Slice and dice

Most of the classic stories of the untamed and wild Western parts of the United States were about gunslingers, law men, Cowboys and Indians and the occasional intervention of the U.S. Calvary on behalf of settlers who needed more protection than a sheriff or a U.S. Marshall could provide. But there are other tales worth noting...

One such tale took an entirely different path and told the story of a wandering shaolin monk named Cain; his tales were about spirituality, standing up for the little guy and only using force when it was absolutely necessary - all imagined by the legendary Bruce Lee. While Cain was everyone's favorite Asian good Samaritan, the protagonist of Atlus U.S.A.'s and Spike's (best known for the Fire Pro Wrestling series of games) doesn't walk softly and carries a big sword.

Deflect bullets using your sword

The game itself is a third person action affair where players use a variety of swords and sword styles to slice and dice enemies, gain experience to level up and collect things to level up their weapons and a bizarre inventory of accessories that seem more out of place than a nuclear missile in the Dark Ages.

Players will start with a simple sword (Torakaton), and as they progress through each level scoring points they'll unlock new ones, along with the aforementioned accessories. These weapons offer different kinds of attacks and offer special power-ups called Master Mode that give the player temporary extra deadly techniques.

Use your enemies as human shields

Like the swords, accessories are items that you equip to enhance your stats and for the sake of aesthetics. Anything you equip shows up on your person, allowing you to customize your samurai with cool new looks. Admittedly some of the accessories make the samurai look like what he is - a tourist in a strange land. Still these little extras are fun to collect, and some of them used in the right combination look cool and add value to your stats that will help you survive in the game.

There are a myriad of things that the player can do in combat depending on what kind of sword is equipped. Players can pick up objects and throw them or use them as shields for one thing. For instance, players could pick up a table, run towards a group of enemies, and then throw it at one of the or set it down in a certain direction to block enemy fire. Players can also grab enemies and use them as human shields as the approach a target and then slice both of them to bits.

Choose your weapn carefully

Swordplay and gameplay in general in blazingly fast and visually stunning. Players slice and dice enemies, moving as they go, deflecting bullets, powering up their swords or simply landing a jumping attacks striking multiple foes as they land. This game does what countless others on the market just can't seem to pull off these days - provide gameplay that is blazingly fast and easy to learn. The combat is the gel that holds this game together.



Visually Samurai Western is a slick overall endeavor and does a nice job of capturing various Western themed locales, architecture character stereotypes, etc.

While I might be giving you the impression that the game represents the old west in a historical sense it really doesn't attempt to do that at all and that's another part of its overall appeal. The game features enemies and bosses that are definitely pure fantasy. For instance, dynamite toting dwarves, Tommy gun wielding banditos and machine gun toting psychos don't exactly belong in an episode of Gun Smoke. But having said that it's important to point out that these strange and wild characters are what give this game a soul.

Put on a goofy accesory for stat bonuses

Finally it should be noted that a second player can join in the game at any time and play as a gunslinger, for some nice solid co-operative play. The game also offers a lot of unlockable content including characters, an additional game mode and lots of weapons and accessories. If you like Western themed games with a little Samurai action than Samurai Western is a game worth keeping an eye. The game is scheduled for release here in the United States some time in June, and from what we've experienced first-hand we can safely say that this game is worth the price of admission. Look for the game in early June. In the meantime, check out the brand new screenshots to get a better idea of what this game is all about!