i pride myself on being a good reviewer of games. bear that in mind with this honest review
the premise of the game is simple. take up the sword of one of nine samurai (all of whom actually existed) and kill everything that moves. you go from area to area killing ninja (there's no "s" on the plural of ninja, for future reference), samurai, bandits, and other ho-hum enemies until you reach the boss of the level, who is always another playable character that you didnt' choose. kill that person, and continue. the game's story is contrived and lame, but historically accurate (i've read miyamoto musashi's biography, and i was surprised at how well this game captured him) AND there are nine separate stories. that's pretty cool.
the combat (and trust me, it's really ALL you do in the game) is underrated. the depth of the combat system really takes me back to when bushido blade came out on PS1. the combat system has two buttons for defense and two for offense. the system is handled very well, and the combat is good, but not great. they could have done a lot more. it seems to be a mix between an action buttion layout while trying to be a fighting game. it's not very complicated, but does a good job of varying the moves of your character. you can also lock swords with an opponent, at which point you can run around with your swords locked, throw your opponent up against a wall or crate or lantern, and press Y and a cinematic execution takes place, which is always satisfying.
the sound isn't perfect, but it's not marginal. the soundtrack is like that of the tenchu series. it gets the job done, convincing you of the japanese theme while staying to a 4/4 rhythm and not letting up.
in fact, this game reminds me of the original tenchu a LOT!
graphically, the game doesn't excel, but doesn't fall flat either. the environments are well designed, and the character models look pretty good. nothing to go and tell your mom to take a look at, but they get the point across pretty well.
the controls are a little clunky, but it's whatever. this game cost me 16 dollars in the best buy bargain bin. i'm not looking for a blockbuster hit. i was looking for a cheap game to eat up a few hours. it cost me less than seeing 2 movies at the mall.
all in all, i wouldn't recommend this game for EVERYone out there. a lot of people are going to find it lacking. but if you have an open mind, and have the patience to learn the combat system in this game, you will be rewarded with a surprisingly delightful trek though the lives of some samurai, kill some ninja and whatnot, and get some historically accurate data to whip out on the next bar skank who starts talking about feudal japanese history... you may even get her number. think about THAT!
so i give it a 7. sure as hell isn't a one-hitter-quitter, but it definately provides some thrills to those who are willing to spend some time with it.
it's like the fat chick of video games.