Samurai Jack: The Shadow of Aku

Just read in OPM, Play, and a few other mags that Samurai Jack is getting his own game, thanks to Sega.

I know many of you don't like Jack for wide and varied reasons: This thread is not for you.

I suppose we'll have more to talk about near the time of it's release, but for now, have some screen shots (look at those awesome backgrounds):

http://www.gamespy.com/previews/febr...ckmulti/04.jpg

http://www.gamespy.com/previews/febr...ckmulti/03.jpg

http://www.gamespy.com/previews/febr...ckmulti/05.jpg

http://www.gamespy.com/previews/febr...ckmulti/07.jpg

http://www.gamespy.com/previews/febr...ckmulti/01.jpg

This looks like a train wreck. What's with his face?

I think it looks like a perfect translation from 2D to 3D. But I tend to be optimistic about, well, about everything.

What do you mean "What's wrong with his face?"

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Originally Posted by Captain Vegetable

What do you mean "What's wrong with his face?"

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First and fourth screens. Horrifying. It looks like his face is totally flat and has a crappy texture slapped on. I'd like to see some better quality shots, but I'm afraid this game will look like ass no matter what. I'm a fan of Samurai Jack, and this stuff is just repelling me right now.

I could have sworn his face was supposed to have a flat profile. I have his action figures, and all of them have a flat profile, too.

And I'm not seeing crappy textures. I'm not seeing "textures" at all, just some solid/shaded color, like it should be.

His open mouth does look a bit weird, though. So I'll give you that.

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/showthread.php?t=26647

It needs a median filter or something to smooth out the jaggies.

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Originally Posted by Captain Vegetable

I could have sworn his face was supposed to have a flat profile. I have his action figures, and all of them have a flat profile, too.

And I'm not seeing crappy textures. I'm not seeing "textures" at all, just some solid/shaded color, like it should be.

His open mouth does look a bit weird, though. So I'll give you that.

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It is, but I mean.. it looks TOTALLY flat to me. Like all the movement taking place on one plane, when there should be at least some depth, right? Like I said, I'd like to see some better screens, or at least the game in action, but right now, I'm finding it pretty unattractive.

It needs a median filter or something to smooth out the jaggies.

It still needs cell-shading.

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Originally Posted by Grave

It is, but I mean.. it looks TOTALLY flat to me. Like all the movement taking place on one plane, when there should be at least some depth, right? Like I said, I'd like to see some better screens, or at least the game in action, but right now, I'm finding it pretty unattractive.

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I actually have seen it in motion. This game was on the GameStop trailer this month, along with Crimson Sea 2. Matter of fact, that's what prompted me to post this.

And about cell-shading, I think I might agree. There isn't any reason for any cartoon conversion to not be cell-shaded.

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Originally Posted by AstroBlue

http://www.the-nextlevel.com/tnl/showthread.php?t=26647

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Heh. Look at that. I even posted in it.

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Originally Posted by Ammadeau

It still needs cell-shading.

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seriously. and nintendo should be making the game, considering that wind waker's enemy designs are ripped straight from samurai jack. :chu:

Official site's up: KA-SPANK!

The game comes out on Wednesday for GC and PS2. I'll be picking myself up a PS2 copy.

It's releasing at $40, too. :)

Holy crap, this game looks much better in action than the shots would seem to portray. Now I'm considering this..

Edit: Still desperately needs Cel Shading, but nonetheless more impressive than I expected.

I told you foo, I told you! ;)

At $40 right off the bat, I might just pick this up soon.

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Originally Posted by Captain Vegetable

What do you mean "What's wrong with his face?"

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It looks like I can use his cheeks to cut down redwood trees.

I await mooching off of Vicious Jazz' impressions, 'cause I don't wanna blow time or money renting/buying this game. :p

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Originally Posted by ChaoofNee

I await mooching off of Vicious Jazz' impressions, 'cause I don't wanna blow time or money renting/buying this game. :p

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You can blow ME once you eat your words.

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Originally Posted by ChaoofNee

It looks like I can use his cheeks to cut down redwood trees.

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We already had that argument, slugger. He's supposed to look that way. He looks that way in the cartoon, his action figures look that way, and so now his game looks that way.

You lose!

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Originally Posted by Captain Vegetable

You lose!

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On your date with victory, you were STOOD UP!

Ah. Snatching defeat out of the jaws of victory, I see.

YOU LOSE!

Looking over the screenshots again... is it just me or does Jack in the first screen shot look a lot like Bruce Cambell?

As for the game itself, I'll wait for solid impressions before considering a purchase.

It looks kind of like Mark of Kri, judging from the perspective of the camera. The gameplay looks to be really quick, and this should be a fun game to play. Also, the new Nintendo Power (with MGS: TS on the cover) has a neat preview on the game.

In the new issue of Play magazine ol' Davey gave it a B. He pretty much raves about it the whole review with out much negative speak. He says its a really great hub based action-platformer in the vein of Banjo-Kazooie/Super Mario 64. Halverson is usually pretty positive about games and tends to get more out of them than most people, so I guess its up to you how you take his reviews. Seems like it could be a very fun romp, i'll wait till it drops in price which I imagine it surly will, even at a $40 start price.

Of all of the new releases to shelf today, why did this one have to be the only one not to make the date?! Not a single store in our area recieved it. They got shipping lists, but no games. Hopefully it'll be in tomorrow.

I'm a bit pissed off, but I it isn't really any big deal. It's just one more day to wait. In the meantime, I'll play I-Ninja, as I just purchased it.

you will enjoy i-ninja, the story makes no sense, but the game itsself is solid, and you will recognize a lot of play mechanics from ninja gaiden(wall run, up the wall run). It has a definite banjo kazooie feel with how the missions are layed out.

on topic i am a fan of the cartoon, but this game is at the end of a VERY long line of other games i want, so it will probably be a price cut buy from me.

The music on the trailer sounds like something from a Ninja Turtles game.

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Originally Posted by Lhadatt

The music on the trailer sounds like something from a Ninja Turtles game.

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The music in the actual game is phenomenal! It sets the mood perfectly, and it's crafted for each stage with much skill.

I'm going to be extremely even handed with this review. I know I can't be trusted when it comes to games and whatnot, because I seem to like everything, so I'll do my best to curtail the gushing and be as fair as possible.

I just spent the past 2 hours playing through the first 2 levels of the game (to ultimate completion), which is hub structured (five levels total, I believe), and I must admit I do like it a lot. I am, however, a big Samurai Jack fan.

The character graphics are simple, but they get the job done. Now that I've seen the game in motion, I'll have to agree with the sentement that his face does, indeed, appear too "flat." It's kind of annoying, but it looks like Jack enough to ingnore it. However, when there's a cut scene and Jack begins to talk, it is made extremely apparent. His mouth isn't as bad as originally stated, but it could have been much better.

The backgrounds are amazing. They're a combination of 2D and 3D, and the effect that is achieved is breathtaking (especially looking out over the green mountains in the intro level). Simple, like the cartoon, but used, like I said, to great effect.

So many words just to say, "Yeah, it looks good." Hmph. Onto the substance.

The first thing I gaurantee most of you will notice about the game, should you play it, is the rediculous amount of slowdown. RE-DICULOUS! The game's graphics are not advanced by any stretch of the word, yet still the slow down is huge. The game slows down from simply readjusting the farking camera! I've never had any combat problems due to it (yet), but it really gives the game a "rushed out the door" feeling. I don't like it at all.

The play control, however, seems to be extremely tight. Jack does exactly what you tell him to, exactly when you tell him to do it. The combo system is alright. I mean, you can mess around with multi-button branching combos, but the heavy attacks are so damned slow, it really isn't worth it. I've tried many different combinations of light and heavy attacks, but jamming on the light attack button seems to work the best. :\

The game, wonderfully, is very platform oriented, with precision jumping, break-away platforms, etc. I was pleasently supprised to discover this.

Also, there's a fair amount of item collection, but you only ever have to collect two types of items: captives and Relics. Relics are used like currency at the Life, Zen, and Power shrines, as you pay them in exchange for a longer life or zen meter, or a more powerful sword. The captives, in true Samurai Jack tradition, are primative races enslaved by Aku's evil minions that Jack promises to help in exchange for information or other types of help. That's it. The more Relics you collect, the more powerful you can become, and the more captives you rescue, the more special sword abilities you are rewarded with (fire, crystal, etc.).

Overall I like the game, but those who aren't Samurai Jack fans might want to wait for a price drop before you pick it up.

It's a good game, but it really is just another action platformer, except this one takes place in the Jack universe.

Back with more impressions. I made it up to what I think is the last level, which is to say the game is short. No big deal. If it had gone on for too long I could see it suffering from repetition and the like.

The difficulty is gradually increasing as I progress through the levels. I like that. By the time I got to Aku City the enemies had upgraded substantially. They are much more dificult to defeat, and you really need to think and watch their moves to defeat them.

About Aku City, you really don't know how cool it is walking around in Aku City as Jack. It's really freaking cool.

Figured it's got slowdown and that it's short and seemingly not too fun.

This is Sega, we are talking about. Not only did they make a mediocre shitty effort with Astro Boy on ps2 based on Japanese reviews, sounds like they fucked up this one as well.

I never thought I'd see the day where I said "please let anyone other than Sega make these games"

I agree, Roufuss. Sega needs to either clean their act up, or get the Hell out of the industry.

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Originally Posted by Captain Vegetable

I agree, Roufuss. Sega needs to either clean their act up, or get the Hell out of the industry.

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Everytime I see them working on something, I know that it will turn out to a be a very mediocre, lackluster project that will do far below sales expectations.

Sonic Heroes, Astro Boy, and now this.

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Originally Posted by Roufuss

Figured it's got slowdown and that it's short and seemingly not too fun.

This is Sega, we are talking about. Not only did they make a mediocre shitty effort with Astro Boy on ps2 based on Japanese reviews, sounds like they fucked up this one as well.

I never thought I'd see the day where I said "please let anyone other than Sega make these games"

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Say what you want about Sega, but at least get it right.

Sega didn't develop this game, only published it. According to IGN is was co-developed by Adrenium Games and Amaze Entertainment.

I kinda liked the GBA version, even though it wasn't much more than a Metroid clone. But not every game is going to be a AAA title, nor should there have to be. A plain old "good game" has its place in the world. However I'll withhold saying anything more about this game until I've played it some.

I'll probably check this out on the cheap like most others will.

I love Samurai Jack, though. Kind of makes me angry. Samurai Jack has such an awesome style and mythos, any video game that they chose to create using his universe should have been awesome.

Instead, we get slowdown, crap combo mechanics, and it can all be experienced in five hours or less.

I'm very upset, but at the same time, I couldn't bring myself to forsake Jack, even if Sega was the one behind the project.

And like I said, I think it's a good game and I like it a lot, but it could have been so much better.

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Originally Posted by SonofdonCD

But not every game is going to be a AAA title, nor should there have to be. A plain old "good game" has its place in the world.

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Originally Posted by Captain Vegetable

Instead, we get slowdown, crap combo mechanics, and it can all be experienced in five hours or less.

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Dosen't sound like a "good game" to me. Those graphics are hardly top quality so there's no excuse for slowdown.

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Originally Posted by Roufuss

Dosen't sound like a "good game" to me. Those graphics are hardly top quality so there's no excuse for slowdown.

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Originally Posted by Captain Vegetable

It's a good game....

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And like I said, I think it's a good game and I like it a lot....

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I'm going by someone's actual opinion, not by anything else.

I'm not trying to defend the game, since I haven't played it. I'm merely saying that not every game will nor can be a gem. It's a fact. So long as they are competent, and do what they set out to do, someone will find enjoyment out of them. Like Captain Vegetable.

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Originally Posted by SonofdonCD

Sega didn't develop this game, only published it.

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They produced it, not published it. Cartoon Network Interactive and WB Interactive published it.

That means Sega is still to blame. They were the ones setting the deadlines and doing quality control. They were the ones who green lighted it with the slowdown. It's their involvement that made what could have been an excellent game a mediocre one.

I think Sega enjoy failure...

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Originally Posted by Captain Vegetable

They produced it, not published it. Cartoon Network Interactive and WB Interactive published it.

That means Sega is still to blame. They were the ones setting the deadlines and doing quality control. They were the ones who green lighted it with the slowdown. It's their involvement that made what could have been an excellent game a mediocre one.

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Touché.

Although, I wasn't exactly taking away all blame from Sega, just stating facts. They themselves didn't develop the game. It isn't directly thier fault for the slowdown or any other game design flaw, only perhaps indirectly. (through neglect, rushed deadlines, poor hiring choices, etc.)

Any chance that the slowdown isn't in the other versions?

Edit - The Xbox version isn't out until May, I think.

That's actually a good point, Jeremy.

Captain, what version are you playing? I do wonder if that slowdown made it into all versions of the game. Not that it excuses it from being in any version.

Ive been playing it on GC and I havent noticed any bad slow down

the only time it does slow down is when I press R to slow it down on purpose and do Jacks special stuff

Woah, Jeremy! That's a really good point!

I'm playing it on the PS2, of course. ;)

Maybe when the XBOX rev comes out, I'll do a switcheroo and get the (almost asuredly) superior edition.

The slowdown is really the only big problem with the game, and if it's just the rev I'm playing, well hot-damn!

I just beat it with a 100% rating, by the way. Normal dificulty. Aku was a pushover. I'm going to go back through it on hard to see if it's a bit more challenging (though those final levels were spot on concerning dificulty), and because I have some more stuff to unlock in the Chronicles section.

About the combos, they're there, you just don't have access to them if your sword isn't powered up. As soon as my sword was level 3 (highest level) I was doing some nice flips and barrel rolls and other coolness.

And the short length doesn't really bother me. It gives me a good excuse to go back though the game and see it all over again. But on subsequent plays, I might not worry about 100% completion, as I've already done it.

All in all, it was $40 well spent. I'm glad I picked it up, and I'll be even more glad when I get a rev without the rediculous slowdown.

why would you pick the PS2 over the GC REV right off the bat

anyway like i said ive been playing the GC rev and the only slowdown ive notice so far was a little bit in the greenhouse level

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Originally Posted by Shin Johnpv

why would you pick the PS2 over the GC REV right off the bat

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Because I like the 3D memory card icons?

The real reason is that my store only got one GC copy of the game, and I HATE buying guts, so I went with the fresh, factory-sealed PS2 version.

That, and I play my GameCube so little that it really didn't even occur to me. :p

I feel sorry for you then :(

Im still not sure if im gonna pick this up yet

i signed it out im broke right now but i think i have enough stuff i could trade in to get the game just not sure if im going to yet : /

Yeah, I feel sorry for me too. I just hate buying guts. Call me strange. I know the guts don't play any differently, and I know that our price labels come off with little to no effort, but I still don't like buying them. It feels "dirty," like you know 100 billion people had their crud encrusted fingers all over the box.

I worked yesterday when they came in and we only got 2 GC ones in so i snatched one up

How goes a plain old 'good game' fit in to this equation? If it's not as good as a lot of the stuff that's coming out then they're hoping it will sell on its licence. Nothing more.

Andrew, you are correct, and speaking as someone who bought the game on day one, the liscense is exactly what sold it to me.

In case anyone cares we got an email saying the Xbox version of this was cancelled today

Well, that's a shame, but it's no big deal.

Dang, looks like I'll wait for the game to drop in price then. I was hoping that the Xbox version wouldn't have the slowdown issues mentioned here.

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Originally Posted by Jeremy

Dang, looks like I'll wait for the game to drop in price then. I was hoping that the Xbox version wouldn't have the slowdown issues mentioned here.

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if you can find it

most places only got 1 - 2 copies of the PS2 and GC versions

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Originally Posted by Captain Vegetable

It's their involvement that made what could have been an excellent game a mediocre one.

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I understand frustration with Sega, but this is way too heavy-handed. Why aren't you placing any more blame on the actual coders of the game, Adrenium (makers of the equally-average Azurik)? It's not like they were a top-notch developer to begin with.

In any case, I don't think Sega should be exonerated, either.. I was pretty surprised to see those Famitsu Astro Boy scores, since the game looked great in the GMR preview..