
	Platform PlayStation 2 Genre Action Publisher BAM! Entertainment Developer Acquire ETA Spring 2002
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Way of the Samurai

While ninja have virtually always gotten the spotlight when it comes to action games that take place in the Japan of long ago, samurai still get a bit of attention, albeit rarely. Capcom has the Onimusha games doing their part, and Konami brought out Soul of the Samurai, but these games alone can’t fill the void all by their lonesome. Recently Acquire, the same studio responsible for the first two Tenchu games on the Playstation, released a new samurai-based game in Japan, Way of the Samurai. Now BAM! Entertainment has gained the North American publishing rights and gamers on this side of the Pacific will finally have a new game headed their way that centers on the stoic warrior.

The game takes place in 1878 and Japan is well into the Meiji Restoration period, and with it the decline of the samurai is in full swing. Since their profession is largely frowned upon now, these warriors have to resort to far less ethical means of supporting themselves. In comes our hero, who must figure out how to cope with being samurai in a world that no longer needs him.

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While one of the biggest complaints among some gamers is that there is a severe lack of non-linearity in console games, Way of the Samurai looks like it will go a long ways to buck the trend. You can help the villagers or you can kill them, you can be a force for good or evil, it’s up to you. Conversations will provide multiple responses to help shape what you’ll eventually to do, or not have to do for that matter. It’s quite possible to completely skip over sections of the game depending on how you conduct yourself in it. All of this equates to multiple endings and a good amount of potential replay value as players try the different paths of the game.

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Getting bopped on the head and whatnot over the course of the game will inevitably lead to injury, so finding items to heal up with will become necessary. Way of the Samurai isn’t going to hand them to you on a silver platter like a lot of other action titles do. Instead players will need to hunt them down by chomping on vegetables in farmers' field or take their chances with some of the local varieties of mushroom, which may heal you or may have more adverse affects.

Of course what with the game focusing on samurai, that means there’ll be plenty of opportunities to whip out your sword and face off for some heated melees. What is a little different about this is that your sword will have degrees of durability. The more you use it, the more it wears down making it necessary to pick your battles, hence adding elements of stealth, a feature Acquire has had time to hone with their work on the Tenchu games. Players can remedy this by making a trip down to the blacksmith’s shop and having the ironworker repair it, but it won’t always be practical to go there. Now we need only wait and see whether this winds up being a challenge or an inconvenience, all depending on how well the delivery is in the title.

For those of you who see ninja everywhere you go, be it in games or real life, and are asking yourselves, “Hey! Where are all the samurai?” Well, you’ll have a little something to ease the pain come this spring when the game hits store shelves.

- Mr. Nash

(March 2, 2002)