Game Review: Way of the Samurai 2

Gameplay/Replay:
In Way of the Samurai 2, the player has a little bit of a learning curve at the start. Even if the player played the first one, it still takes some getting used to. There are the jobs which are the main source of money in the game. They are often repetitive and can be frustrating if it is a fighting job. Things are more expensive in this game so a player is forced to take some jobs to be able to stay alive. Also, the health in this game is different from the first. The player can buy food items and keep them with him and use them at any time(comes in handy for boss fights). The swords in this games are cooler. There are more exotic swords in this one and there are some great kill moves for each of them. But you will find that upgrading your sword is necessary for survival(you initial sword is very weak). One thing I liked in the game was the various homages to the last game, some are kind of funny. The replay in this game is all about the different endings. I think there is like 12 of them. Its fun to see how your decisions affect what happens in the town as you play through. Its possible to see that because the time system is new. The energy points system (which can be recharged in a number of ways) insures that a section of the day will pass after a job is done, a major event has occurred, or you have spent too much time wandering around. One great new thing is that you can save the game on the map screen (which you have to go through each time you want to go to a new area). If you learn to us this to your advantage, the game will be far less frustrating.

Graphics:
Graphics are far improved over the last instalment. In the last game, literally every second there was a little jump on the screen. It was a little annoying, but thankfully its gone. The blood in this game is cool because it sprays(great for kill shots). The character models are more diverse and better looking in this game, too. The same goes for the environments, of which there are about 10.

Sound:
The music in this game is great at first but can get repetitive after you play the game for awhile. On the plus side, the voices are now in english, so you can listen to the characters instead of read what they are saying(although the subtitles are still there). And, I have to say, its still very satisfying to hear the scream of a dying adversary as the blood spray drowns out his voice.

Overall:
If you get good at this game really fast, there should be no problems. But if you are like the rest of us and hit the learning curve, expect to be frustrated. Nothing is worse than getting killed by a punk in a random fight and having to start over. I can’t stress the use of the save button enough. But for any player, it is fun to execute your enemy with a katana.

Download:
Download Game PC
Steam