It surprises me that only Nintendo Wii owners are hurtling controllers at high velocity into their high definition displays. After playing Genji: Days of the Blade on the Playstation 3 I had to try desperately to not bury my SIXAXIS controller six inches deep in my own display. Beautiful though it may be, Genji is a frustrating mess of poor design choices and a camera so bad, you might as well play the entire game staring at the mini-map rather than the main screen.

Epic Struggle
Days of the Blade, the sequel to Genji: Dawn of the Samurai, takes place three years after Yoshitusune Minamoto—a young Genji clan warrior—and Benkei Musashibo—a larger than life warrior monk—defeated the Heishi Clan to take control of the power imbuing divine jewels: the Amahagane. However, the Heishi Clan is re-strengthening using the cursed power of the Mashogane; transforming their ranks into blade wielding demons. Now Yoshitusune and Benkei—along with a few new friends—must fight to protect the Amahagane and preserve the Genji Clan.

Epic Beauty
I have to be harsh with Genji, so to be fair allow a bit of gushing over the few positives in the game. As one of the few exclusive launch titles on the PS3, Genji does succeed in showing off a little of what we can expect, graphically, from the PS3. You'll take in beautiful recreations of feudal Japan as you chop down all the Heishi demons in your path. It's obvious where the bulk of the polish on this title went. All of the characters, from the lowliest foot solider to the upper echelon of the Heishi demon hoard, are gorgeous to behold and are loaded with little details and flourishes that truly make them come alive on screen. Supporting the visuals is a traditional Japanese soundtrack that compliments the visual aesthetic perfectly. If you're a sucker for ancient Japanese culture you're definitely in for a treat. Just be careful not to choke on the rest of the game.

Epic Frustration
I really wanted to like Genji. Honestly, I did. However, it's as if the designers did everything in their power to make me want to throw my PS3 out the window. Less than a few hours into the game there is a progress-halting bug that will leave you wandering around the same small area ad infinitum. Only a timely save will keep you from having to restart your game. Tip: make sure you "search" the bodies of the fallen guards when you first unlock the female warrior, Shizuka.

If you do happen to run into that bug, you should take the cue and just put the controller down because that's probably the least frustrating thing you'll run into in Genji. The first offender, and something you'll have to deal with throughout your stay in feudal Japan, is a nasty, nasty camera. With absolutely zero control over the camera, you'll have to deal with terrible angles that will keep your enemies off camera a good percentage of the time. A small mini-map in the upper right-hand corner of the screen is the only way to see where your enemies are. There's sure to be plenty of times when you find yourself fighting with your eyes glued to the mini-map rather than the screen. Even navigating levels can be a pain. Invisible walls keep you off large portions of the levels and the shoddy camera will make it difficult to see where you're actually supposed to go.

Back and Forth…and Back…and Forth…and Then Back Again.
As I said above, the look of the levels can be breathtaking at times. On the other hand, the actual level design is a mish-mash of back and forth key fetching and pure torture. In a giant leap backwards for gamers, Genji forces you to endure back and forth item fetching where you'll trudge around a relatively small area, usually suffering through several loading screens in the process. Genji even has the audacity to show you what basically amounts to a pile of keys, all of which you'll need, but then will only allow you to pick up one at a time! Nearly every single level is artificially extended in this manner. Had the designers left out these pointless fetch quests the game may have clocked in a few hours lighter, but far more enjoyable.

Massively Damaged
Like I said, I wanted to like Genji: Days of the Blade. Artistically, the game is a beauty to behold with sounds and sights that will easily transport you back in time to feudal Japan. The problem is that once you get there, you'll be begging to come back. When I game, I like a challenge, but Genji isn't necessarily challenging or difficult. It's simply frustrating, because of poor design choices. Visually and aurally, the game is polished to a spit shine. Perhaps the designers should have spent more of the development time making the core gameplay fun. Gift givers who think their loved ones would like Genji this Christmas should switch to plan B, lest they risk getting booted to the "naughty" list!

- teal