Asura's Wrath DLC Detailed, Includes $7 4 Episode Epilogue
A whole bunch of DLC is coming soon for Asura’s Wrath and Blistered Thumbs has got all the details and a trailer.
Asura`s Wrath
Players: 1
Publisher: Capcom
Genres: Action, Other
Publisher: Capcom
Genres: Action, Other
Release Date: February 21, 2011
Developer: CyberConnect2
MSRP: $59.99
Developer: CyberConnect2
MSRP: $59.99
Asura was betrayed by his fellow gods and stripped of all his powers. Consumed by anger at the injustice he has suffered and swearing vengeance, Asura discovers he can use this fury to his advantage and turn it against his enemies. Cue relentless action as Asura finds himself facing off against numerous unique enemies, including planetary sized bosses, unleashing devastating and visceral attacks.
Sage Reviews: Asura’s Wrath
Posted By Bennett The Sage about 2 months, 3 weeks ago
Part anime, part game, completely maddening.
Follow me on Twitter at BennettTheSage
Sage Reviews: Asura's Wrath
Part anime, part game, completely maddening.
Asura's Wrath Review
When your allies kidnap your daughter and kill you for disrupting their plans to create a world free of danger through very dangerous means, what would you do? In Asura’s case, you get ANGRY.
Asura's Wrath DLC Detailed, Includes $7 4 Episode Epilogue
A whole bunch of DLC is coming soon for Asura’s Wrath and Blistered Thumbs has got all the details and a trailer.
Asura's Wrath Review
When your allies kidnap your daughter and kill you for disrupting their plans to create a world free of danger through very dangerous means, what would you do? In Asura’s case, you get ANGRY.
Asura’s Wrath Review
Posted By James C. about 2 months, 3 weeks ago
Asura’s Wrath Review
Once in a while, there comes a game that makes the target demographic collectively scratch their heads into wondering if the title was worth its development cost, that its developers could do such odd design manoeuvres to such a turkey and mustard epic. While I thought that the release date couldn’t get here any sooner, Asura’s Wrath, while a great ride from its beginning to its two endings, made me have a very hard look back as to what CyberConnect2 and Capcom had done and what they wanted to accomplish with a six armed man with more rage than Angry Joe, Terry Crews, and Lou Ferrigno combined.
| PROS | Unreal presentation, Surprisingly epic story, Massive scale holds well |
| CONS | 30% Gameplay / 70% QTE Movie, Episode credits get annoying fast, 3 Gameplay types in 1 |
| WTF?! | So why are the demigods cyborgs again? |
The end of the Creation War, a battle between the denizens of the planet and the Gohma, a parasitic race of animal demon organisms is where we meet Asura, our livid protagonist and one of the Eight Guardian Generals sworn to defeating the Gohma. While surprisingly being able to subdue Vlitra, the Gohma’s equivalent of God, Asura knows that it was thanks to his daughter Mithra, the Priestess of the Order who can manipulate Mantra, the energies of life and prayer. While initially praised for his victory by Strada, Emperor of the human race, Asura finds himself framed for his brutal murder only a day later.
After his escape from the divine military, our “hero” finds that his wife Durga has been murdered and Mithra kidnapped. Surprisingly, the perpetrators of this wild coup are the other seven generals stationed at the Karma Fortress orbiting the planet, led by Deus, deity of monochromatic lightning effects. He believed that the current emperor’s plan to outlive and overpower the Gohma in terms of technological advancement was too much of a hassle, and with Mithra’s power to amplify Mantra and a new process to gain Mantra power, they could easily route Vlitra. Asura, being the badass who punched a moon sized monster out of pure rage only a day ago, would have had none of that seeing as Mithra would spend the rest of her life as an energy emitter. Deus quickly annihilates Asura, and with a flick of his wrist, sends him off plummeting back down to earth, the betrayed swearing eternal vengeance.
12,000 years later, Asura wakes to find himself without his memories in Naraka, the underworld. Spun on by a mystical entity named The Golden Spider, our protagonist awakens to find the world in peril, as the guardians who kept them safe are now “purifying” (see: Openly Harvesting) the living to gain Mantra faster, and the Gohma are still being dicks in the grand scheme of things. With nothing but his rage and the motivation to save his mistreated daughter, Asura sets out to exact revenge on the seven who betrayed him. While the story falls in line with a cliché tale of revenge, the scale of this story is definitely grand. The beginning of the Creation War to the final moments of the game is told expertly well and CyberConnect2 has my undying respect for this, for I thought that the story was going to be in the backseat for this road trip, but actually takes the wheel.
You don't need bigger guns when you have six arms.
But that is where the game starts to get a little unorthodox. When you let the story take spotlight, everything else is left in the shadows in one way or another. One of the victims in this case in the gameplay, which is split into three major portions in Asura’s Wrath: God of War brawling, rail shooter, and quick time events. Even then, the amount of time you spend actually continuously acting in the game is a scant 2 hours of a 7 hour affair, but those two hours are something that you will be returning to after the game ends, just from the overall impact of the game. Whether it’s punching out Galactus Buddha, the widespread annihilation of the entire heavenly fleet through pure red rage, or fighting your former master on the moon to Dvorak’s New World Symphony, the battles in Asura’s Wrath are not to be missed.
While there are some odd choices in mini-games peppered throughout (EX: The Hot Tub Chapter), it actually does well to give some background to what your next big foe is, so while the entire chapter was a throwaway for achievements, banter, and boobies, it did well to keep the story going. The degree of control in the gameplay across all different forms is precise and fit the mood of the battle extremely well. Most of the brawler and rail shooter sequences in game are against creatures and machines that dwarf the player in size and dare you to hit them, while the quick time events are meant to introduce, segue, or end battles.
7/10
Sage Reviews: Asura's Wrath
Part anime, part game, completely maddening.- March 30, 2012 at 04:26am
I think Zig put it best: Asura’s Wrath is not so much a game but rather an experience. I’ve been watching a let’s play online and been loving every moment so far. And Asura gets my vote for the most badass character in game history. Has Kratos ever taken on a god the size of a planet or destroyed an entire armada with pure burning rage? I didn’t think so! It may not be worth $60 but you simply have to give it a rent. It won’t be the most challenging or engaging game ever but you’ll be too busy reveling in the pure badass-ery on the screen to care ^^
- March 02, 2012 at 12:04am
I loved this experience, I can understand its not for everyone and the gameplay leaves a lot to be desired, but this game is just crazy in almost every way. It was fun and it looks and sounds great, the art style is great, the music is excellent and I liked the voice acting to be honest.
- February 25, 2012 at 05:35pm
Just one thing that bugs me, mainly because it’s been repeated so many times: Wyzen is not a Buddha. Yeah, people refer to the similarity of his appearance with the Laughing Buddha statues, but that’s really not the connection you’re supposed to make. He’s a god, lets leave it at that.
While this game appears to be made of pure awesome, I feel that the price tag is a bit high for a game of this length. I’d wait until it drops at least a third.
- February 25, 2012 at 12:39pm
This so far looks an sounds awesome. Will get this when I have money to spare.
Oh man I can not disagree with you more Sage, I bought this at full price and I freakin loved the whole damn over-the-top experience. I was not really disappointed much, I just wish it was longer and that the space battles weren’t as easy and repetitive. And the characters kind of have to be one-note because they in a way embody these trait there given, its their source of power, straying away from it would weaken them.
I would buy the game if i had the cash. The story looks good and the video game itself is very impressive. The way i see it yes there is less gameplay and more cut scenes but you all loved the MGS series right? Seems the same style and presentation i dont know why its getting a bad review.
The fact that he continuously mispronounced the main character’s name makes me think he didn’t actually ever play the game.
He’s pronouncing it with a Japanese accent. For instance, the name Sasuke is pronounced Sass-kay, not Sa-su-ke. I haven’t played it myself, but I bet the way he’s pronouncing it is how the included Japanese dub does it.
I’m glad Metal Gear Solid 4 didn’t have quick time events
The talk about this game sort of reminds me of the game I just recently finished called Sakura wars. I didn’t know anything about the game so I was fairly surprised to find out that it was part dating sim and that a huge bulk of the game was just talking to characters in this visual novel esque setting.
Me and my friend chris agreed that someone like yathzee would absolutely loathe the game due to it being very interested in it’s talking aspect and puts gameplay on a bit of secondary duty. And yet. We really liked the game. The characters were very charming and the timed multi question event was challenging in it’s own way (this game took me for a loop when not pressing anything or not succeeding in a quick time event was a preferable option)
and when the game got around to some actual bonafide gameplay sections it paid off as the combat was solid and there was zero need to grind as the efforts of interacting with characters does the stat boosting. I guess if I was a game reviewer I’d always side with gameplay but I kinda want to prefer the story over the game. Thousands of great games with gobs of gameplay are made all the time but so few games rarely put their heart in storytelling.
Its not that I want games like Asura’s wrath or Sakura wars to replace games like call of duty or infamous I just want to see more of the former. Maybe there existence can encourage the game developers to employ more writers so we can maybe look forward to a more true balance.
I can’t but remember some of your older reviews of certain games that stood out:
http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/bt/the-sage/sage-review/1777-indigo-prophecy
http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/bt/the-sage/sage-review/18037-heavy-rain
This just shows that Bennet does not think poorly of this game because it has quick time events but that one of it’s selling points is in the combat cut-scenes and not paying full attention to them, I’m not sure how people got the idea that he hates this game because it has QTE he made the reason clear to me. I suppose some could say the same thing about Indigo Prophecy’s QTE? I don’t know what but something told me that I should bring up those two reviews might make things a bit clearer maybe? there’s something to be said about a certain change of tone.
One of those games that are better to watch than play I guess. How can you expect English voices in a Japanese game to be anything more than mediocre?
I’ve played many, many Japanese games with good English voice overs.
In fact, most the those games I’ve played have had fine voice acting.
Where’s this stereotype that no Japanese made games had anything but terrible English voice work coming from?
I’ve certainly not experienced it.
I’m not commenting on the voice acting in this game as I haven’t played it, but it seemed fine from what I have seen.
What, you never heard dubs so bad they went memetic? Die, monster! Now bear my Arctic Blast! You devil! Iriiiiiis! Devil May Cry’s a-rockin’, don’t come a knockin’, baby, yeah!
Strawmen aside, consider the acting credits for Asura’s voice. It’s mostly dubbed roles, where his few American roles tend to be “additional voices” outside the one starring role in Darksiders. The simple fact is, even for an okay dub like this, the star is just barely above extras in American projects. Combine that with cheap translations making every shout awkwardly stressed or drawn out, and you’re left with a noticeably worse product.
If you can’t hear the difference, that’s great. The industry can, however, and there’s a reason most of the people who keep hiring these guys don’t speak English. It’s not that Japan’s so awesome (our bigger actors trump theirs like in Lord of Shadows), it’s that the vast majority of localizations sound terrible next to our own cartoons and video games. You don’t have to be a weeaboo to hate the horrible noises crawling out of these characters’ heads.
While I agree it should have a lower price I don’t think we should completely ignore QTE-centric games as a genre. Those games have as much as right to exist as say Final Fantasy or Half-life. After all just because you don’t like a game doesn’t necessarily mean these games shouldn’t be made. I think we should review this game as a game and not as a “hybrid”. It’s a game genre as much as any other genre and therefore must judged as a game. For those who claim that QTE games aren’t games, you’re wrong as long as you can win or loose I class it as a game. Now if you excuse me I’m going to go enjoy Fahrenheit.
I bought this game full price at retail and don’t regret it one bit. If more developers could try something different like this Japanese/Western hybrid approach, I might give them a shot too.
quick time the game
As usual Bennett misses the point of this title entirely.
Asuras Wrath can’t be judged as a game or an anime show. It has to be judged as a blend of the two. It is mostly an action oriented anime where you are able to control the main character for most of the action sequences. Imagine watching Dragon Ball Z, Naruto, Ninja Scroll etc. but instead of just watching you actually take part in it. The gameplay is simpler than in other games but the presentation is the focus here. It is an upgrade of gameplay compared to games like Dragons Lair or Space Ace but a downgrade compared to games like God of War or Dantes Inferno. So it might be worth checking out if you liked these games and anime in general.
BTW most games aren’t worth 60 dollars. This is not a valid argument.
In ten years from now when games still cost 60 dollars but have 2 hours of game total, it will be because people bought stuff like this. You tell game companies whats ok when you spend more for less. Demand 20 + hours every single time. Exceptions are for the weak.
note: Over the top sarcasm added in honor of this gmes style
This is a Japanese game, made by Japanese to please Japanese gamers, who are very, VERY different in tastes to western ones. They are really into button mashing and JRPG-like over-the-top, absurd stories that make no sense.
Arguing about whether this game is good or bad is, in a way, pointless. If you like the same games Japanese gamers tend to love, then you will like it and you will be able to ignore the many flaws it has. Otherwise, if you are used to western-type action or rpg games, you will hate it.
That is a very weak argument. A lot of it comes down to individual tastes, as a Japanese gamer may not like this while an American gamer will. Also, it is NOT pointless to say whether a game is good or bad, especially since it was released in North America and subject to review and critique just like any other game.
I’ve been watching a let’s play and I’ve been greatly enjoying it so far, though that may be because I can focus on the visuals. Take that for what you will.
Just a quick note. Atypical means NOT typical.
As far as the game goes, I’ve been hearing more positive reviews than negative reviews. Most of the negative have centered around 2 things, the length, and the quicktime. While I’ll agree that there’s no way that I would pay full price for this, it would make a great rental or even purchase when the used prices drop.
I applaud games like this and Heavy Rain that attempt to do something different.
I am not fan of quick time events. I think that God of War did it better by having far more hack & slash while quick time events in it were there just to spice things up. Thus God of War had better balance between those two than Asura’s Wrath.
This one, as Joe said, is ethier love it or hate it.
I am glad that I am not the only one that hated it.
While I do agree that 60 dollars is too much, I would absolutely recommend buying this game when it goes down in price. It’s worth it for its technical achievements and experimental nature alone.
Yes, this game doesn’t have much gameplay, but there’s a good chance that anime fans will love it for its story and over-the-top nature. I’m actually a bit surprised, for this reason, that Bennett found the game to be disappointing overall. Again, from a gameplay standard, I easily understand his gripes, but as an interactive anime, I felt that the presentation was spectacular (which we agree on), but I also felt that the story moved along nicely.
Oh well; this game certainly isn’t for everyone, but I, for one, loved the hell out of it.
It realy is a mix between God of War and Dragon Ball Z. It’s unfortunate that they didn’t incorpeate enough god of war style game play and instead just put in alot of quicktime events. If its only a 6 hour game i recommed a rental. Hell you could probaly find it online and watch it like a movie. 1 hour of gameplay isn’t even worth $15 – 20. Just some advise
I do love to see flat-out contradictory reviews (this case being Sage v. Joe), I tried the demo and while I did like the ridiculousness of the game’s battles, I wasn’t a huge fan of the really limiting gameplay, if this were a movie or an anime I’d totally recommend it, but it’s a videogame so it might not be everyone’s cup of tea.
ugh QTEs. I really don’t want a game to tell me which button to press at what time, its insulting.
So, mostly cut scenes, confused antagonist, boring/drawn out story, limited gameplay, and bad characterization but fantastic visual presentation… It’s FF13. Why isn’t this game getting 9/10? It seems to be cut from the same design document.
I bought this game full price and I am not dissapointed or angry that I did. You gave some valid critcisms but don’t assume everyone will feel the same as you did about this game.
Review recommendations very rarely apply to every single person that watches/reads. If you feel satisfied, good for you. Reviewers write with a “dummy” of the average person in their audience in mind. I personally would be very disappointed if I bought a 60€ game that didn’t last me 10 hours, so in that sense I share a characteristic with the “dummy”.
I didn’t give you a thumbs down, btw. And I wish I could remember a better word than dummy in quotes, haha.
I know. Especially in this case since the game is pretty unusal, wich is exactly why I like it, it’s something different. I also have no problem with short games as I rather have 6 entertainig hours than 10 hours that consist of 5h boring filler. The price for a game is not calculated by its content but the budget a game used they have to get the money back somehow. I respect Bennetts opinion it’s just that last sentence that bugs me.
Yeah, this game isn’t for everybody but it is def fun enough to play through once and the visuals are amazing. There’s no denying that. Just get a turbo pad if you can’t mash buttons well and sit back and enjoy. If you don’t wanna shell out the cash, just catch it used.
Also, don’t worry about thumbs downs on this site, Flayl. Too many trolls on here that will vote you down even if you make a good argument just because it doesn’t correspond with what the think.
People are actually bothered by down-votes now? This is like the 3rd set of posts in a row I’ve seen on BT with people getting upset over their down-votes or the prospect of being down-voted. Christ I got like 45 once for saying I didn’t like Kingdom Hearts… get some thicker skin people. They don’t even mean anything. Heck I look at them as badges of honor, means I’m getting under the skin of the slavering fanboys and that brings me great joy.
I’m not bothered by em, I was only responding because of Flayl’s comments. I’ve had my fair share of comments buried by thumbs down because of insecure people as well. I think this site should just do away with em and go to the “like” system (with being able to track who likes your posts) myself. But, that’s another story for another time.
I agree. There should just be Thumbs Up to give positive feedback, and for negative feedback, people can either articulate a good counterpoint, or they should just stfu.
Also, your avatar is smoking a cigarette?? THUMBS DOWN!!
As I’ve said before, Thumbing Down on Blistered Thumbs is like “Unsubbing” on Video Games Awesome.
You don’t like Kingdom Hearts??? THUMBS DOWN!
Calling people “Fanboys”?? THUMBS DOWN!
Weird eyeball avatar?? THUMBS DOWN!
A bit pricey for the length but I’ll pick it up once it hits around the $25 mark.
I think I’ll get this when it’s in the budget bin, with NeverDead. The visuals looks nice and it kinda looks like a mix between God of War and Dragon Ball Z. Not to mention, I know Asura’s voice actor as Gaara.
It realy is a mix between God of War and Dragon Ball Z. It’s unfortunate that they didn’t incorpeate enough god of war style game play and instead just put in alot of quicktime events. If its only a 6 hour game i recommed a rental. Hell you could probaly find it online and watch it like a movie. 1 hour of gameplay isn’t even worth $15 – 20. Just some advise