MIXED BAG. ASURA'S WRATH REVIEW!

MIXED BAG. PRESENTS

ASURA'S WRATH REVIEW

Developer: CAPCOM, Cyber Connect 2
System: PS3 & XBOX 360
Genre: Action, Beat 'em Up

LINK TO A BREAK-DOWN OF MY ?/5 RATING SYSTEMS

 

This game has a strange sort of fan following and, by the virtue of other game reviews I've read that consider whether actual game time/replayability is as important as the game feeling like it completed its story/goals, it has certainly become a poster boy for the genre of style over substance Quick Time Event video gaming. But, the real question on my mind today, is Asura's Wrath a good game, a bad game, or a great game?

This guy loves his IPs...

Lemme spill my expectations for the game before I get into my review; I was pretty stoked when I saw the first trailers for Asura's Wrath. It looked gorgeous, it looked awesome, and, most importantly, it looked different. Yet, when I read reviews I decided to wait and pick it up later. That was over a year ago.

Then, I was going through my game catalog and looking for the perfect fighting game to fill the hole of party game when I re-discovered Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm for the PS3 by Connect 2. I wanted more from the makers of the game and, considering picking up a more updated Naruto game with a big roster, I stumbled upon Connect2's connection to Asura's Wrath. The big boss fight section of Ninja Storm were fun, so, I figured, it would definitely be worth picking up Asura's Wrath... for $18 while I was waiting on my pre-ordered copy of Bioshock Infinite (which I got for $15).

STORY

Set in a bizarre techno-fantasy Hindu-Buddhist world of Gaea (that escalated quickly), the titular Asura is one of eight immortal "demigod" generals, led by Emperor Strada, in a seemingly eternal fight to save the human tribes occupying the planet from the savage, demonic Gohma. The game opens with Asura and an entire fleet of battleships floating above Gaea as thousands of Gohma launch themselves from the surface at the vessels above. Asura launches himself, through space, destroying the abominations alongside the other seven generals. Asura and the other demigods appear to have no trouble handling the Gohma until their largest vessel, Brahmastra, shaped like a meditative god-like figure, fires a beam into the planet...

...and awakens the mother of all Gohma, Vlitra. The enemy is so vast that it bursts out of the crust of the planet and begins firing a wave of fire at the vessels above. Vlitra decimates the fleet and incapacitates Asura. Luckily for Asura, his daughter Mithra, the high priestess, uses her own special power to influence the "Mantra" (basically, a term for the energy derived from souls, prayers, etc.) to rejuvenate him and unlock Asura's four other arms. He then let's loose and pushes Vlitra back. They win the battle, but the war is far from over. The fleet has been decimated and it is clear that treachery is afoot...

The game doesn't really want to fool around too much with exposition, which does get you to the action faster, but can make getting into the melodrama (and I do mean the best sort of anime melodrama) a little difficult. You'll have several questions; why is Asura so wrathful? Are the demigods actually divine or are they ascended humans or are they cyborgs (when they move they sound like battleships) or are they a combination of all of these elements? Why do none of the mortal speak the same language as the demigods? Well, all you really need to know is that Asura is framed for the murder of the Emperor, his wife is murdered, and his daughter is kidnapped to serve the leader of the demigods, Deus, in his plans to defeat the Gohma once and for all...by any means necessary. In order to accomplish this lofty goal,  Asura is cast down...

...into Naraka (the hellish afterlife) for 12, 000 years until awaken by a mysterious Golden Spider. Seriously. During that time, as we see in on of the early still frame cutscenes between missions, they have made themselves the "Seven Guardians" and their status has become that of Gods. While Asura has now become demonized in the world's mythology, the gods have become distant from the world, and see mortals as pawns in their own ultimate goal of defeating the Gohma. Asura doesn't really care about that (yet), but instead cares only to get revenge and free his daughter. This is a game about a father who will do anything to save his daughter from suffering and this makes the otherwise shallow Asura quite a sympathetic protagonist. I'll go out on a limb and say I like him a lot more than Kratos, because Asura actually really seems to gives a s*** about other people.

The game's story barely excels past its own shallow melodrama in some of its poignant themes and statements, but those're more inferred by your own personal observation. The game never pontificates or wastes your time with unecessary story. I will say that the game's ending and hidden ending feel weak. Perhaps the DLC to wrap up the cliff-hanger of the hidden ending fix that problem, but I'm pretty critical of Capcom making the "true ending" DLC.

In fact, for $60, the about 6-8 hours (2 of which is probably cutscenes) of gameplay is not really worth it because of the unsatisfying conclusion.

PRESENTATION

This game is pretty much the embodiment of style over substance (although there is some of that too), because it eschews so much in the name of giving you the best experience it can to simulate episodic anime in video game form. At this goal, the game more than succeeds.

The heavily stylized visuals-- a technofantasy woodcut painting with extremely emotive expression, the energy and particle effects flying everywhere, and massive scale of the fights-- create a unique experience. And yet, if I'm on the fence about any visual design in the game it would be the bland rendering of the background which goes from simple for the sake of highlighting the characters in the fight to seemingly ugly and lazy. Regardless, the game's character and enemy designs, borrowing elements from Hindu and Buddhist art and mythology, is a refreshing and unique take in the beat-em-up genre.

And as for sound? Let me get my gripe out of the game. I've never played a game that made me irritated with the soundtrack's volume. There are several sections in the game, especially at the beginning, that the music drowns out the dialogue. This is pretty unacceptable in a game where the gamer needs to be able to get their bearing. They make up for this technical failing by having a magnificent soundtrack that pushes the action forward and makes the visceral anime violence all the more satisfying.

GAMEPLAY

There are three parts to the game-play. The first introduced is weak, but the other two-thirds are strong.

The ranged combat sections of the game, which compose about a third of the game, are just pure crap. There. I said it.  I've played the game through about three times with about five other people and no one I've played with seems to like these sections because they lack satisfying reactions to your input. Its difficult to tell whether you're having any impact, the controls don't feel intuitive and are instead quite awkward, and the sections are far too long. If I only had one section of the game where I was falling through space and shooting laser beams out of my armpits, I would've been far happier.

Melee Combat is a lot more enjoyable!! It isn't the most sophisticated beat-em-up, by any measure, but it makes up for it with an extremely satisfying feeling of power (beat-em-ups are all about the power fantasy). The problem is that the system pretty much relies on you beating on guys until you can unlock your burst, which sets off a series of Quick Time Events, that you'll probably unlock by spamming power attacks.

Asura's Wrath's use of quick time events is pretty much the make or break part of the game and, to my satisfaction, they set a new standard of what you can do with that sort of game play. The QTEs rely on your quick reaction and timing, but aren't frustrating-- in fact, hitting "Y" at just the right moment to get a timing rating of "Excellent" is super satisfying. The game makes the QTEs work at allowing you to pull of gameplay moment that would be difficult to pull off with non-scripted action and allow for some of the most exhilarating portions of the game that you'll wanna play over and over again.

And really, it's the boss battles that will keep you coming back for more in Asura's Wrath. You'll want to keep playing levels over to get S-Rank (which isn't really that hard) and that does give the otherwise short game some much needed replay value. EX. I've played the August fight about four times now and I enjoy it every time.

PROS VS. CONS

+ The characters and story fit right into the best sort of anime melodrama.
+ The game's sights and sounds are the best sort of style over substance.
+ The melee combat is so satisfying and the game actually makes QTEs fun!
- Despite the game's ground-breaking visuals and exhilarating gameplay, it falters in the little details in the sound design/scenery and the ranged combat sequences are weak.
- /?The game is short. Too short. The fact that the "true ending" is DLC is abhorrent.

CONCLUSION?

3/5 or 4/5?

Sometimes it's important to give two ratings. The first rating, 3/5, is my honest opinion based on the product as a $60 purchase for the average gamer. Now, as a $20 purchase for an anime fan, this game easily pulls a 4/5. I feel pretty good about these ratings. After all, I've been thinking about what to score this game for like a week; the game has flaws that I wouldn't forgive in other games, but the artistry and experience generally make up for the weak points. If this game was about an hour longer, explained itself a little better, and included the true ending, I probably would be more inclined to give it a straight 4/5 or 5/5(?).

Because if you can get into anime melodrama or just enjoy a unique video game experience, you should definitely try out Asura's Wrath.