Afro Samurai for Xbox 360 Reviews by Gamers

I was at first impressed with the cell-shaded graphics and excellent voice acting (Sam Jackson's profanity-laced diatribes are hilarious) that transfer the themes and story of the Anime cult hit superbly. However, I soon grew tired of dispatching wave after wave of carbon-copied enemies interspersed with mini and main boss battles. Admittedly, the combat engine is awesome- never have I had the degree of control over a blade in a videogame, providing moments of sheer (shear?) elation as I sliced and diced my foes at every conceivable angle (Top of someone's head? Check. Both legs at the femur? Check. How about cleaving someone in two from head to groin? Double check). A tedium set in as I navigated the game's storyline, impressed as I was with the production design and style. Success against the increasingly difficult boss battles requires a very narrow skill set, limiting the choices the player has in order to beat a particular foe. When a game devolves into robotic button mashing, I check out (I had similar issues with Street Fighter 4). Definitely worth a look, there's fun to be had, but I think the next game in the series would benefit from more gameplay variety, perhaps in the form of upgradeable weapons and skills. Add a .5 to my rating for the combat system though- it is gloriously violent...

nuff said.

for those of you who dont have cable tv....(?) afro samurai was a 5 episode anime on Spike TV starring samuel l jackson as an...afro-ed samurai. the show was great. over the top action, hip hop style, and language foul enough to curdle milk. the game of the same title has the same attributes. so lets look at the pros and cons.
PROS:
1. graphics.i really like them.cell shaded, and the characters don't look goofy in 3d.
2.the gameplay.simple button mashing. easy to pic up, easy to perform brutal attacks.
3.a cool new game engine that allows u to slice and dice enemys accurately.clothing tears,meat shows,blood sprays,and the part you cut is the part that splits.
4.all the original actors for the voices.feels like the show.just great.
CONS:
1. sadly, more than id like there to be. first off...the gameplay.id really expect more from a game that's supposed to be INSANLY over the top. it isnt.sure,you can hack and slash through countless enemys,you can even use bullet time to slow things down and slice em in half...but it feels sluggish and slow.you can wall run...but only in certain spots...you can move crazy fast to kill loads of enemys...but only if you wait for EVER.idk,i just wish that the gameplay had stuck to the true nature of the show.i know they COULD have done it...but they DIDNT.
2.the language.yeah...sam jackson IS KNOWN for his EM EFFS...but there werent even this many in the show.if you dont want you kids asking uncomfortable questions...dont play this game around them.seriously.
3.innacuracy.never have i seen a game that was so unfaithful to the story it is based off of.SURE it has the BASIC story line...but they change EVERYTHING for the sake of extending the game length...and that will ruin it for the fan boys.

in the end...this is a good game, especially if you want to just kill something. but it isn't good ENOUGH. it just ends up feeling LAST GEN.

but rent it. an 8/10.

this review brought to you by pucheo on youtube.

This game is pretty amazing, Good combat system, great visuals, and... how can you beat a Samuel L Jackson voice over?

Now for the problems...

- if you have no prior knowledge of the series this game seems to be all over the place and it may seem as if you are just doing meaningless task.
- they are a couple of spots that are not exactly clear, parts that will have you searching the internet for the scarce walk through.
- THE FREAKIN Camera....

Overall a great game, but make sure you seen the show.

I love Samuel L. Jackson. I love hack-and-slash games with lots of blood, and a good comic relief.

Unfortunately, that is all this game really has to offer. The camera angles remind me of SEGA and there bad Sonic games, while the uneven combat can leave you wondering whether you're playing on too easy and too hard, at times. The fighting is inconsistent, and it seems like alot of the enemies are programmed to block all the time.

The storyline itself is decent, but if Surge is going to make us a play through a game with a storyline most fans already know, then, well, they should put a little more time into the rest of the game.

For gamers who don't know the story, I suggest watching the animated mini-series first, otherwise you'll get confused when the game assumes you HAVE seen the show, and leaves certain points out, leaving some people saying "Huh?"

All in all, if you don't mind a terrible camera, and repeating a few fights over and over (and over and over....), then the game offers a...unique... story.

We can only hope if there is some sequel in the future, that they put a little more effort into a game, and then work out the things that clearly frustrate the consumer.

This game looks great, the art style and and fighting system is pretty good too; which is weird because normally if the fighting system is no good then the over all control of the game is no good, but that is not the case here. The camera and overall control scheme when trying to jump was just way off. I seriously keep playing this game for more then an hour just because of the art and cut scenes and how they were presented; but in the end the camera and overall clunky control when not fighting made me return this game as quickly as possible.

i play a lot of games ad own most of them. this game is extremely bad. it is not even worth the time to play to get the achievements. i played the prelude and then stopped during the first level. my hands cramped up because i was just pushing x and y the entire time.

this game has some of the worst controls and cameras i have ever seen. the art work was great and so was samuel l jackson but the rest was total garbage good luck with the brother 6 battle. what with the controls and camera you cant get afro to do anything u want him to do

I was very dissapointed in this game. I had alot of high hopes. The Combat system is pretty good. Lots of blood and body parts flying around. The voice acting is pretty good, you can't beat Sam L. The worst part about this game is the camera. It is Horrible beyond any other game I have played in recent history. Enemys are very repetitive. They throw puzzle challenges in that a five year old could handle but are complicated just from poor controls. Im not saying you should not rent it, But dont bump something else of your Q to get it faster and dont get to excited.

This is an amazing game! I won't ruin it by telling you every thing. It is great for so many reasons I couldn't possibly fit them all in the space available. If you like Devil May cry, Onimusha, or Ninja gaiden you will love this.

Not for little ears though. This is the first game I've seen that adapted the source material so well. Nuf said get this one NOW.

I went into this game coming off of X-Men Origins: Wolverine expecting a similar hack and slash experience. Boy was I wrong. The combo system is weak and after 25 min each button mashed battle is too repetitive to continue. Yes, there are nekkids, adult language and afros, but all-in-all this is a boring game. Maybe becuase I am not familar with the anime I could not be pulled into the story line, but I grew out of Sam Jackson's schtick a long time ago. Definately put this game further down your Q.

This maybe the worse button masher i have ever played! The only thing good about is was the anime graphics.They game play is annoying and repeative. The only thing u do on most of the boss fight is counterstrike and have the time it doesnt work.I would tell everyone to stay away from this game

cheaply put together, if you never saw the show you would have no idea whats going on. but it was funny and the controls and graphics were good. but this game was only OK when it could have been great.

Afro Samurai is one of those games that when you play it for the first time your totally blown away, but as you continue to play it you begin to get bored by repetition. If i rated this game on game play i would give it a 7 but because the game is so beautiful i had to bump it up to an 8 and believe me this is one attractive looking game and to hear Samuel l Jackson drop some f bombs is worth an 8 by itself. this game will remind a lot of people of ninja gaiden, there's a ton of bloody dismemberments were limbs and appendages are flying left and right. just like in ninja gaiden what brings the action to an halt is the in game camera, their will be a lot of times where your going to face multiple enemies at a time once and since there is no auto targeting system, you really are dependent on the camera. unfortunately when your in massive battles you find yourself having to adjust the camera quite often. all that being said this is a very very fun game with a ton of combo moves, great graphics and nice music its the game version of chronicles of riddick movies. its not perfect but you cant help but like it, even tho i guess the game version of the chronicles of riddick would be the chronicles of riddick....but ya'll know what i'm trying to say.

This game has good music, and everything else sucks.

This is like ninja gaiden if it was born stupid. First of all the camera is so bad its gonna give me seizures. Half the time you cant even see what is attacking you. But maybe its better that way so you dont have to see this pile of a game.

Its just a hack and slash but the problem is you have to slash em 40 times before they die. the reason is they want you to use combos to kill an enemy quick. The problem with that is that its near impossible to hit x x x y y y x x x hold x in the right timing and order. Most of the time you will get hit since there are always 10 enemies there and then it cancels the combo. The only way to realistically finish the later levels is to retry 5-10 times until you do it perfectly.

The game designers obviously dont know what fun is. This should be called Trial and Error Samurai. Oh yea and autosave spots can be far in between, so have fun killing 40 guys then die and have to watch the 2 minute cutscene just to try again. Im not even going to waste a paragraph on the hard boss battles, some will cause domestic abuse.

If youve ever wanted to throw your controller through your tv, this will make you want to again. Dont say I didnt warn you, and if I were you id save myself the anger.

OK, I played this game for 30 minutes, the camera sucks. you can't invert the L -R movement of the camera, and the only option you do have for the camera is default or invert. I have tried both, I have no idea what the option does but I haven't noticed a change in anything. It's a cool looking game with very little in the way of options, such as saving and control options. Seriously, did they make a conscious effort to make this a miserable experience for gamers!

Do not waste your time with this title until the next version if any, great way to kill a title.

This game has a horrible story line, bad narrating and even worse gameplay. the worst of everything is the map that is so unclear where to go you have to push down on the Dpad so much and you have to hear samuel l jacksons vioce all the time.. do not rent.. especially since it isnt worth the 5 day wait in the mail

The camera angle just moves all around and makes fighting impossible. If it wasn't for the terrible camera angles the game would be decent.

Afro Samurai is a strong story adventure that mixes anime and hack and slash elements for a wonderful gaming experience. The mixture of combo moves along with detailed dismemberment of enemy bodies adds to the fun and definitely increases enjoyment.

Gameplay:
The gameplay in Afro Samurai is that of any hack and slash video game. There are plenty of combo moves to keep you entertained for hours and plenty of enemies to kill for hours. The first thing I noticed about the gameplay was that it was highly motivating and easy to sink your teeth in to. The ability to jump right into the game and learn the basic skills needed to survive within the first level made me want more. The only negative part of the game I found during gameplay was the camera. The camera is very easy to control but provides a very limited view.

The camera follows behind your character in a third person view. You can rotate the camera 360 degrees around Afro and see your surroundings. The only part that bothered me with the camera was that enemies would be off screen when near a wall or obstruction and you could not see them approach.

Graphics:
The graphics in this game are some of the most beautiful graphics I have seen in recent games. The color schemes are amazing and the areas are very detailed. Combining buildings, mountains, and forest; I was never anything more but amazed with the way everything looked on my screen. Not only are the graphics wonderful, but they also are very artistic. I did not feel like I was playing a cartoon nor did I feel like I was in real life. The artistic offset of the graphics is a great touch to this game.

Audio:
The Hip Hop soundtrack that plays during Afro Samurai is a great addition to the game. Having never watched Afro Samurai in the passed I was very pleased with the music. If you are not a Hip Hop fan, don't worry the music goes directly with the action in the game making you feel more alive and pumped to kill some bad guys.

Controls:
There is not much I

I hate to say this about a show I really enjoy but the game was garbage. I mean it looked good, but the game play will make you just quit. It's basically button mashing with the same moves over and over again. The worst part of it, you have no options! I mean you can't even change the controller configuration. The camera movement is horrible, Everything is opposite with a normal flow of a game. And there are hardly any people throughout the game it's so lonely. You have to make these stupid jumps that are so hard because of the camera views and angles you can't control. I gave this game a 1 and it didn't deserve that.

Put as simply as possible: this game takes no skill what so ever. Simple game play characteristics leave you wanting more and wondering why the potential of this game was not in full focus at any time during its creation. The sad fact of it is, the sequel could be great, if only the prequel were better.

Ok so Afro Samurai was a mix between awesome slice and dice, and very mediocre platform jumping. I played through the main story twice [first on normal then on hard] and I have to say I was surprised that slicing enemies in half didn't loose its entertainment value. I don't think I could ever get tired of running into a large group of enemies and continuing to slice multiple enemies up at the same time in slow-mo.

The control of the slice angle could have been done a LITTLE bit better, but none the less it was enjoyable that you did have any sort of control over it. Sadly the same can not be said about the platform aspect they chose to go with. It is not a very intuitive system and you will notice a bunch of times while playing it that nothing really feels that smooth or "correct". Plenty of frustration will ensue when you try to do a lot of the maneuvers to progress in the level, and yes, it gets old.

The story progresses similar to that of the movie [or series] with a few subtle differences. The random commentary from Samuel L. Jackson as Ninja Ninja was actually pretty funny at times.

Over all I have to say this was a pretty fun game to play, and I would recommend playing through it at least once. Although the game can become quite repetitive and a little tedious at times, linking visually pleasing combos and slicing up those bad guys as Afro is incredibly satisfying. Definitely rent it.

Another shinny example of a game that is so close to being a Must Play...Yet so far because the camera game me seizers!! No invert...seriously?!?!

BE REWARDED

Samuel L Jackson..nuff said
Think Prince of Persia...only BADASS!!
Cutting off hands and feet and fingers..always fun
Great combos
If your twisted...you'll love the story
Beautiful to look at!!
Blood.....Blood..and more Blood

BE WARNED

Camera angle=frustration
No invert... 2009 people..get it right!!
If your squimish....STAY AWAY!!

Overall the gameplay is a tad bit repetitive, and the boss battles are down right bad...but the story and humor make up for that....Nothing makes up for the HORRIBLE camera...If you like ultra violence rent..do not buy this game

This game has absolutly nothing good about this game the only thing that i liked was the voice acting from Samuel L. Jackson and Body-Part Pocker. Other than that there was nothing else so speaking from my point of veiw this game isn't even worth renting.

As a fan of the series i really wanted to like this game. At first the game seemed to have much potential. The art design is unique, interesting and true to the source material. Even the combat system seems satisfying at first. However, as the game lingers on the problems really begin to show. I'm not going to complain about the gameplay being repetitive because it's supposed to be repetitive...,it's a hack and slasher. I'm sure many people will enjoy the combat but for me it's to clunky and one dimensional. There is a combo system to give the appearance of depth and customization but you will most likely end up executing the same two combos throughout the entire game. There is a focus mode that allows you to charge your attacks for a devastating blow that usually ends with the enemies being decapitated. These focus attacks will always be used at the end of a combo strain to cut through blocking enemies. The first few times you slice an enemy in half you do feel very rewarded but considering that you will be doing the same two or three combos the entire time much of the thrill is lost early. Also, without the feature of a lock-on system you will simply be slashing in the general direction of enemies.

Perhaps the most annoying aspect of this game are the level designs. Certain levels are made longer than needed for the simple reason to add cutscenes. CUTSCENES THAT CAN NEVER BE SKIPPED. That is an automatic -2 points for me. While navigating through the levels you will sometimes be prompted to do platforming actions. These actions are unnecessary and come off as an after thought. This is made all the more apparent when you make it to one of the later stages that is well known for being glitchy. Some walls and platforms will simply be missing. Yes, this game also gets a -4 points for having one of the worst stages ive ever played...,The Empty Seven.

Afro Samurai comes off as a game that feels as though it should have been offered as an arcade title.