The intro cinematic scene caught my interest, but what followed after beginning a new game could best be described as awkward and too linear. Luckily by chapter 3 the stage design became more diverse and I actually stood a chance of blundering off a cliff somewhere, if only for brief periods of time. One thing I don't like about the way the battles are set up, strange barriers often prevent you from using your environment to its full potential. Speaking of the battle system, I am reminded of the newer ninja gaiden games, only without weapon diversity or upgrades. The only upgrades you get are from leveling up, and I don't believe your attacks actually get stronger from leveling, although it's hard to tell, as you aren't exactly greeted with specifics as to your gains when you achieve a new level.

I didn't encounter much of a challenge in battle until chapter 3, and then only during the boss battle... Once you get used to the rythm of the attacks, though, countering with a parry becomes easy, although the same could be said of any game. Still, by chapter 5 I am only mildly amused, and I wish I could smoke a fat bowl, which would probably render the game much deeper and profound, but sober I can only enjoy the game so much.

The music is ok, although at some points I'm like "Wow, that's really wicked!". Sometimes, though, the carpet clashes with the drapes (as far as the music is concerned). I understand it was based off of an animation, which likely renders it vulnerable to accidental sabotage from licensing agreements and deadlines (E.T., anyone?), but considering I think I'd seen adds years ago for the animation, I somehow doubt that was much of a problem.

The sound is alright, except for that part in chapter three where the Sword Master (Well duh, that's his name, not title... lol) starts the chapter with this old, gravelly voice, but once the action starts he sounds like a large black man with a severe case of roid rage. This was highly amusing, I just wish they'd made his appearance match his voice and scrapped the old man voice at the beginning (though I could have imagined the whole voice change thing).

The story is rather interesting, and I like the environments, but most of the characters are hard to get attached to, as most of them are either stone cold killers or die shortly after their introduction, Ninja Ninja is just a big shit-talker who hides when the violence starts, and Afro himself doesn't speak much... Hey, it costs big bucks to purchase Samuel L. Jackson's voice, although the stoic, silent type of main character does fit the story, and may or may not have been the character in the animation.

The controls are not good, but not terrible. To dash you have to push the left control stick in... Do I need to tell you how annoying it is to try and control a running character while pushing the control stick in?! It should have been LB or RB. The controls in Focus Mode (Which slows down time and allows you to perform perfect slices, as long as you aim them right and time them right, as well as deflect and split bullets) are hard to grasp, as you get so little focus time, and it takes a number of combos to build your focus back up, which isn't indicated by a gauge, but by the brightness of the tassle hanging from your sword.

I haven't gotten too far into the game, I'm guessing, but so far it leaves a lot to be desired, but certainly surprised me in certain areas, and like many games, will probably make up for its more awkward moments as I progress in the game.

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