Genji: Days of the Blade
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| Genji: Days of the Blade | |
|---|---|
| Image:Genji Days of the Blade boxart.jpg | |
| Developer(s) | Game Republic |
| Publisher(s) | SCE |
| Picture format | 720p (HDTV) 480p (EDTV) 480i (SDTV) |
| Release date(s) | NA November 17, 2006 March 15th, 2007 (AU) JPN November 11, 2006 |
| Genre(s) | Action game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Rating(s) | CERO : C ESRB: Teen (T) OFLC (AU): M [1] |
| Platform(s) | PlayStation 3 |
| Media | BD-ROM |
| Input | SIXAXIS |
Genji: Days of the Blade (GENJI -神威奏乱-) is a PlayStation 3 game that was released on November 11, 2006 in Japan and November 17, 2006 in North America. Like the previous game, it is loosely based on tales from Japanese history.
Contents |
[edit] Storyline
Days of the Blade takes place three years after the end of The Tale of the Heike. The Heishi clan, seemingly vanquished at the end of Dawn of the Samurai, has returned, its military strength bolstered by the use of unholy magic that allows its legions of soldiers to turn into hulking demons. Yoshitsune and his stalwart friend Benkei must do battle with the newly-restored Heishi army; this time, however, they gain two powerful allies in their war -- the priestess Shizuka, and a mysterious soldier named Buson.
As with the original Genji, the actual stages of the game loosely resemble historical locales and battlefields; the Battle of Dan-no-ura was shown in the trailer, for example.
[edit] Gameplay
As with the original Genji, the gameplay will bear strong similarities to that of the Capcom's Onimusha series. The player will control four characters -- Yoshitsune, a samurai and the main character of the previous game; Benkei, a giant club wielding monk and Yoshitsune's old friend; Shizuka, a female crescent blade wielder; and Lord Buson, a spear-wielding warrior who bears a striking resemblance to one of Yoshitsune's old enemies. All four characters have separate lifebars; however, should one die, the game ends regardless of the other characters' health at the time.
Unlike the previous game, all characters will have access to a real-time weapon change feature that lets them switch between their main weapons quickly, without interrupting the flow of combat.
Days of the Blade is one of the first games for the Playstation 3 that utilize the built-in hard drive. When you first load up the game, you are given the option of installing a large portion of the game's data onto the Playstation 3 hard drive, drastically reducing load times.
[edit] Critical Reception
- Famitsu was the first publication to score this game, giving it a 29 out of 40. The Famitsu reviewers agreed that the high points of the game were its graphics and controls; detracting from the experience somewhat was the in-game camera angle. [2]
- Online gaming site GameSpot gave Days of the Blade a 6.4 in their review of the game, citing that while the game has excellent sound, graphics, and boss battle concepts, the actual level design and gameplay outside of the boss fights is somewhat weak. [3]
- IGN also reviewed the game, giving it an overall score of 6.0/10, they too stated that the gameplay was unimpressive compared to the graphics and sound, giving it the lowest score of the five descriptors on their grading scale.[4]
- X-Play gave the game a 2 out of 5, complaining about the lack of camera control, which causes difficulty determining where you should go next or where the enemy was.
[edit] Different Versions
- There are 4 different versions known so far:
- Japanese release: Japanese/English voices, only Japanese subtitles and menus.
- American release: English voices and menus, and the blood has been censored and changed by some white light sparks.
- Chinese release: Japanese/English voices, as well as Chinese and English subtitles and menus. It is censored like the American version.
- EU release: Japanese/English voices, subtitles and menus for various EU languages and has blood.
[edit] Awards
- Received the IGN Award for Best Artistic Design on Playstation 3 in 2006.
[edit] E3 2006 / Giant Enemy Crab
The presentation of Genji: Days of the Blade at the Sony press conference at E3 2006 has become derided on many Internet forums and video-sharing sites, and some phrases have evolved into Internet memes and also referenced by video game developers.
[edit] Trivia
- Lou Kesten of Associated Press writing for Washington Post cryptically claimed that this game is 'an adventure set in feudal China'. [5]
