ESRB: Teen (Blood, Language, Partial Nudity, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence)
Players: 1
DLC: Confirmed, currently unavailable
Retail Price: $59.99
Gamestop Used Price: $54.99
"Wrath" (rath, rawth, rahth) Noun 1. strong, stern, or fierce anger; deeply resentful indignation, ire 2. vengeance or punishment as the consequence of anger
If you believe that the above definition doesn't define "Asura's Wrath", then you haven't played it. Asura is the embodiment of wrath, quite literally. In Buddhist mythology, the Asuras are power-seeking deities who were dispossessed by the other gods. In their rage, they marched against the gods.
"Aura's Wrath" is a blend of Buddhist mythology and sci-fi, combining deities with giant spaceships and lasers. Now, at first it seems like a sloppy merging, but Capcom pulls it off with briliance.
Asura is one of the Eight Guardian Generals, tasked with protecting the humans of Gaea from the Gohma, a species of impure creatures who are hellbent on destroying everything on the planet. Leading the Gohma is Viltra, a being that emerges from beneath the surface of Gaea itself. The humans praise and worship the deities, the prayers converting into Mantra. The Priestess Mithra, Asura's daughter, is then able to channel the Mantra, supporting the demigods in their struggle. Using this power, Asura is able to seal Viltra back into the earth. He is hailed as a hero by the gods, although his glory is short-lived. Soon after returning home, he discovers that the king of the gods has been murdered. And he's the only person there. Now a fugitive, Asura rushes home only to kind his wife murdered and daughter kidnapped. From this point on, life only goes downhill for our hero, throwing him into the depths of rage.
The game may remind players of the "God of War" series at first, however it quickly distinguishes itself. "Asura's Wrath" is really a simple game. There are only four displays on the screen, and three of them are combined into one: Asura's health, the Rage bar, the Unlimited meter, and the overheat meter. When you use a power attack, Asura must wait until the overhead meter over his head vanishes before he can use another (unless Unlimited Mode is activated). Unlimited Mode increases your damage output, prevents you from overheating, and even keeps you from being knocked away by attacks. The most important bar, however, is the Rage bar. Bosses don't have health. You simple bash the lif eout of them until the Rage bar fills and "RAGE!!!!!" Fills the top of the screen. By pushing R2 (The R trigger on 360, I'd imagine), Asura blows everything around him away, rushing at his foe in blind fury.Like GoW, "Asura's Wrath uses context inputs for interactive scenes, although AW relies on timing rather than just pressing the button. Getting the timing right influences the "Synchronization" rating at the end of the episode.
The game consists of 19 episodes divided into three parts. Each episode lasts roughly 20 minutes with a bumper about halfway through, like an anime. In fact, the entire game is treated like an anime series, right down to the hot springs episode which is always there yet plays no real signifcant part in the overall story.Unfortunately, this set-up means that the game isn't especially... long.
The music is always raging with Asura's tortured mind. Whether it's the serenity of the hot springs or fighting on the moon to Dvorak's "New World Symphony", everything that happens is perfectly accented by the musical score. And then there's the acting. The work is legen...wait for it...dary. Asura is played by Liam O'Brien (Kain Highwind, Caius Ballad, Jushiro Ukitake), and his brother-in-law Yasha is voiced by Robin Atkin Downes (Luxord, Travis Touchdown, Kuzuhiko Miller). But really, the best thing about the acting is the script. Unlike Square-Enix *ahem*, Capcom isn't afraid of the charcter's mouths not moving exactly with the words (another reference to its anime style). Because of this the script can truly be written with freedom, and it shows. Cutscenes are abundant with Metal Gear style, but like MG, you don't mind. In fact, the whole game would make a rockin' anime on its own.
As for replay value, there admittedly isn't an abundance of it. There are multiple trophies for completing the each episode wiht a certain rank, or completing the entrie game with a certain gauge equipped, but the only real incentive to do so is to unlock True Episode 18, the true ending.
Overall, it's worth it. It's completely worth it.
Score: 9/10
Questions? Comments? Stuff it... or leave them below.
Name: "Asura's Wrath"
Platform: Playstation 3, Xbox 360
Developer: Capcom, CyberConnect2
ESRB: Teen (Blood, Language, Partial Nudity, Suggestive Themes, Use of Alcohol, Violence)
Players: 1
DLC: Confirmed, currently unavailable
Retail Price: $59.99
Gamestop Used Price: $54.99
"Wrath" (rath, rawth, rahth) Noun 1. strong, stern, or fierce anger; deeply resentful indignation, ire 2. vengeance or punishment as the consequence of anger
If you believe that the above definition doesn't define "Asura's Wrath", then you haven't played it. Asura is the embodiment of wrath, quite literally. In Buddhist mythology, the Asuras are power-seeking deities who were dispossessed by the other gods. In their rage, they marched against the gods.
"Aura's Wrath" is a blend of Buddhist mythology and sci-fi, combining deities with giant spaceships and lasers. Now, at first it seems like a sloppy merging, but Capcom pulls it off with briliance.
Asura is one of the Eight Guardian Generals, tasked with protecting the humans of Gaea from the Gohma, a species of impure creatures who are hellbent on destroying everything on the planet. Leading the Gohma is Viltra, a being that emerges from beneath the surface of Gaea itself. The humans praise and worship the deities, the prayers converting into Mantra. The Priestess Mithra, Asura's daughter, is then able to channel the Mantra, supporting the demigods in their struggle. Using this power, Asura is able to seal Viltra back into the earth. He is hailed as a hero by the gods, although his glory is short-lived. Soon after returning home, he discovers that the king of the gods has been murdered. And he's the only person there. Now a fugitive, Asura rushes home only to kind his wife murdered and daughter kidnapped. From this point on, life only goes downhill for our hero, throwing him into the depths of rage.
The game may remind players of the "God of War" series at first, however it quickly distinguishes itself. "Asura's Wrath" is really a simple game. There are only four displays on the screen, and three of them are combined into one: Asura's health, the Rage bar, the Unlimited meter, and the overheat meter. When you use a power attack, Asura must wait until the overhead meter over his head vanishes before he can use another (unless Unlimited Mode is activated). Unlimited Mode increases your damage output, prevents you from overheating, and even keeps you from being knocked away by attacks. The most important bar, however, is the Rage bar. Bosses don't have health. You simple bash the lif eout of them until the Rage bar fills and "RAGE!!!!!" Fills the top of the screen. By pushing R2 (The R trigger on 360, I'd imagine), Asura blows everything around him away, rushing at his foe in blind fury.Like GoW, "Asura's Wrath uses context inputs for interactive scenes, although AW relies on timing rather than just pressing the button. Getting the timing right influences the "Synchronization" rating at the end of the episode.
The game consists of 19 episodes divided into three parts. Each episode lasts roughly 20 minutes with a bumper about halfway through, like an anime. In fact, the entire game is treated like an anime series, right down to the hot springs episode which is always there yet plays no real signifcant part in the overall story.Unfortunately, this set-up means that the game isn't especially... long.
The music is always raging with Asura's tortured mind. Whether it's the serenity of the hot springs or fighting on the moon to Dvorak's "New World Symphony", everything that happens is perfectly accented by the musical score. And then there's the acting. The work is legen...wait for it...dary. Asura is played by Liam O'Brien (Kain Highwind, Caius Ballad, Jushiro Ukitake), and his brother-in-law Yasha is voiced by Robin Atkin Downes (Luxord, Travis Touchdown, Kuzuhiko Miller). But really, the best thing about the acting is the script. Unlike Square-Enix *ahem*, Capcom isn't afraid of the charcter's mouths not moving exactly with the words (another reference to its anime style). Because of this the script can truly be written with freedom, and it shows. Cutscenes are abundant with Metal Gear style, but like MG, you don't mind. In fact, the whole game would make a rockin' anime on its own.
As for replay value, there admittedly isn't an abundance of it. There are multiple trophies for completing the each episode wiht a certain rank, or completing the entrie game with a certain gauge equipped, but the only real incentive to do so is to unlock True Episode 18, the true ending.
Overall, it's worth it. It's completely worth it.
Score: 9/10
Questions? Comments? Stuff it... or leave them below.