Asura's Wrath
If you've read reviews about Asura's Wrath and found the brief synopsis and description of the game to be somewhat lacking, that's because it's kind of hard to say exactly where this game falls into place with the gaming industry. Borrowing heavily from Western-style button mashing mixed and mashed with Japanese-style narration, story, and themes, with a tremendous amount of quick-time events, some Eastern mythology and a unique fusion of Eastern and Western music, and you may not know whether or not you missed an important turn somewhere along the way to your destination. For those knowing you'd like to get your hands on this game, you can click here and check it out on Amazon . But for the rest of you, I'll give you a rundown of what you can expect but be forewarned, a game like this seems to be one of those games people either love or absolutely hate.
Asura's Wrath Trailer Youtube Vid by CapcomUnityVideos
Why so Angry?
Asura's Wrath has you taking on the role of Asura, one of several demi gods, generals in a grand, divine army, taking on the evil Gohma, who are essentially their monster counterparts. The other demi gods betray Asura, kill his wife, and capture his daughter for reasons I won't give away in this review. As you can imagine, Asura is pissed, and rightfully so. It's time to avenge your wife's death and take back your daughter from those who wronged you.
Asura's Wrath Visuals
The visuals of Asura's Wrath are stunning and have a unique twist to what I'd imagine most are used to, even those who have played plenty of games from Japan with an emphasis on their myths, religion, beliefs, traditions, and culture in general. Needless to say the unique, if somewhat bizarre characters and events taking place on screen will enthrall you, it'll be hard to tear your eyes away. But the thing is, the visuals are outstanding without going for an almost creepy level of realism.
Asura's Wrath Gameplay Hit or Miss?
Asura's Wrath plays out like a Japanese anime. The visuals are very similar to what you would see when watching your favorite episode of Dragon Ball Z, only with more of a 3-d effect. In a lot of ways its like a manga as well. The point is, the developers obviously were going for this particular look and feel. And in my opinion, they nailed it.
Asura's Wrath More Anime Than Game?
As I said, Asura's Wrath plays out like an Anime. This is meant both literally and figuratively. People watch anime and cartoon, they don't play them. And Asura'sWrath will have you watching cutscenes for at least half of the game. In fact, even the gameplay leaves you with very little to do, unfortunately. There are tons of quick-time events. You will usually have to time a button press, spam a particular button as fast as you can, move the analogue sticks a certain way, and then watch as Asura does something really cool and brutal to vanquish his godly foes. What will probably rub a log of you the wrong way is that most of the quick time events are simply used a split second before Asura lays waste to an opponent, it's like you slave away to make an amazing dinner only to sit back and watch someone else eat it. I say let the player experience the reward of executing a flawless quick time even, not just watch what they could have and should be able to do. So it's a missed opportunity in my books.
Asura's Wrath Gameplay Trailer Youtube Vid by Capcom Suro
Where Asura's Wrath Falls Short
The rest of the gameplay in Asura's Wrath is a bit of a mixed bag. Yes, it all looks awesome and brutal at first. What's better than pounding enemies into the ground with a bunch of arms sprouting out of your back? Well, for me at least, and I know I'm not the only one, it can get a little repetitive after a while, even if it does look really cool on screen. You will find that most enemies can be taken down the same way and much of Asura's attacks are more of less the same. There's very little strategy or finesse involved as you simply spam two buttons, maybe three here and there, and call it a day.
Asura's Wrath Story
So you may be thinking, if there's so much the gameplay lacks, why would anyone want to play this thing. Well, keep in mind I said this is a game players will either love or hate. And a large factor of that is the gameplay. Some will think the gameplay is just fine and the rest will want a more engaging experience as they're pounding enemies into dust. What will have most players interested, whether they like the gameplay or not, is the story of Asura's Wrath. The story does have the dramatic and epic feel of an anime. Think of your v\favorite anime either now or while you were growing up and why you liked it so much. For most its the interesting characters. Check. The hero. Check. Powerful villains that must be stopped. Check. And an engaging story, with all the motives of why the characters are doing what they're doing. And you'll get hooked with this story. Give it a chance and you may find it to be the best thing about this game.
Asura's Wrath "True Ending"
Asura's Wrath is a relatively short game. Most of you can beat it in six to eight hours. There isn't that much replay value going for this game either other than going back and beating a few levels to achieve the highest score. Get enough and you'll unlock a secret level. Also, there has been a fair amount of DLC that's hit the market since the game's release. I think the way they marketed it was downright stupid, who markets to the players "The True Ending of Asura's Wrath!!!" ? That pissed me off and I imagine I'm not the only one. So... the $60 bucks for the game was to get a fake ending? A cliffhanger? If I buy the DLC for the "true ending" will you guys come out with even more DLC and market it as "The REAL True Ending of Asura's Wrath!!!!" ? Gerks. But, on the bright side, if you do opt to purchase the DLC then you're looking at another two to four hours of gameplay.
Asura's Wrath Final Verdict
Alright, I've made my case. And at the risk of sounding redundant I'll end it here with a quick recap of what you can expect. Asuara's Wrath has a unique combination of Eastern and Western gaming traditions in story, visuals, and sound. The visuals hit the anime mark right between the eyes. The gameplay is, for the most part, a bit repetitive and underwhelming when you're not in a quick-time event, and the quick-time events will have many of you wishing for something more than prepping the hero only to watch him do what you should be doing. The biggest thing I look for in a game is the gameplay itself, more than any other element, I want solid gameplay no matter what. And while Asura's Wrath deserves some kudos for trying something different, what is compromised is far too valuable. If there is ever an actual sequel or any similar games to Asura's Wrath, it would behoove them to keep all the unique twists and turns but without sacrificing gameplay. But in the long run, I thoroughly enjoyed Asura's Wrath, just not enough to brush off what could be improved upon. Asuara's Wrath earns a 6 out of 10.