Genji: Dawn of the Samurai
- July 20, 2005 17:47 PM PST
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The all too familiar Samurai hack n slash genre never seems to die away.
The all too familiar Samurai hack n slash genre never seems to die away. But will Sonys entry into the bladed club continue to slice up the demand or cut away the excitement?
Where There Is Evil, There Is Good
The story of Genji isnt just made up. Dawn of the Samurai is based on the 11th century Japanese book, Tale of Genji, a tale that weaves together the heroics of one samurai and mythical lore into an epic adventure that is widely regarded as a masterpiece.
Like in the book, overcoming evil is the basic premise in the game. Its feudal Japan and the Heishi, an evil Samurai clan, with the help of magical stones, has overpowered the land with relentless brutality. The tyrannical clan, however, is in for a major clash as a descendant from the Genji clan, Yoshitune, is focused on one thing: ridding the land of its oppressors, which include Heishi denizens and mythical demons.
You Look Familiar
Like most samurai, Yoshitune wields a large shiny sword. Sony is touting that every swing of Yoshitunes blade was motion-captured to reflect authentic swordplay. Whether accurate or not, the blade still must be effective, especially when you must guide the noble warrior through 30 missions of creature carving. Youll also be able to upgrade Yoshitune with other deadly weapons, armor, and magical powers throughout his journey.
So far, Dawn of the Samurai conspicuously looks and moves very much like another virtual samuraiOnimusha. In fact, the lead producer came from the original Onimusha team. Still, its too early to tell whether Genji is indeed an Onimusha rip-off or an Onimusha-inspired adventure. Lets hope the latter, especially if the next Onimusha is scheduled for release at around the same time.
