Never has an average console game been so much fun. Based on the icy cool Samuel L Jackson-voiced anime, Afro Samurai is an outrageous sword combat game where the flocculent hero chops legions of enemies into bite-sized chunks, the tsunami of severed limbs and decapitated heads punctuated by geysers of blood and shocking splashes of gore, making the depraved combat gripping, hilarious and hugely satisfying.
To make the action as accessible as possible, Afro Samurai uses the simplest of button combinations to unleash a whirligig of violence. And while theres an option to learn advanced moves and evolve the hero, hammering the buttons is all you need to storm through the game, making this the ideal antidote for casual gamers put off by Street Fighter IVs bewildering selection of moves.
But while the combat is fun, unforgiving platforming sections that will make you want to stomp your controller into a million pieces taint the bloodshed, the experience further undermined by a clumsy camera, irrational story and a poor variety of enemies to butcher. Close, but no cigar.