Afro Samurai

"All the F-bombs and stylish blood geysers in the world can't save this brawler from its inept core design."

It's not been a good year for me reviewing beat 'em ups on my Xbox 360. Most of what I've played didn't amount to much more than average, and several titles have been below even that. I had hope for Afro Samurai after witnessing a few videos on youtube showcasing the fountains of arterial mist and featuring Samuel L. Jackson's profane rants, but as this review will spell out - that hope was reduce into another glum weekend of mediocre brawling.

Storyline ?/10

From what I gathered (not being a fan of the anime) the story revolves around the title character avenging the death of his father. The "No. 1" headband is a mythical accessory that renders its wearer invincible against any opponent except whoever has the "No. 2" headband. Afro Samurai's father was a "No. 2" at one point, but was killed by the aforementioned "No. 1" and now he must regain the "No. 2" headband and eventually defeat his pop's murderer. I lost interest in the game around chapter 5, so I don't really have enough background to fully judge its merits or lack thereof. Most of the dialogue was Samuel L. Jackson cussin' anyhow, so take that at face value.

Graphics 8/10

The visuals of Afro Samurai are probably the game's feature - featuring a series of smooth Japanese-airbrush cel-shaded style set of characters. The models are more detailed than most cel-shaded games I have played, featuring the protagonist's hair constantly billowing in the breeze and the streaks of blood pulsating as they spread out in slow-motion. The actual environments aren't as impressive though, and were clearly drawn with whatever money was left over from rendering hero and his various associates so well. The camera angle can also be an extreme pain, especially against the flame-thrower wielding boss. Also, what moron decided (yet again) that it's kosher to have 15-20 second unskippable cut-scenes at an area you may be frequently dying at?

Sound 6/10

It's been about a month since I played Afro Samurai, and the only thing I really remember from the audio department was Samuel L. Jackson's colorful language. Sam does a decent enough job delivering his lines, although it eventually creeps into generic banter territory after a few levels, and this is coming from a guy who can barely formulate a sentence without using an adjective for fornication in it. Nothing else really stood out in this area of the review so I can moving forward.

Control 6/10

The concept of a slow-motion, precision aiming technique to execute specialized attacks works great in writing. The problem is that the blade is largely inaccurate for anything besides basic horizontal slashes and the recharge between each of this attempts is too long to keep up the action and too frustrating to unlock the advanced achievements. While the battles against cannon fodder are done relatively well, the degree of tactics you're likely reduced to using in boss fights is a lot of button mashing and a little luck.

Game-play 5/10

Once again someone at the developers' tables decided that it was a good idea to mix two different genres (namely brawling and platforming) into the Afro Samurai game design. I hate this combination with a passion, and I'm not sure what anyone would get out of having to stop tearing enemies apart to perform some task that amounts to "exploring" insipid level designs for some obscured artifact or leaping/climb from rock mounds. Even if the combat portion of Afro Samurai was flawless (which it sure isn't), having to wander are levels for 40 minutes figuring out how to overcome obstacles and hunt down mementos just plain sucks. The first few levels aren't so bad, but back the time you have to follow some mysterious female character around a confusing forest - you'll have had all your patience worn down and nothing all that amazing to look forward to. Back to the combat engine, while the basic encounters are somewhat entertaining - you'll come into contact with things like "Ninja Poker" - which emphasizes how poorly fashioned the slow-mo precision aiming is and deprive you of achievements when you can't cut off the correct combination of heads and limb within the time limit.

Replay value 2/10

You're forced to beat the game twice to get a full 1000/1000 Gamerscore, and the collectible items spread throughout the levels may be an incentive for some die-hard fans to replay the game further. I couldn't cope with just a single run-through, and from the ratings here on Gamefaqs - my opinion on this issue is largely shared.

Overall 5/10

While I appreciate the developers putting effort into getting a nice visual interface with this game and pulling in the legitimate voice talent - they failed at one of the core components - having an enjoyable beat 'em up experience. Afro Samurai fans will probably ignore my review and buy the game regardless - but I must warn everyone else that this is "rental-only" material at best.

Reviewer's Score: 5/10, Originally Posted: 04/10/09

Game Release: Afro Samurai (US, 01/27/09)