"Giant Enemy Crabs, Anyone?"

Genji: Days of the Blade is probably one of the most well-known games out on the PlayStation 3 right now. It's a pity that, instead of being recognized for its actual content, though, it is recognized for its presentation at E3. Giant enemy crabs, and real-time weapon change… What does it all mean? Despite what people would have you think, the game is actually quite good.

Graphics (9.5/10):
The graphics in this game are truly amazing. The game designers must have really worked hard to make everything look as vibrant and detailed as possible. The scenery is something that you can get very deeply immersed in, especially in the game's high definition setting. The draw distance is very impressive, not leaving out the stunning architecture around you. Some of the levels, especially the one that takes place at sea, are truly a sight to behold. Shimmering, realistic water, towering buildings, and beautiful grass and trees are something that you will actually find yourself stopping to gawk at. Character and enemy models all look as if they were designed with intricate care, with fluid animations and plenty of polygons. The textures are rather high resolution, as well. I'd say that the only thing preventing this game from getting a 10/10 in the graphics department is the dodgy lighting and shadows at some points, but really, it's not at all that noticeable when presented with everything else.

Sound (8/10):
The soundtrack in Genji 2 is also very beautiful. While there aren't many different songs in the game, the ones that are there are really rather well-composed. The music adds greatly to the game's overall experience, due to its reflection on the environment that you're in. For example, in the Netherworld, while you roam the halls you are presented with soft and eerie music with the muffled chanting of cult members. Battlefields and boss fights have very fitting epic music. However, it goes beyond just the music. The voice acting may be set to Japanese to deliver an authentic experience, and, as far as I can tell, they have done a very good job with it all. You may also listen to the game in English, and characters have the delightfully Engrish accents that you'd expect to hear. The sword clashing and battle cries are top-notch, which is good, since you'll be hearing a lot of these sound effects as you fight the oncoming hordes of enemies.

Gameplay and Controls(8.5/10):
This is not your simple hack and slash. You have four different characters to choose from, which you pick up as you progress through the story. Each different character also has five or so different weapons that you find in chests and get from people. This game, as you probably know, features real-time weapon change, allowing you to flip between weapons as you wish. If you've played the first Genji, then you know that you used to have to go to some menu and manually equip the weapon that you wanted. Sounds pretty lame, huh? Well, that's been fixed now. A tap of R2 is all that you need. And don't worry, you won't have to cycle through every weapon just to get to the one that you want. From the menu, select your primary weapon, and then your alternate weapon that you want to switch to. Now, the nice thing about all of these weapons is that they each have different movesets, rather than everything being purely cosmetic. It's not just one of those games where different weapons only have alternate appearances and stats. These things are all different, so you can choose the weapon that best fits your playing style. The square button is used for normal attacks, and some special maneuvers, such as Yoshitsune's wall run. X is for jumping, or while in focus/block mode for dodging attacks, though, this may also be accomplished at any time by using the right thumbstick. Circle is for another set of more powerful special attacks. For example, as Shizuka, this button lets you shoot out a grappling rope used to latch on to objects. Triangle is used for another set of special attacks, and you can even get another set by holding down R1/R2. To switch characters, use the directional pad. This can prove to be helpful, as I will explain later.

Kamui has made a return. If you haven't played the first Genji, basically, in that game it would basically just cause the screen to turn blue and make enemies attack you very slowly so that you can skewer them with a simple press of the square button. It got old fast, and didn't even look very impressive. Well, that's changed in this game, as well. Now, when your Kamui gauge is full (accomplished by smashing everything that moves) you can press L1 to pull a large number of surrounding enemies into some alternate plane. Rather than waiting for slow moving enemies to come to you, you now rush at them in a chain. You'll get a short amount of time (which can be increased by leveling up) to wail on one enemy before moving onto the next… but it's not all random, and it's not all one button. A series of icons with pictures of the PlayStation 3 buttons will pop up, and when you see that button, press it on your SIXAXIS. This is easy at first, since it's pretty much just square and then circle on everything, but each enemy is different, as you'll soon come to notice. The harder the enemy, the more complicated the sequence, so get ready to memorize the combination that you need to push for particularly hard enemies that get more and more common as you move through the game. Either that, or use your finely-honed reflexes which you probably have gotten by this point.

Genji 2 also features some fun little platforming elements, such as jumping from battle ship to battleship during massive sea battles, or jumping over a large hole while exploring the Netherworld. You can also pull off wall runs and scale gaps with grappling ropes, as I mentioned before. It really adds to the game, since you're not just aimlessly wandering around massacring whatever you see. There are also some cool little puzzle elements where you have to hit some switch or kick some certain boat to progress. It's confusing at times, but once you figure it out you'll be either quite pleased with yourself, or hate yourself for failing to see something so simple. As for RPG aspects, you can level up your health, Kamui gauge, and weapons using the Mashogane and Amahagane Essence that you find. Mashogane is earned by killing certain enemies, and Amahagane Essence by attacking around certain secret locations found by following the glow that appears on your character at certain points. You can also find items for healing, Kamui recovery, or stat enhancing by busting stuff open.

And you thought that I forgot about switching out characters. Yes, well, this is a nifty little feature that they added in to let you choose who to play as in the middle of a battle. It's cool, because you can string together all sorts of combos by using an attack with a certain character, then suddenly switching to another, and doing something to complement that attack before the enemy can escape. Switching characters in real time can also help, because you'll want to use different characters for different parts of the game. Some seem to magically work better on certain bosses or in certain areas, and it's fun figuring out which one that is. Some will also have gameplay that better suits you, so make sure to try them all. An example of how switching out characters can help is the famed giant enemy crab. It seems that people have overlooked the actual point of it, or hadn't actually watched it, but just spread the word because they thought it sounded silly. Basically, as Benkei, you can destroy the crab's armor, and then flip him over. Switching out to Yoshitsune, you can hop up onto the crab, and attack his weak point for, you guessed it, massive damage. It doesn't sound all that intriguing, but since there are a lot of different enemies, you can experiment with different methods of defeating them such as this. I mean, you could just get the thing stuck in an infinite combo of spear stabbings, or employ the flipping method. That's what makes the game so fun. It's not just random killing.

Another thing that I should mention is the camera. While many people seem to hate it, once you get used to the game's angles, it will effectively add to the experience. They pull you close into the action, allowing you to feel as if you're actually slaughtering those enemies. From another standpoint, the camera disallows you from seeing what you really want to, and causes you to die. But, really… With a mini-map showing positions of you and the enemy in the corner at all times, you shouldn't be able to get that confused as to where everyone is. It'll take getting used to, but once you adapt to it, I can almost guarantee you that it'll add to the game. So, I'll be fair, and take off some points for the camera. I have to admit that it may cause you problems.

Story (7.5/10):
Though not terribly gripping, you'll probably find yourself playing to find out what happens next at least once. If you played through the first game, there are some things in this game that you may recognize from the first, and I think, anyway, that it expands the concept of the games having their own world in which the story takes place, rather than two completely unrelated areas and points in time. I can't really say much more about the story without spoiling it, so you will just have to play to find out for yourself.

Online (?/10):
While there's no real online play to speak of, there are downloads. At the moment, you can get a costume pack for your characters, but you never know what new things may come. It's still worth mentioning, though.

Buy or rent? Definitely buy. If you've got a PlayStation 3 or you were an owner of the original, be sure to pick it up. It's also a must-have for the fan of the action RPG genre.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/22/07