Title: Asura’s Wrath
Publisher: Capcom
Developer: CyberConnect2
Platform: Xbox 360, Playstation 3
Genre: Action, Brawler
Release Date: February 21, 2012
Price: $59.99
Rating: T
Asura’s Wrath started out as a game that I was quick to dismiss as a bunch of nonsensical fight sequences strung together by the thinnest of story threads. However, by about the midway point, I realized that I was actually enjoying Asura’s Wrath for that very reason.
From the very outset of Asura’s Wrath, it become apparent that this game is all about the action. The very first stage of the game pits Asura and the other Eight Guardian Generals in a massive battle. They aren’t fighting just any run of the mill enemy, but a planet. Basically in the first ten to fifteen minuets of the game Asura is punching a planet, in the face. This first stage, sets the tone for the rest of the game.
What bothered me about the game was the way that it was broken into episodes, not only that, but the way in which they were broken up seemed strange. Just as I was about to take Asura into a monumental fight, there was a break. Either for a load, or for something that I can only describe as a “commercial bumper”. Playing further into the game these breaks would come at, what first struck me as, the most inopportune times. I was psyched to get to punch a bunch of dudes with my six arms and then BAM… commercial break. What I later came to realize, and actually enjoy, was the sense of anticipation and excitement these breaks were creating. I say this up front, because if someone else approaches Asura’s Wrath with the same expectation I had, they may not stick with it to see the true genius of this, almost gimmicky, story device.
Asura is one of the Eight Guardian Generals tasked with stopping a destructive “spirit” called the Gohma from destroying the Earth (or Gaia). The battle fought in the first stage of the game is an attempt to stave of this attack of the Gohma. Asura and the other generals manage to defeat Vlitra but know that with out destroying it completely, it will return. Post battle Asura is called upon to see the Emperor. When he arrives however, he finds that the Emperor has been murdered and he is immediately blamed. Asura escapes and attempts to save his wife (Durga) and his daughter (Mithra). What he finds is that Durga has also been killed and Mithra has been captured. Asura is then beaten to the edge of death and thrown from the ship by the leader of the generals Deus. Asura wakes up 12,000 years in the future to find that Gaia has been ravaged by the Gohma as well as the Seven Deities [formally the Eight Generals].
Asura’s Wrath seems from the outside to be an over-blown, overly dramatic brawler… and it is… but it’s much more. The bulk of the game was spent watching cutscenes, controller in hand, waiting for a button prompt. When it became an actually beat-em-up the fighting mechanics shined through. It’s no surprise that this game is from the same folks that have done the Naruto games in the past. It’s focus on outrageous fights and lightning fast action shows where they have spent the majority of their programming days.
The play-style of Asura’s fights are nothing a fan of brawlers won’t be familiar with. Attacks vary from light to heavy. There’s a lock on button as well as a dedicated dodge. The real difference comes when the game switches gears and becomes something more akin to Panzer Dragoon or even Space Harrier. Suddenly Asura has the ability to fire energy blasts from his fists. Holding down a button sends a continuos barage of energy at what ever the aiming reticle is on. There is also the ability to “paint targets” using a lock on and fire more precise shots. Either rapid fire, or homing shots, it doesn’t really matter how you go about it, the shooting is fast and pretty satisfying.
When you break Asura’s Wrath down, it’s really only about one thing; Burst. Bosses don’t have a life gauge to speak of, really. Basically, just wail on them until the “Burst Meter” is full, pull the right trigger, and annihilate the enemy. This is really the only way that both fight, and story progress, moves along. It may sound overly simplistic, but in practice it’s a lot of fun.
Asura’s Wrath is, what could easily be described as, one long fight scene punctuated by quick-time events and small bits of story. That in itself does not do the game justice, however. Through much of the first hour or so of the game, I was struggling to find a reason to keep playing what felt like a generic, albeit insane, brawler. The turning point for me came in Episode 11 during a scene that took place in a natural hot spring. I won’t spoil it, but it was the moment I realized that this was not to be taken as seriously as I was attempting. From then on, I enjoyed the hell out of it. Asura’s Wrath is almost literally all about the action. Don’t try to over analyze anything about it. Try to see past the almost shallowness of the game, and just enjoy the presentation. It’s much more enjoyable without over thinking it. Just be ready for a lot of hammering buttons, dialog through clenched teeth, and hell of a lot of screaming.
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