Stylish (cntd)

Most games just animate different body parts falling off, and use the same animation over and over during the course of a game. Afro’s system is far more dynamic and will not only save on creating millions of animations but will also keep changing, giving you near limitless variation in kills. Being able to cut off enemy’s fingers and watching them fall to the ground is a very rewarding sight and may just beat the more common falling of a clunky arm that is left flopping to the ground.

The animation and fluidity change as the music does. As soon as a new soundtrack starts playing, the character animations change to suit the style of music. The track list is filled with music from New York City–based hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan and should certainly prove interesting to both hear –and- see in action.

Enemy moves

With Afro being such a skilled samurai, being able to do all kinds of flips and martial arts skills, the enemies will be similarly built to be able to keep up with him. They interact with the environment in a way not often seen games and will use the terrain to their advantage. Your foes will be able to run along walls, jump and even launch themselves at you in an effort to stop your pursuit for the headbands. I’ve seen close to twenty different moves, showing a diversity rivaling only such fighting games as the Mortal Kombat series. Of course all these different enemy moves mean plenty of chances to achieve some very satisfying kills and endlessly fresh combat. A counter system has also been implemented, allowing you to pull off a blocking counter and then a brutal finishing move. These will have your enemies falling to pieces in seconds in a very stylish manner.

Hack and slash games run the risk of becoming repetitive, especially towards the end. While this has not been confirmed yet, we hope players will be able to unlock new abilities along the course of the game, giving new life to the combat system.

Hack & Slash spectacle

The game has been in production for quite some time now and has already seen one delay in the release. Despite this delay, Afro Samurai is looking like it is shaping up to be a spectacle in the Hack & Slash genre. Even though there are so many games flooding the market, I believe that what this game has to offer is so unique that it will stand out amidst both mediocre and top quality titles. With a release set for the first quarter of 2009, it is looking like next year is going to get off to a good start.