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Afro Samurai the game, like the anime, follows Afro on his quest to avenge his father's death--a story we have heard all too often. In the series, Afro, the main character, is on a mission to claim the powerful position of Number One, but more importantly to find and kill a gunman named Justice. As current owner of the Number One headband, Justice gained his position by killing Afro's father (former the owner of the Number One headband).
This game is the definition of fan service. In its approximately seven hours of playtime, it does nothing to clearly tell the story of Afro and his quest to take down Justice. Rather the game somewhat rewrites the story while leaving out certain details that would help the player make better sense of what is going on.
The lacking story does nothing to maintain interest in what is already a mindless button mashing hack-n-slash adventure. It is safe to say that the combat is nowhere near as well built as God of War or Devil May Cry. In Afro Samurai, it is possible to clear entire groups of enemies by doing little more than running at enemies and simply hitting the Square button over and over again. When you do use some of the elements that were meant to give the fighting more depth, you will find that some of the moves are actually pretty cool. You can use your focus power to slow down time and inflict massive damage on enemies. The problem is that the game rewards you for totally sucking and it is just easier to repeatedly attack enemies with the square button until you clear a room.
By no means does this mean you can't die. Eventually Afro will succumb to his wounds if beaten around enough in any battle. Since the game features no HUD, you end up having to gauge Afro's health based on how red (blood-soaked) his shirt becomes in combat, which on its own, is a terrible way of indicating how much health you have left. This can become quite annoying in the heat of battle.
Afro Samurai also contains minor platforming elements that require you to do such things as run up a wall and kick a switch. However, they don't get more intricate than wall jumping or hopping a ledge and pulling a lever to open a gate. While they serve as a slight change of pace to temporarily take you out of the fighting and add some variety to the action, Afro's jumps and moves are not precise enough to make these short bits anything more than a minor distraction.
Of course Afro Samurai does have some redeeming qualities. The game visuals, which are more storybook than anime due to the painted style and pencil-sketched shadows, are decent. The extreme violence, while nowhere near as bloody as Ninja Gaiden II on the Xbox 360 or Suda's Wii hit, No More Heroes, helps to capture the graphic feel of the anime.
Keeping with the overall feel of the show, the creators enlisted the some of the actors from the series: Samuel L. Jackson, Ron Pearlman, Kelly Hu, and Joe DiMaggio from Futurama. Needless to say, their voice work is stellar. Actually, the sound production seems to be this game's strongest point. Aside from the great voice cast, the music is a catchy hybrid of hip-hop and traditional Japanese instrumental work inspired by RZA who is best known for his work with Wu-Tang. RZA did the show's soundtrack, but was unable to contribute to the game. He did, however, let them use his previously recorded music.
While there is nothing game-breaking about Afro Samurai, there is nothing all that great either. It's the kind of mindless slashing action you can beat on a lazy afternoon without having to put in much effort with the exception of one or two frustrating parts. The game is clearly made for big fans of the series, and will do little to hold the attention of anyone else. If you do, however, feel the urge to play through this game, you will probably be able to complete it within a two-day rental period.
Fun Factor: Not particularly fun, but is not torture to play through. Anyone looking for a hack-n-slash game on the current-gen systems should probably look no further than Capcom's Devil May Cry.
Game Length: Most skilled players will be able to beat the game in six to seven hours without having to retry many times.
Difficulty: Aside from a major boss battle with shoddy camera work and some minor platforming elements that pop up throughout the game, it becomes more of a matter of "How many times will I have to try this?" than "I need to perfect my fighting skills." It is also very easy to kill large groups of enemies with the help of a single button if you so wish.
On the Negative Side: The game does not stand on its own as a good game beyond what a fan of the series may appreciate.
Bang for your Buck: At $60 Afro Samurai is not a worthwhile purchase. The game might be worth a purchase at about $30, but it may be a while before we see that price point on Afro Samurai.
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