Samurai Jack:The Shadow of Aku – GC – Review

If you’re reading this
review, chances are you’re a fan of the show.  That alone makes it easy to
enjoy Samurai Jack: The Legend of Aku, thanks entirely to the gameplay.  If
you’ve never seen the show but became intrigued by the game, or even if you
clicked the link by mistake, do not fear.  Samurai Jack’s story, characters,
and its setting will have the most significance to the fans.  But the gameplay
is something anyone can enjoy…for a while.

Upon entering the world of
Samurai Jack you’ll discover the developer’s love of Zelda and other adventure
games.  The hack-and-slash gameplay doesn’t feel too much like Zelda at first,
but hold down the R button for a Matrix/Zelda treat.  The picture becomes
letterboxed (TV manufacturers call this "widescreen"), and your enemies are
slowed down to the point where attacks can be completed before any blocking
can occur.

Another Zelda-type
gameplay element is Samurai Jack’s bow and arrow.  Its use is
self-explanatory, so the only thing that needs to be said is how effective it
is on your enemies.  Most can’t (or won’t) block arrows, making it easy to
take out robots from afar.

Surprisingly, there is no
way to lock-on to a specific enemy.  That sounds bad, but it’s actually an
improvement.  I’m getting tired of every adventure game playing like a Zelda
clone, aren’t you?  By not being able to circle enemies and attack with ease,
Samurai Jack is a bit more challenging.  Standard enemies are easy to kill
with your sword, bow and arrow, or any other weapon you choose to use.  The
bosses, however, are not so easy.  You’ll need good timing and a lot of
patience to eliminate them.  Endurance is necessary since you’ll be tempted to
quit after being crushed many times in a row.  This is the only part of the
game that felt truly challenging, and because of the leap in difficulty it
often comes across as being cheap.

The L button has two
functions, the first of which is expected: block.  The second function is much
more interesting.  When blocking you can enter a button combination (example:
A, X, X, A) to execute a powerful combo in slow motion.  It cuts through most
enemy defenses, and is usually fast enough to connect before they block.
Plus, they look cool.  The Matrix-style slow-motion effects are nothing new,
but combos themselves (which include a sideways spinning sword attack) are
pretty impressive.

Samurai Jack’s levels are
very straightforward.  They have varying paths to try and cover up the game’s
linearity.  Some of the levels have hidden paths where the local creatures are
being held captive (that’s one of the goals – to free all from captivity.
Doing so enables you to increase Jack’s health, strength, and Zen).  Despite
the additions, there’s nothing that makes the levels feel overwhelming.
(Being overwhelmed is what I look for in an adventure game.  It helps separate
the gameplay experience from real life.)  You might not find every item or
free every creature the first time through, but it’s doubtful that you’ll ever
not make it to the goal. 

Besides being an overly
familiar experience, Samurai Jack has only one thing against it: it’s
repetitive.  As you collect important items (which always seem to exist in
adventure games), free prisoners, and defeat the onslaught of enemies, you
begin to realize that that is all the game will give.  The levels lack
significant differences between each other, and the enemies don’t differ much
beyond their appearance.

Cartoon Network is
watched most by the kid and young teen crowd, so it could be assumed that
their gameplay experiences are somewhat limited.  If that’s the case for your
child, then he or she might really enjoy Samurai Jack and never think of it as
being a familiar or repetitive experience.

On the other hand, if
you’re planning to buy this game for yourself, you should probably stop and
think for a minute.  Have you played through Jak II or its predecessor?  How
about The Ocarina of Time?  These games – and their many clones – could be
credited as the titles that "inspired" Samurai Jack.  Anyone who has been
playing games since the days of PSone will recognize the similarities.  This
is the kind of game that I would be happy to rent on a long weekend, but would
not be in a hurry to add to my collection.

Reviewer’s Scoring Details

Gameplay: 7.2
Amaze
Entertainment brings the Samurai Jack series to life in The Legend of Aku.
Graphically the game looks plain, but the gameplay is quite flavorful,
including all of the elements your tastebuds desire: impressive sword attacks,
enduring bosses, and an intriguing Zen system.  The Zen meter enables you to
slow down the world and attack enemies before they have the chance to react.
Zen is also used to power weapons, like the helpful fire sword.  Blue balls of
energy automatically dive into Jack whenever he defeats an enemy, replenishing
his Zen, and bringing back memories of Devil May Cry.

As
you’re likely conclude from the review, nearly everything good about Samurai
Jack was introduced in another game.  Knowing this, you can expect the
experience to be somewhat repetitive at times.

Graphics: 5
The backgrounds
look okay, but what is with the characters?  They’re horrendous.  GameCube is
capable of doing great things with cartoon characters but Samurai Jack doesn’t
acknowledge any of that.

Sound: 8

Way-better-than-average music, decent voice acting (which sounds just as good
as the show’s acting), and quiet sound effects that won’t make your ears
bleed.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
A new trend in
gaming?  It seems like more and more titles are going for that easy/medium
difficulty rating.  I’m not sure the reason.  Don’t developers know that
gamers want to be challenged?

Concept: 6.5
A good game but
with nothing unique.

Overall: 7
Samurai Jack has
a lot to offer – cool levels (just because they’re linear doesn’t mean they
can’t be cool), excellent controls, and an immersive soundtrack.  The story is
somewhat intriguing as well, though not as much as the cartoon it came from.

Where Jack fails to
succeed is an issue that will never be fully resolved in gaming: repetition.
Samurai Jack is the same thing over and over.  It never changes, never
evolves.  Each level is a revision of the first one, the only differences
being enemies (who have similar attack patterns), the graphics (new worlds
require new artwork), and the music.  For those reasons this game is best
enjoyed in small portions.  Play it a little here and a little there, but
don’t plow through it in one sitting.  You’ll get bored if you do, and then
there’ll be nothing left to keep you coming back.