It's foul mouthed, violent and bloody, but is it good?
Afro Samurai is a tale of the Number Two ninja, who while the not most pleasant person in the world, is on a quest to avenge his father's death. In order for him to do this he must face up to the Number One and in doing so he will then take hold of the sacred headband and become the Number One himself. Unfortunately since the Number Two is the only person who can challenge the top dog, everyone is out to get him, therefore Afro's blade does get quite bloody as he sets out on his quest.
Now there is no doubt that the above is probably quite confusing, in fact I am confused right now thinking about it. Unfortunately the game, despite its wonderful looks, doesn't really help matters when it comes to explaining what's going on, therefore the story usually just takes a back seat to the action, which I suppose is no bad thing given the nature of the game but it does however leave you scratching your head a bit.
At the beginning of the game you are thrown directly into the action and what action it is, armed with your trusty Katana you will find yourself slicing through enemies with ease, painting the ground red with your opponent's blood again and again and you guessed it…again. Unfortunately the game is a bit like this for however long you play, sure it's fun cutting people up to an extent, but to be honest after a while it does get a bit boring.
Now to help you cut through the hordes of enemies that you will encounter you are gifted with a few special abilities such as focus, which is activated by putting together a string of combos. The focus allows you to cut through enemies with ease, however there is a problem in that it is very difficult to know when your focus is ready to use. The game tells you that when focus is ready, the beads hanging from you character will glow, however I found myself thinking the beads where glowing only to press the focus button for nothing to happen. Maybe it was just my eyes playing tricks on me, but the beads do seem to glow all the time. Personally I think that the game would have been helped more by some sort of on screen marker, showing more clearly when the focus was ready to use.
Unfortunately the boss fights don't really improve things in respect of perspective, as you still do not get a real sense of how well you are doing, there are no markers to tell you if you have nearly killed the boss instead only the occasional break in the action for a cut scene.
Afro also has the ability to level up during the game, although thanks to the lack of any information on the screen this just feels like a random event when it happens, so you never really get the sense of achievement you normally would. Levelling up does offer some benefits though, such as providing you with new moves and the ability to focus for a greater period of time.
The camera is probably the games worst culprit as far as flaws are concerned, it never seems to go in the direction you want it too and therefore you are constantly trying to correct this which is a great shame really. It perhaps would have been better if there was an option to control the camera a little better, but c'est la vie.
Now this may all sound a bit negative, but Afro Samurai certainly has its good points, for one despite the action being a bit repetitive it is a whole lot of gory, beautifully animated fun. The graphics shine in this title, it really is like playing a part in one of the more wonderfully constructed animations you have ever seen. The scenery is colourful and beautifully drawn and the characters movement is a joy to behold.
Another positive to the game is that it stars none other than Samuel L Jackson, and a rather fouled mouthed one at that. During the game one of Jacksons two roles is to play your side kick, who is basically there to swear at you and say the line that will soon become immortal "I'm not your f**** GPS", when you are lost. Jackson's performance is of course of the quality you would expect from such a huge actor, although his lines are hardly a challenge for him I'd imagine.
The sound is also another positive aspect of the game, rather than the usual ninja-esqe music you would expect in a game such as this, we are instead treated to a mixture of HipHop and Japanese style music and chants, it's pretty impressive stuff and surprisingly fits in with the overall feel of the game.
Afro Samurai is an enjoyable, if not deeply flawed game. The action can get very repetitive and the camera very frustrating, however if you enjoy beautifully animated, blood spilling action then you won't go wrong with this title.
8.0
Story
Become the number one by fighting your way through all those out to get you.
7.0
Lastability
Should last you a good few hours, especially with the frustrating controls.
6.8
Playability
Enjoyable but at the same time very frustrating.
7.2
Originality
There are not many games like this in the PS3.
8.5
Graphics
One of the most wondefully animated games you will see.
8.0
Sound
The sounds fit the game extremely well and are pretty good too.
6.5
Overall
Afro Samurai will certainly not appeal to all due to it's many flaws, however it is still a fun, if not a little tedious game to play.