Afro Samurai - Playstation 3 (PS3), Xbox 360 (360) Previews


	Platform Playstation 3, Xbox 360 Genre Action Publisher Bandai Namco Developer Bandai Namco ETA October 31, 2008
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Afro Samurai

Afro Samurai is one of those games that instantly grabs attention simply because of the disparate words "afro" and "samurai" being in such close proximity to one another. It conjures up all sorts of imagery, none of it really coherent, but it certainly feels cool.

For those not in the know, Afro Samurai is based on the anime/magna of the same name and, like the cartoon on SpikeTV, features the vocals Samuel L.

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Jackson as the titular character as he cuts a swathe of destruction in his attempts to claim the "Number One" headband from the three-armed cowboy named Justice, who just happens to be responsible for killing Afro's father. And to top it off, since Afro Samurai holds the "Number Two" headband any of those ranked below him can

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challenge Afro for his headband, which practically guarantees he'll be defending his title along his path to Revenge and meeting all sorts of whacked out friends and opponents along the way.

Really, just looking at Afro Samurai without knowing any of the background, it seems tailored to the world of video games. It's like a hyper-violent take on Capcom's Viewtiful Joe series, with some light platforming and very sharp cel-shaded graphics throughout, which really make all that bloody dismemberment and swordplay (Namco-Bandai labels it "elegant violence") look really cool, even in this relatively early stage.

An aspect of the game that needs some more fleshing out in my own mind is the "style and rhythm" which is noted on the fact sheet as an "innovative gameplay system where the music affects the enemy AI and the tone of the gameplay." The first thing that springs to mind is Nintendo's Odama, which featured drumming (via the bongos) as a viable way to encourage the troops. Whatever it is, as long as it's not a tapping mini-game, I'll be happy.

Afro Samurai is scheduled for a Fall 2008 -- the bottleneck of the game releases -- but with cool style and a strong anime/magna tie-in it has half a chance of being a cult hit. If the action can match expectations, it may even eclipse cult status and become a straight-up hit.

- Omni

(June 10, 2008)


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