Gaming Target - PlayStation 2: Way of the Samurai

Written by John Scalzo on March 18, 2002

First Impressions: I wonder if Bobby De Niro is anywhere around.

After Onimusha, Tenchu, Dynasty Warriors, and many more games, ninjas are everywhere (except, it seems for Ryu Hayabusa). Even so, what happens when the samurai are cut loose and on their own and are forced to venture out into the world alone?

This is the premise behind Way of the Samurai. It's the late 1800s and The Tokugawa Shogunate is falling. The Shoguns have cast out their army of samurai, and they have become ronin: warriors without a master. You are one of these ronin; a nameless warrior wandering the countryside looking for any work your skills may be useful for. Well, it turns out that work is of the killing people variety.

Way of the Samurai is from the creators of the Tenchu series, so you know these guys know their martial arts stuff. The game features a huge, expansive world for you to apply your trade in. There doesn't appear to be any level structure to the game, but instead a more realistic УroninФ approach. You will actually have to wander the game's countryside, interacting with people, and deciding the next best course of action. The way people react to you depends entirely on what you've done before, and what you're doing at the moment. For example, if you walk around with your sword drawn, it means you're looking for a fight. Or you can choose to surrender, but that doesn't mean they'll just let you go.

Of course any sane warrior would walk around with their sword sheathed at all times, but that's just me. When you meet someone under normal circumstances though, you'll have three choices in interacting with them. You can talk to them, ignore them, or bust out the ninja-style and kick some ass. Way of the Samurai is more than just your standard hack and slash game, however. You'll have to become a true samurai swordsman, employing, blocking, and parrying skills in addition to your swordplay.

The landscapes that your ronin warrior will have to negotiate are looking very nice. Green fields, big sky, and an afro-samurai are just some of the game sights to be seen. That's right, an afro-samurai. One of the best screenshots Acquire has released is of the discussion between your character and a samurai with a giant Afro using comic strip word bubbles. It's good the game has a sense of humor to match the hacking off of limbs. As you are wandering these landscapes, though, you might need to be healed and that's accomplished by grabbing vegetables right out of the ground and eating them, especially 'shrooms. Here's hoping Acquire remembers the forgotten classic Rise of the Triad, and includes a few druggie shrooms. That was the funniest part of Triad.