Genji isn't a system-seller, but if you have a PS3 it's a reasonably good purchase.
Genji is a sequel to the PS2's Genji: Dawn of the Samurai, although the game does summarize what happens in the first game allowing newcomers to dive in. In the game you once again play as Yoshi'tsune, who has to defend his clan against others. Although his key rival-the Heishi clan-was defeated at the end of the last game, they're back for more now. Yoshi'tsune gets help from some of his friends along the way. The story in the game is a lot like the typical anime story but it's still entertaining and gives you a reason to hack and slash your way to victory.
The gameplay in Genji is your typical hack and slash game. You're going through the game taking on countless enemies while solving some puzzles along the way. You use the face buttons for attacks and the triggers for blocking, lock-on, and switching weapons. The game does have solid game progression. You can upgrade the weapons that you have, as well as find new weapons. The new weapons add some variety to the combat and help you keep going through the game. The game makes it pretty easy to build enormous combos. Genji's main enemies don't pose a huge threat but the boss fights are tough. Well, not all of them, but a majority of them do.
The game gives you four characters to play with. **** is a good character with quick attacks, Shizuka has a longer range thanks to her grappling hook-esque weapon, Benkei is slower but considerably stronger than the others, and Lord Buson's spear can be used as a good shield. The characters also level up a little through the game. You'll become stronger and have more health. The characters have access to a kamui power during the course of the game which makes them stronger and allows you to take on multiple enemies with some ease. You can't always play as whatever character you want but you can switch between them on the fly if you want. Combined with the stronger and new weapons, it makes the latter parts of the game quite strong.
Sony seems to be pushing the Sixaxis tilt functionality pretty hard since Genji also supports this feature. The feature in Genji is subtle. Moving the controller in different directions lets your character evade in different directions. It doesn't make or break the game, but it's a novel feature and a clever way off showcasing the tilt functionality.
One of Genji's high points is its visuals. The character models are among the most detailed available in any given game and the motion-captured animations really help them move around realistically. The environments share an equally high level of detail. They all look great, there's a lot of stuff going on, and unfortunately this sometimes makes the game skip a beat. Technically, there's a lot of great stuff going on here. The game makes great use of motion blur, depth-of-field, lighting and particle effects. Of course it looks best when played in 720p but the game looks great even when playing in standard definition.
The audio is also very impressive. The sound effects are pretty good although there is nothing too special about them. The voice acting is pretty good in English although I'm unsure if the thick Japanese accents are intentional. The game also has Japanese language voice acting in the game. The soundtrack includes some great-sounding traditional Japanese instruments which fit the game's theme very well.
The gameplay in Genji isn't superb but it's fairly satisfying. It isn't the most memorable game available, but you will have fun for the 10 hours or so that the game lasts. It is also a good showcase for the PS3's graphics. Genji isn't a system-seller, but if you have a PS3 it's a reasonably good purchase.