Almost a game worth every penny, however, falls slightly short of greatness.
1. Graphics - This is by far the greatest aspect that this game is lacking. As you play you feel like you are back on your PS2 dealing with decent shading and textures but nothing great. Its almost like they didn't want to take advantage of the new generation graphic engines and instead use that disk space for something else which would of been great. However, they did not use it for anything it seems. Sure there are tons of swords but you think that they could of taken away just a few to at least smooth out textures a bit or create a better background.
2. Sound - You can say that this is alright. There's nothing amazing going on here but nothing bad. It does get a little annoying at times but the sound during sword fighting is spot on.
3. Items - This is the best part of the game. From swords to healing items this game is great for it. There are so many swords that after hours and hours of playing you will still be coming across swords you have never seen and so many of them have a wide variety of stats that you will always be swapping them in and out. Also the create a sword feature is amazing. It allows for you to really get into the mind of a samurai and build weapons according to your style.
4. Story (stories) - This game has tons of replay value with all the different endings. I still have not completed a lot of them but how could I I've only been playing for like 17 hours.
The bottom line is the game is a decent one. Maybe not game of the year or even a runner up but it does deserve some acknowledgment. Pick it up and you might be pleasantly surprised, however, I would suggest renting first if available.