IGN: Afro Samurai Review

Greg Miller from IGN writes:

"If I wasn't reviewing Afro Samurai, fighting Brother 6 would have been the point where I threw the controller at the floor, screamed an obscenity, and sold the game back to GameStop. Packing a flamethrower and three separate phases to the fight, Brother 6's battle is the exact moment when Afro Samurai's super-slick visuals, awesome soundtrack, and fuzzy feeling you get from slicing bad guys in half stopped mattering to me and every one of the game's numerous flaws came together to derail the experience.

That sucks because Afro Samurai can actually be a lot of fun at times."

[Pennywise]

Ouch............. I was really looking forward to this.

Aww man, no trophies??????? I thought trophies were mandatory come Jan '09? This game was going to be a rental... after this review, I will pass. Thanks IGN.

[lociefer]

it looks like the reviewer really wanted it to succeed like i did , oh well

u no what ? fck it , am gettin it anyways , i love afro

[FrankenLife]

I too had high hopes for this game. I played it at pax and really enjoyed it. However I never fought Brother 6. Well I guess it is now money saved.

[Tapewurm]

The score and the actual written review don't seem to go together. IGN has a history of doing this. I say give the game a try and see for yourself. What he has written in the review seems to take away from his 6.6 rating. Seems, at least from what he wrote, that this should at least be an 8 or so...and that's from his view. I am still buying the game, regardless of this review. I am sure other reviews out there will be higher than IGN's.

[Beast_Master]

Greg Miller is notorious for his Lair review. I listened to last weeks pod cast and he didn't mention the game he was reviewing but did say it their was an extremely frustrating part to it. I would suggest if you really wanted this game, get it, just know the Brother 6 battle will make you want to throw poo at your TV.

[gambare]

yeah, they ARE mandatory but this title was developed in 2008 and it was almost ready for the end of the year and it wasn't included on the mandatory mark, those games developed after 2009 will include the mandatory trophies

[likedamaster]

"" u no what ? fck it , am gettin it anyways , i love afro ""

Same here, I will try it out for myself. The game looks darn good.

[Tapewurm]

I have played a good bit of this title now and have to say that the reviewer is a complete (2 sylables here) M0-RON :) This game is actually quite fun and looks amazing and the combos and special moves DO matter. I will admit that the camera is a little rough on the default setting but when I inverted it, it made it much better, at least to me. There is no way this game deserves the 6.6 score...at least an 8 or higher easy. This review is his opinion and unlike the combo moves in the game...this review doesn't matter. What a turd.

[Lastlivingsoul]

i might still rent it at some point, I was worried this would happen

[Pennywise]

I was going to rent anyways until I saw no trophies. No trophies = no monies - ESPECIALLY with a bad review like this.

[dragunrising]

I also think I'll rent it. I'm not familiar with the anime so I can't say I'd buy it for the fan service. Based on the review, I wish the devs took some more time to polish the game. The logic follows that if a game is quality...usually the sales follow. In my opinion, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm (PS3) is still the anime to game cross-over to beat.

[newneto]

...expecting more.

[Pennywise]

Like - Trophies?? What the hell.

[Nineball2112]

So, how do you feel about the lack of trophies in this game?

;-)

[Pennywise]

Makes my head want to explode. I thought they were mandatory come Jan '09. SCAAAAAAAAAAAMCO!

[newneto]

Get trophies is not the point. The point is that shows lack of commitment with ps3 features.

[InMyOpinion]

Bandai Namco never said anything about trophies being mandatory in 2009. Sony did.

[PirateThom]

It's part of Sony's developer agreement. If you make games on the platform, you'll have agreed to all mandatory features, including trophies, in the same way Microsoft's developers agreement makes achievements mandatory.

But they were never going to be mandatory from January 2009, it was only if the content was submitted for approval after 1st Jan 2009. Because of when this game went gold, 9th Jan and the fact it was probably submitted at the beginning/mid December , this is one of the last games that will sneak through that net.

[dragunrising]

Since when did Namco Bandai develop and not publish its own games? Poor judgment on their part regarding the trophies...

[PS360WII]

I still want to get it :( down with reviews!

[InMyOpinion]

In most cases I would agree with you, but his review really pinpoints the problems with the game and I feel frustrated just reading about it. Still a rental though, I had high hopes for this game.

[tatotiburon]

and i thought trophies will be mandatory in 2009, fail.....

Anyway i was expecting so much for this game, what a let down for me :(

[tatotiburon]

Sony: "Trophies will be mandatory in 2009 for any PS3 game"

LMAO...

...and hiphopgamer wonders why XBL is better than PSN

[Pennywise]

I thought the same thing. Does the Xbox version have achievements? Please provide proof of this.

If so... how lazy can a dev be?

[likedamaster]

" Does the Xbox version have achievements? Please provide proof of this. "

-LOL. That was funny.

And let's not forget that all, I repeat, ALL arcade titles have achievements.

[PirateThom]

It went gold just before January 9th, remember trophies aren't "mandatory from January 1st", it's only if the content is approved after January 1st.

This obviously missed that deadline, but it's ridiculous that they weren't included anyway.

[byeGollum]

i guess ill get it on 360 second hand or when it drops in price =)
anime games usually do not get above 7 although there are exceptions . . .

[360theAssasinsCreed]

i figured they would give this in the 6-7 range its your typical hack and slash type game i like these games. I also like the anime so its just fine for me. The trophies thing yeah kinda blows but i can live without them, i have been gaming since the colecovision days and atari days when trophies and such were nonexistant LOL. So i don't worry about it, but i understand those that push for them they do add replay value. This game will be a nice distraction for me while i await the HIGHLY TOUTED KILLZONE 2.

Anyone thinking this game would be a so called killer app type game well that's your fault LOL not every game is going to get that kind of production and money sunk into it. 6.6 is a little harsh based on some of his criticisms this game is most likely in the 7's in reality yeah its not going to keep you from buying a Killzone 2 or anything like that but i would look at this game as this, if you like the anime you should like the game its a fan service type game, if you like hack and slash like a heavenly sword type game you might like this too. If you hate hack and slash games period then yeah this game is not for you.

i liked seeing the no HUD feature and the ability to add combo moves over 100 to unlock supposedly should keep me busy for a little bit.

[manwich25]

no surprise here

[Host Samurai_]

Screw IGN. The only way they review a game good is if it has

1) Shooting in the First Person
2) Generic shiny UE3 GRFX
3) Generic Online Death Match modes

That is what gaming journalism has come to. Ignore this.

[Mike134nl]

shame love the anime, even though it has a weak story.

I love the action of the anime exactly the reason why I might still buy this one.

[Radiodread]

your like a disease that spreads everywhere on this site.

I'm still getting this game. IGN is not the mecca of review sites. F!CK THEM.

[kingme71]

I read the review in Play magazine and Dave Halverson thought this game was the second coming. Of course Dave loves any game he reviews. He even praised Golden Axe Beast Rider like it was game of the year.

In any case, I enjoy hack and slash even if they aren't highly rated. Conan and Vikings were both fun even with their flaws.

[bigjclassic]

this is an American animated series *to be technical*
Anywho, I need a demo before I buy.

[Staircase]

How is it not Japanese? Gonzo is a Japanese studio, and this is based off a Japanese manga.

[Staircase]

Still going to pick this up because i'm a hardcore Afro fanboy. This is a bit saddening, but whenever I see a bad IGN review of a game I just think "Godhand."

[Shmapanese]

and from never seeing the anime before.. this game is strait BADASS..

1) sh!t load of combos.
2) "f" bomb galore lol.
3)graphical style is awesome.
4)bloody guts"n"gore.
5)limbs flying every were.
6)SAMUEL L JACKSON for crying out fvckin loud,cmon guys. he's efing AWESOME!!
7)some cool and funny humor.
..

only con imho is the story is a little weak.. just a little though,as i have never seen the anime.

other then that, strait FVCK IGN and its stupid @ss "jurnalists".

if you like Hack"n"Slah'ems then this game is FREAKING AWESOME.. but if not then maybe not for you.

this game gets a 9/10 from me..

[Staircase]

I am REALLY glad to hear you liked it!!! :D

Can't wait to pick this up.

[Lombax]

The problems he had with the camera don't seem like such a big deal too me. I've played a lot of games with "Bad Cameras" but never really had a problem. And as far as it being too difficult... I think I'm a masochist. :P

[Graphics Whore]

I'm still going to check it out, it looks fun.

[tordavis]

Greg Miller is an idiot.

[gravv]

thank you ign i cancel my buy

i thought this game is gonna get at least an 8 from ign

but 6.6.... meh