Kengo: Legend of the 9

"Kengo: Legend Of The 9 is an acquired taste, but it tastes good."

Kengo: Legend Of The 9 is a samurai sword fighting sim that follows the story of 9 seperate samurai from japanese history.

The meat of Kengo is in the Main Story mode, where you pick one of 9 samurai, and play through several stages of the game before reaching the final conclusion.

Each character has a unique storyline, however for some, the stories may not be the strongest point of the game, although good nonetheless.

However one of the best parts of the single player game is character customization, looks of your character are not customizable, save for some masks that are gained from Xbox Live, but you can customize your move sets to your liking and build up more and more combos from gaining experience through completing stages.

There are several other play modes in Kengo, ranging from one on one, xbox live play, mission mode, to solo contests. Each of these modes adds on to the replayability of the game, making it a good all around game.

The Xbox Live play may be lacking for some people, considering that the matches are fought by AI instead of interactively, it could be better compared to watching your favorite sport on television, and rooting for your favorite team.

The graphics of Kengo are obviously not pushing any technical limits of the Xbox 360, however the game does look pretty good, and sound is good too (other than the fact that the footstep sounds are strangely loud O_o) especially for a game that is only $40.

There is also quite a bit of replay value, 3 difficulties, online play, and local play will keep you entertained for quite a while. The Xbox Live portion is based on a skill ranking system, you level up by winning matches, however the way your character fights the match is by the traits gained during single player, so the more you play the game and the better you get, the better your characters will start being, and the better chance you'll have to rank up quicker.

In conclusion, Kengo is a good game, however not a game for everyone.
If you're not sure about the game, rent it first, but for fans of this style of game, it's a definite buy.

For those wanting a review score on a 5 point system, a 7.5 would be my score, however I have rounded it up for a 10 point scale.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 09/20/07

Game Release: Kengo: Legend of the 9 (US, 09/11/07)