And so last week I talked about Afro Samurai, a game that managed to cause Target to clearance it out. This reality doesn't mean that the game is likely bad. I assume they do this because Target can only carry 12 games per system, and need to make room for Call of Duty 8: Modern Vintage Warfare: Call of Duty Edition.
As I've noted, Afro is based on the "hit" anime series featuring a foul-mouthed Samuel L. Jackson that's about how violent shit gets. Basically, the titular Afro owns the Number 2 headband, and seeks vengeance from Justice, the ugly-ass Freddy Krueger (voiced by a silly Ron Perlman) that killed Afro's daddy and took the Number One headband. Legend tells that only the Number Two can challenge the Number One, whereas anyone under the sun can challange the Number Two. The game itself borrows much from this, so the story left little to surprise. Unfortunately, the story of Afro is trite and simple, and other than the semi-interesting premise, both game and anime is essentially Afro running through various gaunlets to get to Justice. These include some old taper-headed men that prattle evangelistic nonsense, a childhood chum with a robot teddy bear head, and an infinite number of generic whosits.
Afro's combat style mimics the newer Ninja Gaidens, and as one progresses through the game Afro levels up, unlocking combo chains and more resistance to damage. Holding the LT button puts Afro in "Focus Mode," where he can perform 1-hit kills called Perfect Slices. This is the general key to getting through the game, as enemies are plentiful and annoying. Ninjas will avoid these attacks by ducking, jumping, or sliding off to the side, so hitting them with a Focus attack is based on dumb luck. The only joy derived from these persistant battles is the occasional cry of "Motherfucker!" as Afro hacks them to pieces.
Boss fights are a pain in their own league, as many are combined with combat puzzles that are explained only by word and not by example. Not that I need coddling in my combat games, but it would be nice to know a move as practical as throwing or deflecting bullets with my sword. I cannot count the number of times I've had to retry boss fights because I had to take apart these fights and figure out the one thing I'm fucking up. For example, one fight had me slicing incoming rockets with a Focus attack - but it has to be a vertical slice, NOT a horizontal slice, otherwise Afro goes boom. This took about six turns to figure out. Another fight involved bullets, and those were deflected with hortizontal Focus slices, not vertical. Duh-huh.
Yet those fights, in retrospect, were simple compared to the balls-out sword battles I had with rocket launcher man and teddy bear face. Whenever faced with a straight-on combat boss fight, it's still a matter of dumb luck. The game has no hub system, so the only way to tell how much health Afro has is how red he gets and how tunneled the audio becomes. Random teddy bears littering the levels restore health, but it also appears that Afro regains health by either killing opponents or kicking ass. Again, this is never explained, but would make sense in battles like the one against teddy bear face. This is a whole level where he shows up every three minutes to fight and cry. What made this boss fight an hour-long fiasco was his constant blocking. And just when it looked bleak and I was about to die, I'd get in a combo chain and suddenly I was no longer red. So I don't know. And sometimes, I think the game doesn't either.
What hindered these fights was the god-awful camera system, which was inverted only in the left-right control, but NOT the up-down. This led to many, many fuckups because I couldn't waggle the camera in the right direction.
While the game is deep with problems, it's slightly aided by having novel aspects to it. Characters are constantly cussing, particularly the Jiminy Cricket-esque Ninja Ninja (also voiced by Jackson), who acts as narrator and nagging subconscious for our hero. There's also a section early in the game where Afro fights topless, heavily-tattooed pole dancer chicks - these interesting baddies don't show up afterward. Speaking of pretty things, the graphics aren't half bad, with an element of cartoonish shading that made the latest Prince of Persia look so damn good. And most of the music is done by RZA, so while fighting was annoying, whupping ass to bass beats and hip-hop jamborees was at the least different.
Afro is a game that, like many games today, is pretty much only worth less than half the money it's going for. I would only recommend it for those who love heavy combat games like Ninja Gaiden or Devil May Cry and tolerate the half-assed combat and camera. Or just go watch the anime - it's only 2 1/2 hours long and delivers the same thing without all the frustration.
Oh no, I just reviewed something. Damn...
-C.
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