But where's the fun in mere words telling you so? See for yourself as we take a look at seven different uses of the Focus Kill.
Samurai swords are, by nature, pretty sharp things. Swing one in anger at a person and they're probably going to end up with an owie. So here are two such owies, one of the vertical and the other of a horizontal nature.
The great thing about modern consoles like PS3 and Xbox 360 is that the tecnology is so precise, 3D models can now be sliced at the exact point said samurai sword passes through them. Check out Afro rendering this bad guy 'footloose', but definitely not 'fancy free'.
Above: Looksh like he... losht hish head. Connery as Bond FTW, eh?
If full decapitation isn't your thing, you could always just go for a Afro Samurai haircut attack. It's just a little too close to the skin for comfort. Or should that be bone? Or brain...
Of course,the slicing and dicingis all very well, but it wouldn't be much fun in the long run if your efforts went unnoticed. So every once in a while, you'll get to play Body Part Poker. This lets you create a hand of cards with... well, a more literalhand from your enemy. Maybea head or two... or even those feet we saw earlier.
There's a lot of fun to be had with this, and there's a surprising amount of freedom in your attacks - just tilt the left stick in the direction you want your swipe to go, and (thanks to that lovely slow-mo effect), you'll be able to pick individual limbs from your opponents to best suit your needs. Watch as we manage an 'Android Flush'.
Afro's not too bothered about who he kills. Anyone who stands in his way is fair game, so when a group of topless women get all 'Femme Fatale' on him, he gives them the same warm feeling as he gives everyone else - that of blood gushing over their bareskin.
While the L1 Focus attacking is where the meat of the gameplay is to be found, it's worth holding off from using it every once in a while. After chaining combos together (signified by more and more blood spatters on the screen), Afro's pendant gleams white. This indicates the special focus state is available. Triggered by L2, this gives you about ten seconds or so of drastically increased attack power, resulting in one-hit kills with standard enemies. Watch as we demolish a room full of em, in one hacking frenzy. Great stuff.
The game is out this Friday.
23 March, 2009
