Way of the Samurai 3

5 Responses to “Way of the Samurai 3”

1. Kevbo
   12/04/2009 at 9:11 pm

   I have been a big fan of the Way of the Samurai series since it started on the PS2. The game has a choose your own adventure branching storyline mixed with a very fun and robust sword fighting mechanic. My main draw is all the different sword types, styles, and combos. This game also allows you to make your own sword by collecting and choosing thru pieces and then assigning it combos of your desire. The fighting system is fluid with tons of different animations for all the weapons. They also added hand to hand combat as well as the ability to use the dull side of your blade. Tons of replay value and addicting sword collection/fighting make this game an easy purchase for any action fan. If you really want a number 8.8/10
   Rating: 4 / 5
2. Phillip D. Tepper
   12/04/2009 at 11:14 pm

   For those who have played the first two Way of the Samurai titles, you know what to expect here with the third installment. For the unintitated, it would be best to know what this game is not. It’s not GTA with swords or a hack-and-slash game, it’s purely a decision-based system in which you tell the story where to go by triggering inklings or scenes or behaving differently. Killing innocents and looting them or saving people from injustice and defending yourself with blunt attacks clearly imply 2 ways you can play the game but they don’t necessarily guarantee you the same ending. No matter how you end the game, however, it begins in the same fashion. You’re found on the battlefield within an inch of your life by two looters and, one way or another, you are led to a farming village where a cot is set up for you. From this point on, the fate of the town and its people is in your hands.

   There are several endings, over 20 of them, which can take you anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours to complete. Beating the game or leaving the town altogether, reseting the game, will result in the end of that play session and the final summation of “samurai points” you have attained. for every act of villainy such as kicking an unarmed villager or slashing/killing people who don’t deserve it or are unarmed will decrease your total by 50 while progressing into a story branch and/or obtaining titles through play such as Rich Samurai for having 10,000 mon on you will raise that base total which adds or subtracts from your points bank – rewarding you with new faces/outfits/accessories/safes to hold weapons/difficulties/etc. Wanna look like Gackt in a tuxedo weilding a blacksmith hammer? Go for it.

   Now to play devil’s advocate: It’s fun, definitely, and I’m still playing it. Over 30 hours in so far, personally, but the replay value is different for all people. For the Gears/God of War crowd, this may be too much of a chore with how slow-paced it can be or its lackluster graphics (yes, it’s not Killzone 4 but no one’s playing this for its looks). If you like the idea of a game being significantly different depending on whether or not you bowed to that woman or spoke negatively about that clan, you’re in for a treat because while it doesn’t have the same dialogue branching detail as a Bioware title, the story itself goes in another direction. That said, the con side to this is that you don’t know exactly what choice will equal a desired result, which either results in trial and error or having to be faithful to a guide written by gamers. Yeah, forget about a strategy guide or in-depth explanation within the game itself, any and all support for all the titles in this series has and will come from the fans.

   If you’re willing to engross yourself in its world or are playing along with a guide, that’s your best bet for knowing all you need to know about WotS3 and you’ll still either love or hate this game. But if you’re interested thus far, you may end up becoming a fan once you get used to its inner workings and controls. By no means is this a AAA title but it has so many complex nuances that makes it at the very least worth a hard look. And, for fans, it’s exactly what should be in your cart/wishlist if you’re not already playing it.
   Rating: 4 / 5
3. J. Yamamoto
   12/05/2009 at 1:13 am

   Way of the Samurai 3 seems, more or less, to be nothing more than a reiteration of the past games. That is to say that it doesn’t deviate very much from its predecessors. While this is a good thing to fans of the series, it strikes me–an avid gamer–as a bit cheap. Is it worth the $40? Sure. Any more, though, and you’re being cheated. Which is why I feel cheated as I was one to pre-order this game.

   Now, what’s great about this game is that it offers some freedom in how you play through the game. Certain events occur at certain times and in certain places, and it is up to you to find them, partake in them, or skip them if you like. The story is there, though it can be rather awkward to try and find your way from one to the next. It seems mostly to be a series of encounters which you may or may not influence, and may sometimes progress the story even if you do not want it to. However, if you choose to forgo the story, you will find that you can play for an infinite amount of days, which is a hugely welcome change from the previous games. However, the stories in Way of the Samurai 3 seem to jump from one point to another, ending on an ending that may be entirely different from another playthrough, or only slightly different. The name of Way of the Samurai’s stories is variety though, and not long, drawn-out masterpieces. So don’t expect yourself to be comepletely drawn in by the story.

   There are three factions and you are allowed to join any of them, or all of them if you wish. Joining a faction is a bit shallow, however, with each faction offering a hand full of missions which aren’t very different from one another. These missions usually include simple tasks like assassination, mediating disputes, finding lost objects, apprehending criminals, and other rather meaningless tasks that reward you with progressively higher amounts of money. Factions are mostly for two things; progressing the story and earning both money and faction reputation. There doesn’t seem to be very much difference here from previous titles.

   The character customization, both pre-game and mid-game, are only slightly more advanced than previous games. There is a larger selection in faces and bodies and after obtaining enough Samurai points, players may choose to play as an NPC they have previously knocked unconcious. Accessories make a return and this time players can easily manage them as well as customize their size and placement.

   Weapons seem to be limited mostly to swords this time around, though there are now spears. To offset the lack of weapon variety, we are given the ability to create swords and spears from whatever parts we find. The custom weapon is made up of four or five parts, each of which influences the weapon’s statistics. You then are allowed to choose the stance for the sword and respective skills. Unfortunately, no weapons can be dissasembled. Weapons can still be upgraded and appraised for titles, as in previous games, and the upgrade process is a little more lenient this time around, allowing you to reforge the weapon for a small price in hopes of getting a better upgrade. It seems that weapons are no longer at risk of breaking from being upgraded.

   Combat is just as entertaining as it has been in previous games. It doesn’t change very much. Basic combat is still block, light attack, and heavy attack. Delving deeper, you have the ability to push your opponent when you attack or to pull your opponent when you block their attack. Parrying and hit-satsu–which is Way of the Samurai’s one-hit kill, whereby you time your block to parry and the quickly press attack to kill–are still here and aren’t very different… They’re just a little flashier. Most combat is still one on one, even when surrounded by foes, and accidentally hitting friendlies isn’t very difficult. Unfortunately, as with previous games, combat can cause the game’s frame rate to slow a great deal, especially in larger battles like the 100-man missions wherein you must kill 100 people in order to regain a faction’s favor. It doesn’t make the game unplayable, and can really assist you in getting plenty of hit-satsu, but when the game begins slowing down in other areas as well–as it often will if you’ve played long enough, or taken part in too many large battles–it can be very troublesome to restart the game.

   Way of the Samurai 3 deviates very little from previous games. It changes enough to feel fresh to fans, but gamers looking for the next best thing aren’t going to find it here. The game’s obvious flaws may not be so bad at first, but can really wear on you as you’re running through the game again for the tenth time. Way of the Samurai still is not a game for those looking for an absolutely fantastic story. It is meant more for those who like to collect things in games, those who like to fight, and those who like achievements more than progress. It isn’t bad, but it isn’t great, and I believe it falls just short of being what people often call a next-generation game. Way of the Samurai 3 still seems to be stuck on the Playstation 2; it doesn’t seem to realize that both the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 are capable of holding much more on their DVDs and that both console’s hardware are very capable of handling a great deal of stress. If Way of the Samurai 3 is just the forerunner for a much better Way of the Samurai 4, then I would understand–the first time is always a bit diffcult–but otherwise I find this game to be lacking in terms of innovation. At the end of the day, the game feels a bit cheap and a bit stale. Fortunately, the listed price here is now $40, which is a much more reasonable price.
   Rating: 3 / 5
4. Adam P Miller
   12/05/2009 at 3:37 am

   Although the game has everything I expected, the lack of the tutorial ensured a costly error within the first 5 minutes of game play. I was prompted to press the L1 button when some farmers arrived and they ran off, thinking i was out to kill them for no reason. Other than that early mistake, and the immensely corny dialogue that was so very rampant in the first 2 games, the game play ends up being a lot of fun. you can choose from three paths now, Good, Evil, or you can take a diplomatic route and avoid combat entirely. All around this is a great game, just read the instructions before you play. There is also free Downloadable Content on the Playstation network. Worth checking out over all I would say $40-$50 is a fair price for this game.
   Rating: 4 / 5
5. Lisa Shea
   12/05/2009 at 3:42 am

   Way of the Samurai 3 is an open-world game styled like an old-school samurai film. In some ways, it lives up to the standards of the series; in others, it overextends itself.

   In WOTS3, you play as a wandering samurai caught in the kingdom of Amana during the Warring States period. There are several factions you can choose to ally yourself with: the powerful Fujimori clan, the rural Ouka clan, or the oppressed farmers of Takatane. The game has an open world, so you can wander around doing what you want – doing jobs and gaining the trust of the various factions to accomplish something in the world, or just spending your time picking fights and upgrading your sword. The game is meant to be played many times – it’s short, but there are so many variations in the endings that it’s clearly meant to be replayed over and over.

   WOTS3 offers you more influence in the world than previous games. While WOTS1 and WOTS2 both allowed you a wide variety of choices as to your behavior in the world, in terms of who you could kill and where you could go, you were severely limited. In WOTS3, anyone can be killed at any time as long as you can get to them. It’s possible to draw your sword during almost any cutscene in the entire game; if you want to, you can just cut a bloody swath through every important character, take their stuff, and leave.

   On the flipside, if you’re actually trying to accomplish something and get a good ending, it’s important to be more diplomatic. WOTS3 offers two different concessions to the idea of peace. The first of these is the ability to apologize; in previous games, if you accidentally drew your sword, you had to fight or run away. In WOTS3, it’s possible to attempt to reconcile and avoid fighting, which can be crucial if you’ve spent all your time building up trust with one clan and almost ruin it accidentally. The other new feature is the ability to attack non-lethally; you can defeat an enemy, but they won’t be killed permanently. Since every single character in the game is persistent in the world, this can be important if a necessary character picks a fight with you and won’t accept your surrender. You may find it necessary to fight back, but also to keep the person alive.

   The swordfighting system feels slightly less refined than in WOTS2, but it makes up for it with improved customization. Like previous games, there are a few basic styles that swords can be used in, as well as some exotic options like ninja swords and iaijutsu. WOTS3 changes a few things as far as weapons go. Spears have been added to the game, to go with the more medieval tone of the setting. Additionally, dual-wielding now involves two actual swords, rather than one “sword” that’s actually a set of two. Finally, you now have the option to create your own swords or spears from parts that can be found or bought in the game world. These weapons have their stats determined by the parts you use, so saving all your best parts to build a super high-quality sword is usually a good idea.

   As gameplay goes, the most annoying part in comparison to other games in the series is how disconnected everything feels. The story is moved along through “inklings”, which show up on your map occasionally to let you know to go to a certain area. However, many of these inklings are non-intuitive. For example, while playing as a member of the Fujimori clan, I ended up at a dead end where nothing was happening. As it turned out, I had to go join the rival Ouka clan, then immediately leave. It made no sense and felt really awkward. The jobs you have to do to gain faction approval are a pain, too. Some of them are ok – go here, kill one guy. Others have you hunting around the map for a hidden person or item, many of whom won’t show up due to bugs or bad programming. In one case, I found two of three people that I needed to find, and couldn’t find the last one no matter where I looked. I then left the map and came back; when I returned, the third person was sitting in a place that I had definitely checked before.

   Another gameplay gimmick added is the presence of “partners” – romantic interests for your samurai to pursue. These partners have no role in the main gameplay; rather, you have to go out looking for them and fulfill whatever requirements they have for you to “recruit” them. For example, one partner threatens to attack you to avenge her dead father (she has mistaken you for his killer), and to recruit her you must apologize to her rather than fighting back. Another shows up only at midnight, and can be hired as a bodyguard for the night. However, these partners are more annoying than helpful – some offer small advantages, like remote access to your weapons safe and so on, but they all run much slower than you do and you’ll be forced to constantly stop to let them catch up, or just walk everywhere. There are some mini-games you can do that require you to have a partner, and if you hang out with a partner long enough they can become a romantic interest, but other than that there’s really not that much they’re good for. Overall, they’re just a pain.

   The game’s graphical quality varies pretty wildly – people and weapons are done pretty well, but the environmental textures are bland and unappealing. The main character especially is good at expressing emotion, but the buildings look really fake and the maps are lined with invisible walls and other issues that seem really silly to still have in 2009. Despite some improvements, as a whole WOTS3 is not a graphically impressive game – it’s not quite as bad as last-gen, but it’s not up to the standards of current generation graphics.

   The sound design in the game is similarly varied in quality. The music is interesting and atmospheric. The voice work in Japanese is pretty good, but the English dub is lazy and not even worth bothering with. Thankfully, the game provides both English and Japanese as options. There’s a really weird bug with voices, though, which is that the volume of a person’s voice is based on the camera’s proximity to the speaker – not based on the character’s proximity. The result is that, because it’s a third-person game, you won’t be able to hear anyone unless you swing the camera around so that the person speaking is right in front of you. It’s really weird and annoying and just ruins the experience.

   As a whole, WOTS3 is an ambitious game, and I can respect that. However, it’s so sloppily put together that the few areas where it is fun are overshadowed by repetitive tasks and shoddy development. It’s a good example of combining story and gameplay, but in terms of being a fun game it’s kind of lacking.

   Rating: 6/10.
   Rating: 3 / 5