Staying Out of Reach –
UFO Interactive has been heavily supporting the 3DS eShop. But like most of their titles, Samurai G continues the trend being low quality shovelware.
Like many other mobile line racer games, Samurai G is a very straightforward game. With one button to jump and one button to attack, your samurai avatar constantly runs from the left side of the screen to the right. The goal of this never ending game is to travel as far as possible but environmental hazards and enemies will impede and eventually stop your progress.
While there is nothing necessarily wrong with this constantly running to the right formula, Samurai G just lacks overall polish and good design.
First, other than selecting an easy or more difficult setting, there are no other options. In fact, there is no tutorial or even a how-to-play screen with button map. Instead, the game just starts and expects the player to know what to do. Further, cheap tactics like starting the game by taking damage from a ninja star that spawns right on top of the player, isn’t exactly fair. The game’s only special gameplay feature involves collecting coins to active a gold rush mode similar to how Mario acts when he grabs a star. But when enemies move back and forth to always remain just out of attacking reach, gameplay is nothing more than a lesson in frustration. A cookie cutter Achievement system is also a weak attempt at increasing replay value.
The graphics are also cumbersome because enemies and harmful objects in the foreground blend with the background. Ninja stars are also impossible to see even with the system’s brightness turned all the way up and the background, enemies and objects constantly repeat, and it is almost impossible to see the hidden traps on the ground. I say the average playtime before the player sees the game over screen maybe a minute or two, depending on the player skill and the game’s difficulty setting. But if you can survive for 30 seconds, you will have seen everything the game has to offer. The same goes for the game’s soundtrack; there really just isn’t a whole lot there. The 3D effect is also terrible and makes the game more difficult to play due to screen blur.
Samurai G sells for just a couple bucks. In comparison, Tomena Sanner for WiiWare is a five dollar download but offers online leaderboards, multiple levels, and much better gaming experience despite using the same run-to-the-right-nonstop gameplay concept. With only local leaderboards and basically one stage, Samurai G is a tasteless and bland experience that is not worth playing.
Not As Good As: most other line rider games
On Par With: other UFO games.
Wait For It: more 3DS eShop games
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