Review: Genji: Days of the Blade (PS3)

Genji: Days of the Blade was always going to receive a critical backlash when it reached European shores. On paper, an historical button-bashing adventure is never going to capture the imagination of gamers who are faced with several more worthwhile and enjoyable releases. Those brave enough to pick up the challenge and purchase Genji will soon realise the catastrophic error they've made.

Genji is a sequel to the PlayStation 2 title Genkuro Yoshitsunei and picks up the tale a few years after its conclusion. While the Genji army has been victorious, they have been unable to completely remove the threat posed by the Heishi clan. Although defeated, the Heishi have regrouped and grown in stature, thanks to some sinister backing, as they once again go on the offensive. It is an interesting enough tale, but lacking the substance to really entice you to play on beyond the repetitive gameplay on offer. Yes, this is staple Dynasty Warriors, Samurai Warriors and so on territory. Each of the characters has a unique ability, and Game Republic have tried to introduce some variety by injecting obstacles that only one member can overcome. It does not really work, as you soon develop your own particular favourite fighter and concentrate on levelling up their abilities and weaponry.

Gamestyle must say that Genji is technically proficient visually. It features some marvellous lighting and fire effects, with various environments displaying luscious scenery. The characters and multiple opponents are well detailed with the cut sequences not as clear, displaying a washed out quality. The accompanying soundtrack is what you expect from a game of this type, with traditional tunes heightening the action on screen. However, it is unfortunate that the English audio suffers from some terrible voice acting. Several of the main characters feature accents that you would not expect to find in such an oriental setting.

Game Republic seem to have focused fully on taking advantage of the PlayStation 3, without remembering to update the gameplay to any great degree. The ability to change characters at anytime seems like a good idea, however the implementation is not as straightforward. The issue is that you can only change when your character is standing still and not performing a fighting action - even lying on the ground doesn’t count. Given the sheer number of aggressive opponents that surround you on every stage, finding that opportunity is difficult. That split second provides the opportunity for the enemy to pounce, so quite often you end up dying by trying to change character.

This highlights another flaw in the game design, that of save points; being able to save anywhere (or a temporary save onto the hard drive) would have easily rectified this. Instead, save points (which also act to restore health) will either appear too frequently or, during other areas, very rarely. There is no balance in place as Genji, from the off, will prove a challenge to some players, and not only in terms of patience. More often than not you will find yourself switching players to use their Kamui meter; this feature takes you into an alternate world with any nearby opponents following. You then can take down these multiple opponents through buttons that appear on the screen. At times this is a lifesaver, and an easy way to even up the odds. A nice touch is your opponents can at times return the favour, the displayed buttons allowing you to dodge their attacks.

The linear design is frustrating when you can see other avenues on screen, yet those dreaded invisible walls feature heavily in Genji. All of this could have been forgiven if the game had a semi-decent camera; instead, what we receive is something out of your control that takes up fixed positions. While this worked for the most part in a release such as Onimusha, that was because decent angles were selected. Here it's just a complete headache-inducing mess. Trust us, you'll love fighting enemies who are off screen, because that is what you'll have to do on many occasions. If it wasn't for the overhead radar (that kindly shows the location of nearby opponents), the entire situation would be depressing.

Genji: Days of the Blade is a title with one foot in the past and one in the current generation. Fabulous graphics can only do so much damage limitation in the face of so many fundamental design flaws. Evidently in the rush to make a launch day release, some compromises have been made and vital lessons ignored.

Rating: 4 / 10

Words by Jason Julier