New Games 919

You should care about Way of the Samurai 3

On Oct. 13 – next Tuesday, as of this writing – two of the most hotly anticipated games of 2009, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves and Brutal Legend, will drop into stores and kick the fall release schedule into high gear. Amid the excitement, you could be forgiven for completely ignoring a third game that also hits that day, the recently announced and little-publicized Way of the Samurai 3. If you did, though, you’d miss out on one of the more fascinating and endlessly replayable experiences of the current generation.

A free-roaming, RPG-tinged adventure set in Japan’s warring-states period, Way of the Samurai 3 might seem a little dated, with chunky-looking graphics, stiff animations and dialogue relayed mostly through word bubbles. And its standard sword-fighting action (while deceptively deep and a lot of fun) still feels like run-of-the-mill slash ‘em-up stuff, with enemies that insist on fighting you one at a time. But don’t let that fool you – underneath its ropey exterior lies a versatile, wildly customizable game that anyone who cares about story in games should at least try. Here’s why: