Hardcore fans will feel right at home. Newcomers....not so much
The graphics were shocking to say the least. Characters didn't look much better than they did in the previous games. If you were to put this game next to it's predecessor you would barely notice the difference. Characters show little to no expression, the town's folk seem to all be twins again and they didn't even try to make the mouths match what they were saying.
The music and sound effects of the game were both average. Nothing really special but nothing really bad to complain about. The voice acting was ok, but they didn't seem to get into their role very well. The only memorable thing was the sound of crows picking at dead bodies. It was so brutal sounding that I found myself laughing every time I visited the area.
Combat has been tweaked since the last game. Battles are much faster paced now and can be overwhelming on the first couple of playthroughs. Instant kills have been redesigned as well. To perform an instant kill you have to press the parry button the exact instant an attack hits you and then press a certain button within a few seconds to perform the move. This sounds difficult, but it turns out that mashing the button frantically works just as well.
They've adapted a leveling system for the weapons opposed to randomly learning extra skills. This makes learning moves more straight forward. On that note, a good majority of the skills you learn have been ripped directly from the previous game. Some new weapons have new skills, but I was disappointed to see so many copies of old moves.
Way of the Samurai 3 will please fans of the series, but if you're new, you may find things a little odd. The game can be beat in a couple of hours and has around 20 different endings to keep you coming back for more, but reliving the same days and running the same errands every time might prove tiresome. If you love samurais and love repetition, this is the game for you. If you're looking for the next great title you may want to continue searching.