Our last big glimpse at Afro Samurai came during Comic-Con a few months back. With our first hands-on, we got a glimpse of how Namco Bandai is bringing the hit anime series to console. Since then, we haven't played much of it, but Namco appears to have stealthily mailed us a preview build of the game. It's got a little less than two months before release, and although there are some small tweaks that we imagine will take place, it's hard to imagine that it'll rise above the status of average hack 'n slash with a cool license.
As Afro, voiced by Samuel L. Jackson, you'll dice and dismember waves of swordsmen, thong-clad ninja strippers (one can only imagine their getup is supposed to distract male combatants), and anonymous henchmen in a quest to become the number-one samurai in the world. Along the way, foul-mouthed sidekick Ninja Ninja (also voiced by Jackson) will guide you and curse you out in the same breath.
The combat, thus far, is fairly straightforward. Afro's attacks are pretty simple. He can either attack with a stronger but slower vertical slash or make quick horizontal swings. In Afro Samurai big combos are the order of the day. Not only are attacks crucial to building up big finishers, they're the equivalent of rechargeable health. If Afro gets injured too much in combat, he can regenerate his life by depleting others'. The more he kills, the more he heals. Precise kills, such as decapitations and vertical cuts that go between the eyes, allow Afro to level up faster.
With a tap of the focus button, Afro can charge up his attacks and hone in on specific body parts. When he's in focus mode, a white line (representing the reflection of the blade) shines on the enemy. You'll have a few seconds to line up just where you want to inflict damage. Focused attacks result in anything from scalpings to whacking off feet. Although there's some shock value to lopping off body parts in several different ways, the long-term appeal of the action remains to be seen. Also, it feels a little slow compared to what we remembered from previous demos.
It's thanks to visual cues like blade reflections that Afro Samurai stands out, slow and potentially repetitive combat aside. Like so many games of recent years, it's a largely HUD-free experience. When Afro gets hurt, the screen begins to lose color saturation. He's got a headband that glows when his focus meter is full and it turns red when he gains experience from kills. When anyone takes too much damage, whether it's Afro or one of the myriad anonymous enemies, that person will gain a reddish hue, a sign that death's around the corner. These are small examples of how Afro Samurai incorporates some substance alongside its style.
