“Samurai Western”. The title doesn’t exactly inspire a great deal of wonder. Nobody’s going to suspect that this game is actually a puzzle game starring an intergalactic space dog. The title tells you exactly what you’re getting with this one: a samurai in the old west. Despite the rather bland name, it truly is a great premise for a game. After all, samurais: good. Westerns: good. Unfortunately, Samurai Western the game: not so good.

In fact, the biggest problem with the game is that it simply is that and nothing more; and by “that” I of course mean a Samurai Western. You’ll run from one dimwitted pistol-packer to the next, hacking him down with your sword while he invariably commands you to “stay still!” or asks, “Who are you?” This process will repeat as you work your way from level to uninspired level until you either finish the game or pass out from boredom.



The premise of the game is centered on the main character Gojiro Kiyuru, who has traveled to the American frontier in search of his brother…so he can kill him. Gojiro quickly runs into the Goldberg gang, which incidentally now employs his aforementioned brother. And that, as they say, is that. The rest of the game is simply moving from one level to another, impaling hapless fellers, dodging their bullets, and earning additional weapons and accessories.

Yes, the game does have plenty of little trinkets to collect and rewards you for high scores, combos, damage, and the like. But as you plow from one level to the next, which I should mention can barely be distinguished from one another, you won’t care. And the new weapons you collect hardly change the gameplay enough to make a difference. You’re still going to be dodging with the R button, attacking with the square button, and jumping occasionally with the X button to perform a power attack. Gojiro does have some cool maneuvers like being able to block bullets, use enemies as human shields, and entering a “Master Mode”, which is similar to bullet time. And the game also has some destructible environments that help when taking down enemies. A two-player mode is also available, allowing a friend to play as…Ralph. Ol’ Ralph’s a gunslinger out to help Gojiro on his mission. Ralph is mysterious.



But the sad fact of the matter is that these minor additions don’t erase the fact that Samurai Western is a shallow, uninspired affair that can be easily completed in right around four hours. The only reason to go back and play after you’ve finished is simply to rack up higher scores.

Samurai Western doesn’t fare much better in the presentation department. With its reused sets, grainy visuals, and odd graphical glitches, the game looks barely like a first-generation PS2 title. The audio doesn’t hold up very well either, with the sub-par voice acting and generic “old west” music.

We wanted to love Samurai Western, as our hands-on time with the game at E3 indicated some promise. And yes, the game is good for a rental or a quick fix. But with an initial price tag of $39.99, it’s hard to give it a full recommendation, unless you’re salivating for a western, and you’ve worn out your copy of Red Dead Revolver.



Article By: John