Oh sweet Jesus, I can't wait for Mass Effect 3 to come out. It's reached a point where I can't even enjoy other games for more than a few hours. Here is Asura's Wrath, a perfectly commendable game with colorful graphics, sleek style, and some decent voice acting (a rarity in games of this style).<br /><br />Still, I can't get over the fact that a lot of Asura's Wrath is cutscene, and it irks me just a bit because it's really, really hard to lose. And I'm pretty sure I'm not bragging here. The game itself just sort of moves on its own, and forgives you for your errors. This cannot stand. I require difficulty. I enjoy playing through cinematics, but they lose their urgency and tension if you don't fail once in awhile.<br /><br />But I digress. Let's talk story.<br /><br />So Asura is a centuries-old deity who's forced out of power by other deities. When he reawakens, he's angry. It's almost impossible to fully explain the story, because it's an anime-style story and so it rarely makes complete sense. You may find that you don't care or you may find yourself literally moving from level to level because you want to know where the insane story is going to go next.<br /><br />And that's really what this game has going for it: it is, quite literally, a massive playable anime, warts and all. If you enjoy that type of thing, then you're going to love it. Even if you don't, you might find yourself moving from level to level simply out of wild curiosity. Each level is drastically different. Each level is intense. Each level is insane.<br /><br />But at just around six hours of game play, maybe you should rent it.<br /><br />Stray observations from my favorite level:<span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"> </span><br /><br /> <ul> <li>At one point, Asura grows extra arms. I appreciate this.</li> </ul> <ul> <li><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"></span>Totally didn't expect a space ship.</li> </ul> <ul> <li><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"></span>Big fat guy gets even bigger. One problem: you can't talk in space. Oh, but then again, he's some kind of deity.</li> </ul> <ul> <li><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"></span>I enjoy button-mashing cinema fights, to some extent.</li> </ul> <ul> <li><span style="font: 7pt "Times New Roman";"></span>I also enjoy incredibly massive battles and am willing to overlook some goofiness if it means larger-than-life destruction.</li> </ul>
Asura's Wrath
7.0 out of 10
