Genji: Days of the Blade (PS3) Review
Posted by Andrew Mellick on 12.18.2006
Days of the Blade is a sequel that is steeped in Japanese history and tradition. But can a history lesson and pretty graphics equal a good game? Read on to find out.
Here’s the story; taking place in about the 12th century with the Heishi clan, seemingly vanquished at the end of Dawn of the Samurai (previous game), returning.
However, this time they come with a mighty military force all thanks to unholy magic (it’s always that unholy magic isn’t it?). This magic turns their many warriors into monstrous demons.
Back again are Yoshitsune and his buddy Benkei, only this time they have gained a two mighty warriors as allies; priestess Shizuka and mystery soldier Buson. Together the four of you must vanquish the armies of Heishi in order to bring peace and order back to Japan.
Graphics
If anything about this game is next gen, it’s the graphics. Very crisp and clean with excellent use of shadow, it really does create the aura of being a warrior in some Far East land. Not only is the landscape depicted beautifully but the movement of your fighter is quite stunning. The actions are fluid and smooth. You can see the slight distortion in the air as you swing your sword, sending your enemies flying. You can watch the dust fly up as you run over rooftops in the moonlit evening. It is quite breathe taking.
Overall, Genji’s graphics are quite impressive. I particularly enjoyed the cutscenes. The facial features and movements are stunningly realistic and the scenes carry an artistic flavor that you would expect in Japanese folk lore.
The only thing I was not impressed with was the enemies. They are very stoic, moving more like lumbering machines than fierce demonic warriors. Causing all of your fluid movements to look very unbalanced in comparison to your enemies, who move around like robots in some cheesy seventies movie.
Gameplay
Well, after all the beauty of the opening sequence, the game begins and this is where the wheels fall off for Genji.
The first thing you’ll notice is the camera. This being a third person game it sits about ten feet behind you. However, that is where it stays. You can not rotate it in any way, so if there is a door on the left you need to get into; you have to use your mini map to aim your guy at the little opening. It’s extremely frustrating and ridiculous considering camera problems are nothing new to third person games. You would think that by the next generation, this would be dead and gone. Sadly, it is not.
The other glaring problem with the camera is its placement. Rather than the over the shoulder view utilized in most third person titles, Genji decided to try an “under the knee” approach. It feels like somebody taped the camera to a guys shoe and told him to run behind your character.
As far as the actual gameplay goes, it doesn’t get much better. Seeing as this is an action title you’ll find most of your time in combat. Normally that isn’t a bad thing; however, the sheer frustration of trying to execute a complete move without your foe moving and you continuing to swipe at the air is enough to make you go medieval on your sixaxis.
The major issue is that there is no lock on ability when going after a specific enemy. So if you attack someone on your left, you WILL finish your combo going left, no stopping or changing direction.
I commend Genji for varying up the action by allowing you to play as all of the four characters at one point or another throughout the game. Unfortunately, each character is more frustrating than the last due to the inability to lock on to targets and the horrific camera angles.
Sound
The sound is serviceable. The music is mostly orchestral with sweeping highs and lows to keep with the era of the game. The voice acting is for the most part well done. Some lines come off as a bit cheesy but overall it is passionate and well delivered.
What could have improved this game? It would have helped if there was a central orchestral piece to tie the game together. A continuous underlying score can do wonders to help tell a story. Also, the sound effects really could be beefed up. The clanging of swords and the shuffling of dirt as warriors do battle. These things are what turn a game into an experience.
Lasting Appeal
Normally in this section I would include a little coverage of the game's online capabilities in hopes to perhaps salvage a decent review. Unfortunately I cannot do that here, because Genji has no online play whatsoever.
So what are we left with? What possible lasting appeal could be in this game? I'll tell you...
None, there is no lasting appeal whatsoever. What is frustrating about this game is that it’s not just a bad game. It’s a game that could have been great but instead was terrible. Between shoddy camera angles, glitch filled puzzles, and horrible combat, it will take all the will power in you to go through it once.
Fun Factor
This game is a sequel to a game that was actually pretty decent albeit short. Apparently the developers threw that model out the window for a more "make it look good and damn the gameplay" type of model.
The bottom line is this game just isn’t fun. It’s extremely pretty, with a deep story and good use of Japanese tradition. However, the game itself is very bad. Genji is that girl you know, the one who is incredibly hot. Whenever your friends meet her they want to know the story about her. You just chuckle and say, yeah she looks good but you don’t want to have anything to do with that, she is crazy.
The 411
There are just far too many problems in this game to make it any good. Seeing as this is a sequel; you would think developers would know what they are doing. But apparently not as Genji falls flat on its face.
My recommendation would be to not waste the time or money, don't even rent it.
Graphics
9.0
A beautiful depiction of 12th century Japan.
Gameplay
4.0
A poor camera system, glitch filled puzzles, and the inability to lock on make this game more trouble than it is worth.
Sound
7.0
The music fits with the game nicely and the voice acting does well to tell the story.
Lasting Appeal
2.5
There is really no reason to play through this game unless you like pain.
Fun Factor
3.0
This game should have been great, but lazy programming and lack of imagination make it just another crappy launch release.
