even be adjusted depending on the type of attack, allowing for selective and surgical dismemberment. This is made even more fun by Ninja Ninja occasionally popping up during a fight and offering a game of Body Part Poker, where severing the correct limbs will turn over a series of cards and reward Afro with power-ups. A bit arbitrary, but it adds some variety to the killing.
Sadly, the combat quickly begins to draw remarkable similarities to sushi: it’s novel and colourful at first, especially when served up in such an authentic setting, but after several helpings it all starts to taste the same and ultimately leaves one hungry for something more substantial. The exhaustive list of combos is pointless, and most gamers will find that button-bashing gets the job done well enough. There are parrying moves and evasive attacks, but they just make killing enemies a more drawn out exercise.
Your frag count also results in experience gained, which proves to be as completely superfluous as any piece of clothing ever worn by Megan Fox. Although Afro levels up occasionally, there are no benefits to doing so, and there isn’t even a way to check what level has been reached.
Similarly mystifying, annoying and unnecessary are the loading screens, which offer up weird snippets like one of the characters repeatedly talking about bears or the severed head of Afro’s father breathing heavily and gagging so loudly the neighbours will blush and bash against the wall with a broomstick. We’re told that some of these scenes make more sense if the player has read the anime before, but this is a fairly niche group that the developers should’ve expanded upon.
There are also some balancing issues with regards to the pacing of the action in Afro Samurai: imagine hiring the services of an exotic Japanese geisha, going to her den of iniquity and then being pleasantly ravaged for fifteen minutes before being made to do her housework and file her tax returns for the next hour.
Such are the levels of Afro Samurai, where slaying scores of opposition almost to the point of developing button-mashing carpal tunnel quickly turns into lengthy sections of no combat at all. These bits are so tedious that we highly recommend bribing a friend or family member to persevere through them while you do something more exciting. Like housework or tax returns.
The platforming sections are equally wearisome, and offer the exact opposite level of fluidity that the Prince of Persia series nailed so perfectly. Shamelessly swiped from the aforementioned series are various moves like the wall run and wall hop, but these are clumsy and inaccurately implemented. Jumping puzzles also infuriate rather than entertain, as one wrong step by Afro can result in a rapid decrease in altitude and a rapid increase in teeth-grinding as the player has to start over again and again.
Visually though, Afro Samurai is an absolute treat. The cel-shaded graphics are spectacular, and recreate the comic feel in every rich detail. Although there are some minor clipping issues like disappearing afros and hands wandering where they shouldn’t (no, not the geisha again), the colourful levels burst with anime flair and really make the experience come to life. There are even split-screen scenes that pop up like the frame of a comic, which draw the player into Afro’s world and create a highly immersive vibe.
The music is equally great, with rapper RZA supervising the soundtrack. There are some wicked beats with a cool Asian feel to them, which set an ideal mood to kill to. The sound design suffers a bit as the music often drowns out the effects, but it’s a minor complaint. Jackson’s voice acting is as good as ever, with more sexual obscenities flying around than at a hentai convention.
Overall, Afro Samurai comes across as a bit of a double-edged katana: the splendid visuals and art direction, the pumping soundtrack and the brutal combat really makes the player feel like they’re wielding the razor-sharp sword themselves, but the exasperating platforming and inconsistent level design override this and ultimately forces Afro Samurai to commit a particularly slow and painful hara-kiri.