Samurai Showdown Sen
"To die with honor" has so much meaning in Japanese/Samurai history. To do battle amongst another Warrior and emerge victorious was a way of life back then. But when an unknown force kidnaps the Princess of the Asaki Clan, there will be a showdown.
In Samurai Showdown Sen, you are able to take control of your favorite SNK warriors and battle 1 on 1. With a Roster of 24 Characters for you to choose from, with old favorites such as Haohmaru and Genjuro, to being able to pick newcomers Suzu, Walter or J, you can experience the stories from each individuals perspective and see how things pan out for them. You travel across Japans Many different territories and engage in high action battles that are a matter of life or death!
Graphics: 6.0 - With a big graphical overhaul, the game is no longer fought on a 2D plane and is now all 3D. All characters are also given the graphic rehash, and I am unsure if it is for the better. It seems they could have put a bit more work into the characters and really brought out their flare. Textures on the characters almost seem too plain, and costume designs seem to have no effort involved. The worlds are also redone, and in my opinion, look better than the characters, even though they seem a bit under done. One of the new features are Fatalitys, which you can initiate by attacking your opponent a certain way. Whether you hack a head or limb off is totally up to you! Most would compare this game to the likes of Street Fighter 4, and graphically, SamShoSen, doesn't hold a candle to SF4. The only CG animation in the game is played in the intro, and is arguably the best the game looks; it should have looked that way completely, but what can you do?
Sound: 9.0 - The music sticks to the games Timeline and features some really slick Japanese tunes. I have found myself enjoying the music more than some of the action, in all honesty. The Character Voice Overs are left in the Native Japanese Language with English subtitles, so while Japanophiles can really be happy about that, I would have preferred an English Dub. The sword clangs, and cutting of the flesh seem to sound the same as the older SamSho Series Sound Effects, but seem cleaned up a bit; nothing too special there. The one thing I got happy about is when you earn an Achievement, it is not your typical Achieve Popping Sound Effect, but one unique to SNK.
Controls: 5.0 - Where do I start, as this seems to be a major problem. It seems SNK tried to oversimplify things, and made things more complicated. For Example, you have your Strong Vertical and Horizontal Slashes set to your RB and RT buttons. You tend to use them a lot too, and this is where the trouble begins. When your in a fast paced match, most people tend to mash a button to get the move out and then proceed to the next mashing sequence. However, this time if you touch those buttons more than once, you find yourself canceling out the move that you wanted to initiate. This has cost me many fights while playing online and I do not like this feature. I have also found that when trying to do your Desperation/Pow Moves, which takes a combination of 2 button presses and a Fireball motion to get them going, the 2 buttons never seem to work together, and you find yourself missing the chance to use the moves. All in all, I think the controls need an overhaul.
Achievements: 6.0 - The achievements do not seem too difficult, however it is a long drawn out grind session to complete them. You have to earn 100 Ranked Wins, with no User Database for this game, 1000 Kills, 100 Slash moves, 50 Taunts, and 24 character achieves for finishing the game with them. You also have to pick certain character combinations while fighting ranked matches to pop some of the secret achieves. The hardest one would be finishing the game with all 24 on Expert difficulty, and this is not fun at all. Needless to say it is a very possible 1k, if you have a boosting partner and lots of patience, but do not expect to complete this game, as on the leaderboards, currently 1185 people play this game, and most are from Japan. Good thing I found a boosting partner for the 100 online wins!
Replay Value: 6.0 - The game is fun if you have the buddies to play it, as The setting of Nostalgia is definitely there. The story mode is nothing special, as it seems that all characters follow the same path. There is no real goodies to unlock, except 2 boss characters. I would definitely recommend everyone to rent this title, instead of trading/purchasing for it, like I did. SNK, go back to your roots and restore the honor that was once known as Samurai Showdown...
Overall this game has earned a 6.0
Thanks for reading this review and have a great day!
Gabriel
