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| The Entertainment Review |
| Developer: Namco Bandai Publisher: Namco Bandai |
Many videogames related to the popular film series is either a sequel to the original film, or is coincides with the film, meaning the
player plays through the film. The story told in “Afro Samurai” isn’t a sequel to the popular anime, but more of a re-imagining of the
origin of the hero with big hair.
As a child, Afro witnessed the murder of his father, a master swordsman, in a duel for the Number One headband which is the symbol
of the greatest fighter in the world. From that point on, Afro made his main focus to be getting the Number Two headband and avenging
the death of his father. During the journey Afro makes friends, finds love and ends a lot of lives with his katana. The story is fairly solid
and will keep fans of the series interested and it can be seen throughout the game. For those who have never seen the series, the
impact that the game will have, and the minor points of the game will be lost. Luckily for the game, Samuel L. Jackson continues to
offer the voice to Afro and his crazy sidekick Ninja Ninja.
“Afro Samurai” is a brawler game, with very sharp swords. Players take on the role of Afro and will use simple button controls to slice
through enemies. Players will have a options of a light attack, heavy attack, jump and block. Of course there are combos to learn in the
game, but those who don’t want to use the combos can still work their way through the game. This game is definitely button masher
friendly. Often times a button mashing game will be condemned by gamers, but with the amount of enemies that they will be facing, the
mashing is a welcome element of the game.
For those unfamiliar with the anime series of the same name, this is a very bloody game. Afro is constantly cutting off limbs as streams
of blood exit the enemies’ body. This game has easily earned its Mature rating. While players are hacking and slashing their way
through enemies, blood splatters onto the screen, showing the players the amount of carnage they are causing. The only issue with
the fighting in the game is the lack of a health meter, so players must pay attention to a glowing red aura that surrounds themselves
and their enemies. When the player starts to glow red, death is quickly approaching.
The blood and violence of the game is even more amplified by Focus. Afro has a pendent hanging from his neck that grows brighter
with every enemy death, this is the Focus reservoir. When the players earn enough Focus, they can slow down time, dealing out more
powerful attacks in black and white. With the Left Trigger held down, players can slow down time and deal horizontal and vertical
blows. By holding down the attack buttons while in Focus, the attack will charge up, making the katana slice through the enemy like a
warm knife through butter. Also, when the pendent is full, players can tap the Left Bumper to enter Overfocus. Here players will be able
to rush around from one enemy to the next, killing each one with a single attack.
Moving on to the most frustrating and irritating element of the game, the camera, players may want to quit playing because of this one
element alone. Though many games have frustrating cameras to work with, this has to be one of the most frustrating yet. In a game
that is as fast paced as “Afro Samurai,” players don’t want to have to worry about camera angels while slicing through enemies.
Players would expect a camera that follows Afro from a good vantage points, but in some cases that camera is so far behind, the player
needs to control the camera with the right thumb stick in order to see Afro at all. When players go into Overfocus, one of the best
elements of the game, they will lose sight of Afro as he bounces around the room. Rather than having a camera center on Afro when he
blocks, an element that many brawlers have picked up over the years, the developer left the center camera button assigned to R3. This
means that again, players need to press a button to control the camera. This is like having another enemy boss on the screen to have
to deal with along with all the other enemies that are flocking onto the screen.
Another problem with controlling the camera is the fact that it is permanently inverted in the game. Of course players can change these
settings from the main mean. However, for those that want to change the settings during game play, they will have to go back to the
main menu to change them. This becomes a problem because the game only saves at certain points, leaving players to deal with the
controls until they are able to reach a save point in the game.
It is really unfortunate that “Afro Samurai” isn’t as amazing as the anime series, but for those that are willing to spend the money on the
game, they will experience extremely fun times and some areas that are very frustrating and boring. Slicing through waves of enemies
while listen to some great rap and hip hop beats offers an amazing experience. However, the terrible camera angles and controls, bad
platform sections and unchallenging bosses, make the game suffer. Those who enjoy the series will enjoy the game, but any gamer
should expect to deal with a lot of issues along the way.
player plays through the film. The story told in “Afro Samurai” isn’t a sequel to the popular anime, but more of a re-imagining of the
origin of the hero with big hair.
As a child, Afro witnessed the murder of his father, a master swordsman, in a duel for the Number One headband which is the symbol
of the greatest fighter in the world. From that point on, Afro made his main focus to be getting the Number Two headband and avenging
the death of his father. During the journey Afro makes friends, finds love and ends a lot of lives with his katana. The story is fairly solid
and will keep fans of the series interested and it can be seen throughout the game. For those who have never seen the series, the
impact that the game will have, and the minor points of the game will be lost. Luckily for the game, Samuel L. Jackson continues to
offer the voice to Afro and his crazy sidekick Ninja Ninja.
“Afro Samurai” is a brawler game, with very sharp swords. Players take on the role of Afro and will use simple button controls to slice
through enemies. Players will have a options of a light attack, heavy attack, jump and block. Of course there are combos to learn in the
game, but those who don’t want to use the combos can still work their way through the game. This game is definitely button masher
friendly. Often times a button mashing game will be condemned by gamers, but with the amount of enemies that they will be facing, the
mashing is a welcome element of the game.
For those unfamiliar with the anime series of the same name, this is a very bloody game. Afro is constantly cutting off limbs as streams
of blood exit the enemies’ body. This game has easily earned its Mature rating. While players are hacking and slashing their way
through enemies, blood splatters onto the screen, showing the players the amount of carnage they are causing. The only issue with
the fighting in the game is the lack of a health meter, so players must pay attention to a glowing red aura that surrounds themselves
and their enemies. When the player starts to glow red, death is quickly approaching.
The blood and violence of the game is even more amplified by Focus. Afro has a pendent hanging from his neck that grows brighter
with every enemy death, this is the Focus reservoir. When the players earn enough Focus, they can slow down time, dealing out more
powerful attacks in black and white. With the Left Trigger held down, players can slow down time and deal horizontal and vertical
blows. By holding down the attack buttons while in Focus, the attack will charge up, making the katana slice through the enemy like a
warm knife through butter. Also, when the pendent is full, players can tap the Left Bumper to enter Overfocus. Here players will be able
to rush around from one enemy to the next, killing each one with a single attack.
Moving on to the most frustrating and irritating element of the game, the camera, players may want to quit playing because of this one
element alone. Though many games have frustrating cameras to work with, this has to be one of the most frustrating yet. In a game
that is as fast paced as “Afro Samurai,” players don’t want to have to worry about camera angels while slicing through enemies.
Players would expect a camera that follows Afro from a good vantage points, but in some cases that camera is so far behind, the player
needs to control the camera with the right thumb stick in order to see Afro at all. When players go into Overfocus, one of the best
elements of the game, they will lose sight of Afro as he bounces around the room. Rather than having a camera center on Afro when he
blocks, an element that many brawlers have picked up over the years, the developer left the center camera button assigned to R3. This
means that again, players need to press a button to control the camera. This is like having another enemy boss on the screen to have
to deal with along with all the other enemies that are flocking onto the screen.
Another problem with controlling the camera is the fact that it is permanently inverted in the game. Of course players can change these
settings from the main mean. However, for those that want to change the settings during game play, they will have to go back to the
main menu to change them. This becomes a problem because the game only saves at certain points, leaving players to deal with the
controls until they are able to reach a save point in the game.
It is really unfortunate that “Afro Samurai” isn’t as amazing as the anime series, but for those that are willing to spend the money on the
game, they will experience extremely fun times and some areas that are very frustrating and boring. Slicing through waves of enemies
while listen to some great rap and hip hop beats offers an amazing experience. However, the terrible camera angles and controls, bad
platform sections and unchallenging bosses, make the game suffer. Those who enjoy the series will enjoy the game, but any gamer
should expect to deal with a lot of issues along the way.
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