Genji: Dawn of the Samurai Critic Reviews

Genji's appeal for hardcore and newbies alike is that it's an excellently crafted example of the good 'ole slice and dicer with just enough challenge to keep things interesting.

There is a delicateness in the story that is inextricably linked to the violent savagery of the gameplay. It's both sweet and sour or yin and yang. It's Japanese - go figure.

No, it's nothing new, but what it does, it does so well that you can't help but be sucked into this world. The action is near-perfect and the balance of visuals to combat to RPG elements is utterly enchanting.

A beautiful beat 'em up adventure. The simple counter system is a nice idea. A bit short and easy, though.

The close quarters combat feels exactly as you'd hope for in a high-quality samurai action game.

Japanophiles will thrill, but traditional action fans would also be remiss if they didn't at least check out what the fuss is about.

It’s a good game. That’s about all that really needs to be said. If you liked Onimusha, then pick up this game.

The team has definitely nailed the presentation aspects of game making, and coupled it with very solid gameplay. The gameplay isn’t exemplary though, the story could be more intricate, and the game could be longer.

Superior visuals and enjoyable user-friendly combat make this one of the best adventure games on PS2. Onimusha fans will love it for sure.

It could have been a little bit longer, and it could have been executed a lot more thoroughly. Even so, Genji is a great ride.

Through its immense playability that never gets too complicated, Genji is just another one of those games for people who play video games. At absolute worst, this is Rental of the Year for 2005.

Feeling the buzz of Genji’s countering system is the key to enjoying it, making the eastern promise of demanding play feel attainable, if less exotic for those already well-versed in mastering such endeavours.

Played as both a sword-wielding samurai and a warrior monk who swings what looks like a table leg, Genji is mostly a button masher, but one that requires good timing to pull off its truly brutal (and life saving) moves.

With a more detailed and challenging storyline, Genji could have been right up on the top tier with the titles that inspired it. As is, this is an entertaining, beautiful experience for any fan of swords and samurai.

Genji's big downfall is its length.

Even with the short running time, however, Genji is so well-constructed that anyone partial to sword combat should pay attention.

In the end, game progression is gratifying, and it looks and sounds great enough along the way to make the entire experience an amazingly enjoyable one.

All in all, while I felt the ride was too short, I enjoyed every minute of it. Few games these days can offer a solid 6 hours of joy, even if they have quests that take 50 hours to complete.

The game’s excellent visuals and integration of that Japanese feel make it a better-than-average action adventure game, but is overall too short to make it really stand out.

I would have liked a longer game with a little more challenge to it, but at the end of the day Genji does so many things well that I found myself willing to live with the flaws.