I remember when I first heard the rumors of the Afro Samurai anime. The first thought in my head was too f'n awesome. As a big fan of blacksploitation, afros, funk, Sam Jackson, and the 70's, I was ecstatic. I bought the director's cut of the DVD when it came out and between the music, voice acting, and art, I thought it was one of the better animes I have seen. The game flew low on the future release radar, with not many knowing about it. But I sat there anticipating it with hopeful optimism that I rarely showcase as Rand Al will tell you. Did the game live up to expectations or burn as it plummeted?
"If every woman I put my dick in died two hours later, I would put that shit on my resume. What would you file that under? Skills or Other Interests?" - Ninja Ninja
Gameplay wise, the game is a sub par Ninja Gaiden 2. The hacking and slashing is incredibly fun and there is lots of blood, but a couple of issues bog it down; camera, platforming, and pacing. For me that camera was extremely awkward. I would get it stuck on walls while trying to fight and it made some of the platforming difficult. The areas in the game with platforming were by far the worst. I hate the whole Okiku chapter of the game due to the platforming and layout of that level. As far as pacing, I don't feel there was enough fighting large groups of generic foes before platforming and boss fights in the later levels. Also the game tended to be on the short side but that is on par with these type of games.
Achievements, the thing that all us score whores truly care about. This game has them and expect to play the game 2 and a half times to get them. They were relatively easy though some might have trouble with the Body Part Poker achievements because outside of the Ronin, it can be difficult to cut a leg, hand, and head off the enemies within the parameters of the mini-game. 2 playthroughs is need to get the play on both difficulty achievement and another half a playthrough is needed for the 2000 kills depending on how many levels you replayed for mementos and achievements. Unless you suck at these type of games, you should have them done with in 10-13 hours.
"If every woman I put my dick in died two hours later, I would put that shit on my resume. What would you file that under? Skills or Other Interests?" - Ninja Ninja
While playing Afro Samurai, expect to hear great lines from Ninja Ninja voiced by Mister Sam Jackson. Afro is and the story overall is very serious. Ninja Ninja is the comic relief to break up that seriousness and he does the job well. If you wanted an example of triple A game status voice acting and music work, then Afro Samurai should be on the top of the list. Ron Perlman, Kelly Hu, and Samuel L. Jackson reprise their roles from the anime while RZA of Wu Tang fame works the soundtrack as he did for the anime. While slashing enemies it almost feels like you are doing it to the beat of the music. I just have trouble finding words to describe how the music fits the game and sets the mood. If you have played Dead Space with the lights off and sound up, then the music in Afro Samurai has a similar immersive effect.
Graphically the game is very decent. It is one of the better jobs I have seen with cell shaded graphics and keeps with the art style of the anime. One of my OMG moments happened when fighting a big guy with a club. By now I had became used to various limbs being cut off and bodies halved, but as I did a strange angled vertical slash on this guy I LOL'D. Starting mid back and ending mid thigh, I had cut the guys ass off. I think it's safe to say, that this might be the only game in the world that you can cut a dude's ass off in. That says a lot about the work put into the 3d modeling and the game system. It feels as though the models in this game are solid rather than textured skeletons.
Gameplay wise, the game is a sub par Ninja Gaiden 2. The hacking and slashing is incredibly fun and there is lots of blood, but a couple of issues bog it down; camera, platforming, and pacing. For me that camera was extremely awkward. I would get it stuck on walls while trying to fight and it made some of the platforming difficult. The areas in the game with platforming were by far the worst. I hate the whole Okiku chapter of the game due to the platforming and layout of that level. As far as pacing, I don't feel there was enough fighting large groups of generic foes before platforming and boss fights in the later levels. Also the game tended to be on the short side but that is on par with these type of games. Achievements, the thing that all us score whores truly care about. This game has them and expect to play the game 2 and a half times to get them. They were relatively easy though some might have trouble with the Body Part Poker achievements because outside of the Ronin, it can be difficult to cut a leg, hand, and head off the enemies within the parameters of the mini-game. 2 playthroughs is need to get the play on both difficulty achievement and another half a playthrough is needed for the 2000 kills depending on how many levels you replayed for mementos and achievements. Unless you suck at these type of games, you should have them done with in 10-13 hours. Bottom Line? The achievements are easy, graphics are good, music/voice is f'n awesome, gameplay has a few issues but still fun. I paid 60 bucks for this game and don't regret it because I am an Afro Samurai fan, for non fans this is a rent.
I give this game 4 Fro's out of 5.
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