Genji PS2 - Hands-On

Yoshiki Okamoto may be getting press for his commitment to Xbox 360, but first there's a little swordplay for PlayStation 2 he needs to get off his chest. Full hands-on impressions and fresh screens.

Is familiarity the product of fear of the unknown or a deliberate attempt to build on previous success? It's a pivotal question that springs to mind when you pick up the controller to play Genji: Dawn of the Samurai, one of the first games from Game Republic, the new home to ex-Capcom game designer Yoshiki Okamoto - he of Street Fighter and Resident Evil fame.

Whatever the genesis, it's immediately apparent that there's more than a fractional resemblance to Capcom's own sword-fest series, Onimusha. Not that this is a bad thing. Despite superficial similarities, Genji feels fresh, vibrant and, most importantly, fun - precisely what a new studio looking to establish itself needs.

The swordplay is fast and frantic and uses subtle touches that make encounters wholly interesting. There are the familiar light and strong attacks that can be combined with jumps and vertical strikes and chained together to form long strings of sharp justice, but the developers have also included a slow-motion effect that adds strategy to the affair.

Tap the button and you'll enter the slow-mo mode where button presses based on onscreen cues help you unleash more effective damage. This system scales based on the enemies you're facing, meaning that you'll be able to use it perfectly when you don't really need to and hardly at all when you do. It's satisfying when used on the underlings of the samurai-and-fantasy themed enemies but downright frustrating when you try to use it against bosses, as they're usually able to not only bypass it but also to then retaliate with more potent counterattacks.

Should you come from the force-over-fancy school of action game thought, you'll probably prefer to play with lead character Yoshitsune's colleague in arms, the pillar wielding monk Benkei. He's slower and lacks Yoshitsune's agility, but this is made up for by the sheer ferocity of Benkei's attacks, which really do make you fear for the heads of those unfortunate enough to get within range of his radial destruction.

Whichever character you choose, though, you're rewarded with a solid experience that isn't bogged down by the onscreen action. Animation and framerate are both smooth, which makes the more actiony bits seem that much more enticing, and the range of enemies in the limited build we got to play hints that you'll have to pay attention to what you're doing.

Just as disarming are the visuals, which really do transport you to ancient Japan. Not only are all the environments (which range from rivers to fields and shrines) perfectly captured, the game is also littered with subtle effects, like leaves that continuously float onto the ground on the autumn-tinged demo level. It gives the game a much greater sense of reality - instead of a barren backdrop for sword-based theatrics, you're presented with a canvas on which to paint a brutal portrait of a time long past.

But perhaps the best news of all is that Genji is not something to salivate over for months but rather something that you can experience right now. While the game will only be out in Europe this September, the Japanese version is available from your favourite importer right now. Tell them Kikizo sent you.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games