Asura’s Wrath was described to the audience as a mix between south-east Asian mythologies (many which are based on Buddhism and Hinduism), the development team's own crazy brand of sci-fi and the over-the-top action of anime titles such as Dragon Ball Z. Now if you think that is a crazy and incomprehensible mix, then you haven’t seen the E3 demo. Not that it’s meant to make any more sense after viewing or playing, but it does at least show why many have been pasting their paper trinkets all over it. Derived from both Hindu and Buddhist mythology, the concept of 'Asura' essentially refers to the spritiual beings who have become infected by all forms of passion - especially wrath, pride, boasting and bellicosity. In Buddhism, a 'rebirth' as an Asura reflects the mental state of a human being obsessed with force and violence, and Asura's are often referred to as demigods or in a similar vein as the Titans in Greek mythology.
And from what we've seen so far, the concept and setting of the game is quite appropriate, given this inspiration. As far as can be told, the game is about the demigod, Asura, who has returned to his plane of being, following banishment 12,000 years ago for a crime he didn’t commit. His former peers though, have spent this time becoming more powerful – in the supposed name of protecting the world. Asura though, has a different form of power: complete and absolute rage against those who betrayed him – which is what will fuel the revenge that he takes. And then he turns Super Saiyan 5 and blows everyone away with a ultra super duper kamehameha… OK maybe not, but that’s kind of what you’re expecting from such as story, right? Well, one of the marketing tag lines is supposedly “expect the unexpected”.
Oh, he mad...
The game will apparently be divided into 24 different episodes, which will make up one whole story. The E3 demo of Asura’s Wrath gives players a chance to take on one of the game’s early-ish bosses: Wyzen. Asura takes on Wyzen in three stages. During the first stage, Wyzen is big, but still big enough to be sparred with. Following an initial wave of cronies that are easily disposed of, the fight concentrates on beating down on Wyzen, while occasionally countering his missiles with quick reflexes (and the Y button). Once this first stage is beaten, Wyzen unleashed a more powerful version of himself, one that’s the size of a skyscraper.
During this second stage, Asura finds himself on the ropes, as Wyzen first pummels him a bit then sends a ridiculously huge spaceship to rain hell on him. As you do. The ship is best taken down by countering the rockets fired. After some to and fro, Asura finally manages to get one over Wyzen and catapults him into space. But it’s not over. Oh no no, you can’t leave it there. Finally, Wyzen unleashes his full power (calling on the “power of Mantra”) to become the size of the planet. And cue the famous trailer sequence of the demigod about to crush Asura with his finger. In the least, Asura’s Wrath is definitely not subtle. For the first time though, players will actually feel like they're 'playing' an extravagant anime.
Suddenly those colossi don't seem so big...
Something that may worry players is the emphasis on the cinematic extravagancies over gameplay. And it’s true that the gameplay is simple. As a brawler, it relies on the usual bevy of light and heavy attacks, as well as some ranged attacks, but in the least you’re nimble enough and your enemies are aggressive enough to add robust defence and evasion to your move set. Apparently, as you play and your ‘rage’ increases, Asura will grow more arms to signify this, while your heavy attack needs so recharge time, so that seems like an attempt at adding some tactics. Otherwise, the game is obviously very content to rely on “Cinematic Action Events”… which are shamelessly parading themselves as Quick Time Events.
From the demo so far though, this doesn’t come across as a bad thing - you have to give credit where credit is due. The cinematic action events are all in context, for example, as Asura is bracing himself for a massive attack, the controls will reflect the action on screen, rather than just pressing A and watching everything unfold. Also, it seems like this set up best way to facilitate the fast-paced and massively scaled battles. Furthermore, there will apparently be a big focus on these battles, rather than throwing waves of cronies to elongate the game time.
Six arm are a must for any self respecting demigod.
Another aspect of Asura’s Wrath that makes it so appealing is the unparalleled sense of style, scope and grandeur. There is nothing out there even close to having the same aesthetic flair. The mixture of Buddhist concepts and unique brand of sci-fi make for remarkably endearing sight and art direction. There are also fine attentions to detail, such as the texture work that is as intricate as 1,000 year old Buddhist temples. From the demo, there wasn’t even anything close to a hint of slow down, even with all the action that’s going on. In any case, at least Asura’s Wrath will be an awesome sight to behold.
Despite containing a sense of scope, scale, unparalleled style and completely unique setting, Asura’s Wrath may turn out to be the kind of game that gets a love-hate reception. Some may complain about the simplicity in the gameplay. Others may complain about the nonsensical ridiculous action. Others will simply take umbrage because it doesn’t follow the norm or isn’t Call of Duty. But for those who play their games for an escape, and love it when they’re taken to a world where anything is possible and anything is permitted, they’ll probably love Asura’s Wrath to bits. That and it’s probably shown what a proper story-driven Dragon Ball Z styled game should be.
I wish we had an idea of when it will be released.
Loading...
