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In terms of gaming innovations there are few that rank among the best ever. Bullet time (popularized by The Matrix, among other things), the "free" or 1up of Mario Bros. fame, the story driven multiplayer mode… all of which have stood the test of time and become honored and accepted video game mainstays.
Forgive me this indiscretion, but I think keeping track of exactly how much blood players have "liberated" from their enemies will soon join the video game hall of fame.
There are others, but that is definitely one of the most unique features of the imminent Afro Samurai game.
This January players will take the role of Afro the sober, silent samurai and titular character in the popular anime series. For those who aren't fans, Afro Samurai follows the adventures of Afro, the son of a slain samurai warrior who was killed by a gunman named Justice (ironic, right?), on his quest to avenge his father's murder. Trained from childhood in the way of the sword, Afro is likely the most deadly swordsman in all of feudal Japan (which includes robotic clones for some reason) as is evidenced by his possession of the title/headband of Number Two. The 2007 series (and the upcoming game) focuses on his quest to kill Justice and claim the title of Number One, which belonged to his father.
In his first interactive adventure the taciturn, chain smoking Afro will slash through waves of enemies and encounter all types of characters from the series, including the brazenly named Ninja Ninja. Players will take control of Afro as he makes his way through a beautifully rendered world reminiscent of the manga cut scenes from Kill Bill.
The graphics are simple, almost elegant and the over the top animations seem to add the right amount of comic fantasy flair to the mix. When I say this is a bloody game, there is no hyperbole.
Though much of the combat and or combos is handled with minimal buttons and combinations thereof (strong attack, light attack, etc.), Afro's years of training have also afforded him the useful ability to "focus". When activated, 'in-focus' mode will make Afro's strikes just that much deadlier and his enemies that much slower; players can then hold their strikes to power them up. The result is showers of blood and fractions of enemy bodies stylish enough to make you actually enjoy algebra.
Gameplay is fast and intuitive and its main draw seems to be the ability to extract rivers of AB positive from hapless challengers. Outside of the distinctive visual style, gamers and fans alike will also appreciate the ubiquitous vocal talents of Samuel L. Jackson. Much like the show the game's soundtrack will feature the talents of Wu Tang Clan's RZA (and one can only hope other artists who contributed to the series like Q-Tip). So far the game looks to be shaping up into a solid action slasher with a twist of platforming elements and a hip-hop anime infusion.
Early videos seemed to indicate some camera issues, but as with most action titles we may have to wait until the games release to find out. Till then we can only wait for such linguistic gems as "Did I wake you motha******?"
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