PSFocus writes: "Games with a Japanese base are separate, unique and often very great to play. A good example is the example of Japan Yakuza very popular franchise, but there's more! There is also Way of The Samurai, a franchise in the west do not really know a great popularity, but nevertheless it appears on the market. Late last year the third in Japan and is now Europe's turn to get started with this game Samurai. We love Japanese games and Samurai, but is that enough for this game?"
From GameWatcher: "If you can bear with us here, Way of the Samurai 3 is actually the next entry in the series for PC, whilst also being the predecessor to Way of the Samurai 4 which released late last year, with both games being ported from Sony’s crusty PS3 console thanks to Japanese curio specialists Ghostlight. Cast as a half-dead samurai on the losing side of battle who awakens in its aftermath, Way of the Samurai 3, much like all the other games in the series thus far, is an affair which prides itself on almost boundless player choice whilst imbuing it all with a distinctly Japanese sense of humour."
Welcome to week #3 of Gamechats “Top Games Releasing This Week” post. We love to keep you informed on whats going on in the wide world of gaming. We know so many games release weekly, its hard to keep up. So we like to feature what we think are the best games releasing each week. If we left any out, please leave a comment.
The first Fallout 4 DLC and the return of a LucasArts classic in this week's Five Games.
Oooh, forgot Automatron was coming out. Now I wish I'd bought the season pass when it was still at regular price. :/
and probably 5/10 is about right given that most people who play it will just dump it after 5 minutes.
It took me a day of playing to really understand what the game is.
At first, it seems like it's trying to be Grand Theft Samurai and failing so badly it's almost embarassing. It's environments are small, the graphics are terrible (bear in mind this is a 2008 game), the various interactions are clunky and the combat is unforgiving and seemingly simplistic. Not a good start!
I would have headed to the store to trade this in after a few hours if I hadn't of had a couple of beers and couldn't drive myself there :)
However, persevere (and a lot of perseverence is required) and you begin to realise this game isn't Grand Theft anything. It's more like an open world version of Yakuza mixed with a bit of Pokemon. The world isn't big on purpose - it's so the story can be completed relatively quickly (perhaps just a few hours even on initial play throughs) but the point is to play many times and collect all the endings (there's 20 plus).
It's also a bit like Demon's Souls in that you die a lot (deliberately) and come back at the start with all your upgraded weapons. Part of the fun is collecting bits of swords and assembling them, killing enough people and getting them "appraised" (named based on how good they are).
As for the dying - it's infuriating AT FIRST because if you save the game doesn't let you just roll back after death - oh no you basically have to reset to the game main menu to reload that save taking several minutes. However, after a while I again realised this wasn't simply clunky programming, it's a deliberate mechanic to make the player fear dying in game and also to try and make you accept the death of your character and start the story again. It can be worked around, but it basically does the job.
Once you get what the game is actually about, it becomes quite compelling (although still an acquired taste), but at first it seems like utter dross and if the collection/story endings parts don't appeal to you then utter dross it'll remain.
Still interesting concept and I hope WoTS4, if and when it appears, goes down the same path but adds a bit more of a world to play in (and some better graphics!)...
r.