Afro Samurai Fall-ing onto PS3, 360

This week brought still-unconfirmed news that Samuel L. Jackson's cameo as Nick Fury in the upcoming Iron Man movie has been cut. It also brought definite confirmation that the Oscar-nominated actor has signed onto a new project: Namco Bandai's game based on the animated series Afro Samurai, itself inspired by a 1999 manga from Japanese illustrator Takashi Okazaki.

First announced in 2005, the Afro Samurai game will follow Afro (Jackson), a young samurai and number-two fighter in the world, as he seeks to avenge the murder of his father. As a youth, his father was killed at the hands of Justice, a warrior who cannot die by conventional means. However, this doesn't stop Afro from plying his bloody trade as he chases Justice and his minions across a fantastical reimagining of medieval Japan.

As outlined in GameSpot's brand-new preview, the Afro Samurai game will re-create the look of the highly stylized series and manga. Its graphics will be cel-shaded, and the assuredly M-rated game's violence is appropriately over the top, with plentiful dismemberments and beheadings. The game expands the high drama of its source material by building on the extensive storyline of the series, which ran for only five episodes.

Like the show, Afro Samurai will also feature a hip-hop-influenced soundtrack composed by Wu-Tang Clan alumnus The RZA, who also scored the cult-classic films Kill Bill: Volume 1 and Ghost Dog: Way of the Samurai. It will also sport "an innovative gameplay system where the music affects the enemy AI and the tone of the gameplay."

Afro Samurai is set for release on the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 this fall in North America.