Afro Samurai: Fun yet frustrating.

The setting is a futuristic, yet feudal, Japan. Two headbands are said to grant one awesome power. If one is to obtain the number one headband, they're to be a god.

Afro Samurai tells the story of the character of the same name as he cuts a bloody path of revenge through the land and through enemies. The game, developed by Surge, is based off the anime of the same name. Afro Samurai is your run-of-the-mill anime action game, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, either.

As Afro, you'll have access to a vast array of combos and moves that allow you to continue your bloody rampage for vengeance. The combos flow in so quickly that you can basically faceroll your controller and come out on top against most enemies. In the vein of other combo based action games such as Devil May Cry and God of War, you won't use all of your combos, but you'll find your bread-and-butter combos that you'll end up spamming for the duration of the game. The action, while fast paced, does get repetitive after a while. One can only dismember and disembowel someone so many times in so many ways. The crowning achievement in the Afro Samurai battle system is the Focus mode. When holding the focus button, enemy movement slows down, allow for insta-kills and projectile deflection, providing your timing is right. You can tell your timing to be right by looking for Afro's sword to shimmer. Its at this point where the body parts start to fly.

The graphical presentation has a cel-shade style that seems to be prevalent in many anime based video games in recent times. There are times, notably in the cutscenes and loading screens, that the game gets a little choppy. However, this has no bearing on the actual gameplay itself.

Afro Samurai boasts a soundtrack produced by The RZA, one of the founding fathers of the hip-hop group, the Wu-Tang clan. The game sports some unique beats that any hip-hop fan would enjoy.

While the game is fun, it does have its share of frustrations. For instance, the nuisance of inaccurate hitboxes make for a frustrating experience. It really isn't any fun being hit by a sword slash from 10 yards away. Also, there are movement inconsistancies in enemies. It really makes no sense to do a split second block when your weapon is next to my afro. These things tend to get lost in all the chaos that comprise a good chunk of the battles.

Afro Samurai is a solid entry into the anime action genre. While it has some flaws, it is easily overshadowed by the entire gaming experience.

Final Score: 3 out of 5

Dawn of a new year

For Auld Lang Syne. (More like Auld Late Syne, for me :P)

A new year, a new beginning. This is the time of year where everyone has a chance to make improvements upon themselves or their situation. Time to wipe the slate and have at it.