As we began playing Asura’s Wrath for this review of ours, its implausible imagery, hysterical fighting sequences and a sci-fi yet behind-the-times art style was quick to have us in awe of it. Asura, the irate protagonist has a wrath which is capable of bestowing him with the power even Gods are not able to possess. Well, for him it might be a problem, but for us gamers, it definitely means nothing but a fun plot. This new offering from CyberConnect2 has been blessed with a storyline which compels you till the very end, to keep fighting your way through over the top battles just so you can get to know what happens next. The pace it carries with its narrative never slows down, and there aren’t any boring bits either.
The formulaic plot elements may seem to be borrowed from the God of War games in a few places, but what makes Asura’s Wrath click is the overall narrative that’s been weaved into it. The reasons that make Asura – one of the eight demigods, so full of wrath are all related to the wrongdoings of the other seven deities. With a plan to save the world from the brute creatures known as Gohma, these seven demigods frame Asura with the murder of the emperor, kill his wife, kidnap his daughter and send him into a 12,000-year comma. On being awakened after so many years, the protagonist is all the more vengeful and that makes way for some spectacularly jaw-dropping sequences.
This game’s potential lies largely in this narrative. Even with such a less number of characters, CyberConnect2 has managed to endow a large number of angles and perspectives to this gripping tale. And what’s more, the story is told in an episodic manner – just the way TV shows are aired. This means that you can count in everything from episode previews, recaps, credits at the start and end of each episode, to even commercial breaks which come in the form of the game’s artworks being laid out on the screen. Now, we are all praises for this little storytelling device used by the developer. It keeps the flow going and gives you a fresh outlook to experience the game. And though the episodic nature of the title makes for some swift pick up and play gameplay, you can’t help but whine at its considerably short length.
To keep your interest going, there’s a bunch of unlockable stuff too, which manifests itself in the form of artwork, videos and all such stuff which is worth a onetime watch. A whole new episode can also be unlocked on completion of the game, but it merely involves playing the last episode again in order to watch an extended ending. The gameplay in Asura’s Wrath is as minimal as it can get. What we meant by that is, for a good majority part of the game, you will only be looking at cutscenes, and occasionally responding to quick-action prompts. But mind you, that never gets dreary. The gargantuan nature of its action and the magnanimous proportions on which the battles pan out, hardly ever allows you to let your guard down.
Every battle in this game eventually boils down to how fast you’re able to fill up your Burst Gauge. And that can only be done by unleashing fury-filled punches, or in some sequences, firing at your enemies. Once the gauge is full, you enter the Burst mode, wherein you can sit back and enjoy by just hitting quick-action commands and watch Asura beating the heck out of his adversaries. So, the question here is not how fast you can kill the enemy, but how quickly you can fill up the gauge and slay them in the most goriest manner. That being almost the entire combat system, it’s hard to believe how much variety has been added in such a small amount of fighting structure. Hats off to CyberConnect2 for that. And to have such great art to complement is just the icing on the cake. Asian mythology and sci-fi is an unlikely fusion but Asura’s Wrath nicely intertwines both these elements.
The anime character models, Dragon Ball Z-like action, excellent graphics and basically, the entire artistic ideology on which the game is based leaves lasting impressions on the minds of the player. The music is nice too, but however, we felt that the sound was quite faulty. The SFX are rendered nicely, but during certain sequences there are occasional mutes, abrupt and awkward noises and other similar occurrences. However, that doesn’t take anything away from the brilliant voice-acting that goes into the title.
Final Word: Asura’s Wrath is a breath of fresh air which deserves to be given a shot, especially from action fans. Seldom do we see that a game which has so less to play in terms of using you controllers has you hooked on for hours on the trot. Its short length is sure to put you off though. And there’s little or no motivation for you to jump into completed episodes once again, which might make you wonder if it’s really worth the dough you’ve paid for it. Nevertheless, on the whole, this one’s a force to be reckoned with. And we won’t be a least bit surprised to see a sequel cropping up in the near future.
Graphics: 8/10
Sounds: 7/10
Environments: 8/10
Gameplay: 7.5/10
Replay Value: 6/10
Overall (not an average): 8/10