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Inspired by one the greatest samurai masterpiece of all time,
Seven Samurai 20XX engages players with an experience that
combines intense melee-style samurai combat with an epic story
that takes the timeless tale into the future. Using a variety
of swordplay styles, players employ numerous single and double
katana attacks and an arsenal of moves that grows with their
mastery of the samurai way...
Or
so the developers of Seven Samurai 20XX claim... First
impressions are not fantastic. The game has to have one of
the dullest covers ever produced for a console game - it doesn't
exactly scream "kick-ass fun" at you.
But
then, quite frankly, that's probably a good thing because
20XX just doesn't deliver the goods. The Seven Samurai
movie is a cinematic masterpiece, and while I certainly wasn't
expecting this game to live up to the merits of the movie,
it would have been a start if some thought had gone into the
gameplay.
The
graphics look fantastic, but the gameplay?... Some words of
advice... If you have never completed a game before (and I'm
sure there are people out there who haven't) then this could
be the one that you finish... in an afternoon.
All
you have to do is constantly hit the square button and before
you know it the final boss is knocking at your door. But,
before you get to this meanie you have to mash a whole heap
of baddies. There are over 40 different types of enemy - all
of which are beautifully detailed.
Every
now and then the action is played out in slow motion (when
you are about to kill one of the bad guys) but I couldn't
really understand what the developers were trying to achieve
with this. If it had been used to show one of the bad guys
being killed in a different and interesting way, then it would
have been effective. As it is... you spend two minutes mashing
bad guys, all of which die in similar ways, and then the action
slows down so you can see another guy die exactly the same
as the rest, but in slow motion. I just didn't see the point.
Another
thing worth mentioning is the opening and ending theme music
which is composed by Ryuichi Sakamoto, Academy Award winning
composer on The Last Emperor. And very good it is too.
It sets the scene nicely for the start of the game.
Fans
of the movie and beat 'em up fanatics will be disappointed.
It's such a shame because, with a little thought, this game
could have been a winner - if only it had delivered what it
promised.
Nick
Smithson
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