Asura’s battle with his former mentor starts on the moon, and ends…well, we won’t spoil its awesomeness.Asura’s Wrath is simultaneously the biggest case ever lobbied against Japanese action-adventure games and one of the most enjoyable experiences we’ve had within the genre. It’s a game where you can spend less than 2 minutes of a 20-minute chapter engaging in combat, but said chapter can jump from a conversation with a golden spider to a hot springs–based drinking-and-ogling session, culminating in a brutal fight that starts on the moon and ends with the most creative sword attack we’ve ever seen.
Given that most of the game is dedicated to watching the action unfold in countless cutscenes, it’s a good thing the story is so captivating. You play as Asura, a hulking demigod betrayed by his seven fellow guardians — warriors who destroyed his family in the best interests of protecting the world from a dangerous force called the Gohma. After tens of thousands of years, Asura returns with a serious grudge and two groups of enemies to contend with. Over the ensuing 8 to 10 hours, Asura seeks his revenge on the back-stabbers, who inexplicably feed Asura’s anger to the point where he’s able to perform attacks that’d make Superman whimper.
The hot-springs section midway through Asura’s Wrath offers a brief respite and a handful…of Achievement opportunities.Of course, the moves you can use during the standard combat scenes aren’t quite as intense. You can unleash some intense uppercuts and lightning-fast diving attacks on the ground, as well as some sweet multi-target shooting in the air, but those moves are merely a means to the end of each fight. When you’ve built up the “Burst” meter to a sufficient level, a quick-time sequence commences in which Asura will (almost always) unleash a guttural yell and obliterate the biggest threat on the screen, be it via a face-crunching blow, a brutal evisceration, or consuming said enemy with a rage-filled flame.
Fans seeking deep, involving combat shouldn’t put down their copies of Kingdoms of Amalur or Mass Effect for Asura’s Wrath: it’s a game chock full of style but little substance. Nevertheless, we can’t deny that Asura’s made us jump, scream, and pump our fist in the air just as often as the game’s crazy warrior hero, even if it was a byproduct of not having to press any buttons for dozens of minutes at a time.
PUBLISHER: Capcom • DEVELOPER: CyberConnect2 • ESRB: Teen • MULTIPLAYER: None • ACHIEVEMENTS: Vague, yet plentiful • COST: $60
+ Easily the most outrageous action game ever to grace the Xbox 360.
+ Its episodic nature allows for natural setting shifts and meters out new gameplay elements appropriately.
– The game is at least 90% cinematics; the combat isn’t especially deep.
? Can we please get Asura in the next Marvel vs. Capcom game?
