Genji: Dawn of the Samurai

09/04/05

For gamers who couldn't get enough hack and slash gameplay from God of War, Sony's going to soon be releasing Genji: Dawn of the Samurai. Apparently, seeing that players were actually interested in the mythologies of the world, and that they liked quick and easy finishing moves, Sony's decided to give us more of the same. That's not a bad thing, so long as it's done right, and it looks Genji is definitely going to be "done right." Genji follows a pretty basic storyline - it's 12th century Japan, and the land is in chaos. Roving bands of brigands are doing everything they can to make life hard on the citizenry in their quest for money and magical items. Cue the music - this is where you step in as hero Yoshitsune, a dual-sword wielding (does any game character wield one weapon any more?) do-gooder who's out to free the land from the bad guys. In his quest, he'll hack, slash, chop and devastate wave after wave of baddies, both mystical and moronic. Did I say moronic? That's probably because the AI in our preview build wasn't exactly tuned yet, it's actually pretty easy to walk through the demo levels of the game thus far. But hey, it's a preview build! Genji is a game that's all about style. Visually, it's stunning. There's plenty of magic about, and when you Yoshitsune summons his magic power (Kamui) which slows time and creates an automatic kill system (just hit the square button at the right time) rife with brilliant combat (and death) animations. The problem with all this style is that substance has been sacrificed in its favor. So you've got plenty of cinematic action and lush environments, and gameplay that amounts to stringing together combos, jumping around and hitting the Kamui button when things get too tough or you tire of fighting countless waves of enemies. Basically, the gameplay is Otogi with super-powers and some cool weapons. From the looks of it, Sony's chasing the Onimusha and God of War crowds, riding on the hope that super-combos and lots of flash will be enough to ensure sales. Will they pull off making the full game exciting enough to make it a sell-out title? That's anyone's guess, but all they have to do at this point is make sure the gameplay is as rich as the visuals, and they should have a winner. -- Craig Falstaff
Send News to N4G | |