It Came from the Bargain Bin

Grade: 5 or ehhhhhh.

Developer: Game Republic

Good: Battle System, number of demons to slash, graphics

Bad: Short shell of a true game, overall bland presentation.

Ugly: Underachieving sibling on PS3.

I can remember the first time Genji came out. It was right before there was going to be another Onimusha entry from Capcom–Dawn of Dreams–and, I’m sure that Game Republic, (not Dave Halverson’s aborted baby) could feel that the world was suffering from demon slaying set in a feudal era Japan.

Actually, I think that a few original members from the Onimusha development team jumped from the big “C”and decided to embark on a new journey by making something so painfully similar. But don’t quote me on that.

But painful is the right word to use here as Genji is just a smaller, easy to pick up and throw away, version of its older brother.

Let’s examine for a moment.

Two main characters that are different enough to balance out the most basic of their strengths and weaknesses: √

The story of boy fights evil with the help of mystical magic: √

A small variety of demonic enemies that range from weak ass archers to ridiculously strong wielders of giant ass swords: √

A war that could be decided by whoever controls this mystical power: √

This should be all the makings of an engaging time waster, at least at its basics. And this the problem that plagues the game. It’s merely a bare bones repetition.

The enemies are frequent but not terribly difficult to deal with at all. Bosses aren’t tough, making them rather disappointing.

Weapon variety isn’t terribly deep. You’ll know what item does how much damage, but don’t expect too many flashy transformations.

And the most important aspect, story, isn’t really interesting. Look at the checklist and you’ll see that this really is the same story played over and over. Characters are as bland as sex with corn flakes. There are no real twists or turns. No faux attempts at beat ‘em up sandbox play al la Yakuza. Just a linear path six-eight hours long. It’s like the first Devil May Cry, except not as stylishly action packed and little replay value.

On the positive side, if you’re looking for some slashing or beating, then slashing or beating you’ll get, even with bullet time style. Perhaps Genji’s main draw, the “kamui mode” allows gamers to slow down time for a bit and block or dodge attacks while countering.

I’ll admit it’s a neat feature for the first couple of hours. But then you start to wonder why most of your enemies pause for a moment when you activate the ability, then proceed to attack you one at a time.

Have we learned nothing from the clumsy ninjas of SNL?

Puzzles, if there are any, are as simple as Steven Hawking putting blocks into their correct spaces. Ohhh right, that would require moving. Yeah, well he would still use that robot voice box to correctly place the blocks. Then proceed to have nasty phone sex with Bea Arthur.

Yeah it’s nasty in my head.

So what, don’t judge.

If you find this game in your local bargain bin, don’t pay any more than $6 or $7. Pay anymore, and you’re just being robbed.

What others are saying:

Gamespot

1Up

1 Comment(s)

Comments RSS TrackBack Identifier URI