Launch Station: Asura's Wrath

With all the popular names coming out in this packed first quarter of 2012, there are a few games with little to no name recognition that are also fighting for the money of us gamer's.  The two big console releases this Tuesday are at the top of that list, Capcom and CyberConnect2's Asura's Wrath and EA and Starbreeze's Syndicate.  This week's editions of Launch Station will preview these two underdogs.  Today, we will take a look at Asura's Wrath, tomorrow Syndicate.

Asura's Wrath follows Asura as he seeks revenge on the "Seven Deities", who framed Asura with the crime of killing the Emperor and also killed Asura's wife and kidnapped his daughter.  Asura's Wrath is broken up into 18 chapters that run just like an episode from a Japanese anime complete with a "To Be Continued" cliffhanger to conclude each chapter.  The focus of Asura's Wrath is its cinematic story, which means the gameplay is just as cinematic and varied.  One moment, Asura may be fighting multiple enemies in an beat 'em up like segment, the next Asura may be shooting down enemy forces in a shoot 'em up segment, the next he may be performing quick time events to dodge enemy attacks.  The varied gameplay will give you and your controller one crazy workout.

After my time with the demo, I am personally looking forward to Asura's Wrath.  The signature Japanese-style of insanity oozes out of the pores of Asura's Wrath that it is hard not to love.  The one thing I am worried about is the 18 chapters that may last close to 20 minutes each may not be enough to justify the full 60 dollar price.  Gamers want to feel they are getting the most for their money when they are spending 60 dollars for a brand new game and might look past all the great stuff about Asura's Wrath if the game's length feels too short for them.  In this packed market, I could honestly see Asura's Wrath turning out to be a diamond in the rough, a hidden gem that most gamers sadly overlook.