Sneak Peek: Hands On With Samurai II: Vengeance
by Staff Writer
October 14, 2010
The sequel to Samurai: Way of the Warrior is coming soon, and we have hands on with it. Samurai II: Vengance picks up the storyline where it left off, and has the main character Daisuke back for revenge with more hack n slash bloody action. The most well known aspect of the original was the 3D art design, and loads of blood and gore including slicing enemies in half.
Somehow Mad Finger Games has improved the visuals vastly, giving you 60 frame per second deluxe 3D environments with retina display quality graphics. Another well know aspect was the unique finger swiping control mechanic for all the sword fighting. This has been changed giving you a virtual joystick, and two action buttons for light and heavy attacks.
The same unlockable combos remain that now use a sequence of buttons rather than swipes, and they are purchasable as long as health upgrades. The same fighting mayhem is included where you face multiple enemies at once as you progress through the various landscapes. There are new platformer type elements of using switches, figuring out the path forward, and making it through timing based obstacles.
This really improves the variability of the game to make it more of an action adventure game rather than just simply action. The game takes the first, and incorporates all the good things, tweaks it a bit, and then improves it as a worthy sequel should. Just like the first the comic storyline panels are included to really tell a tale, and provide reason for the action.
The game looks absolutely gorgeous on the iPod Touch 4, and all the moving parts including background elements are silky smooth. The new action buttons are easy to control, and allow for combos though they are smaller areas to tap than having the whole screen to swipe. There is a new survival mode and Game Center is included for online high scores and achievements if just making it through the complex campaign mode isn’t enough.
Samurai II: Vengeance is universal for all iDevices, and is expected to be released on October 21st. Let us know what you think in the comments. Watch our hands on video below, note that the game runs at 60 FPS, but the video is choppy due to the recording process.
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