The classic arcade fighter returns in a brand new 3-D adventure, bringing back many familiar faces and many new ones as well. Fans of the Samurai Shodown games will be pleased to find the same technical, brutal and beautiful game system they remember, and newcomers to the games also will have a blast. Samurai Shodown Sen features a packed cast of 24 characters and a good handful of levels, each different and dynamic.

The cornerstone of Samurai Shodown has always been its embracing of traditional Japanese culture and bringing to life the way of the warrior. Virtues like honor, destiny and courage are always themes of the plot, and this game is no exception. The game opens with Haohmaru, the title’s main character, meditating before battle, swearing he will be the one to bring down all other fighters. Watercolor artwork adorns the game’s menus, and the light background music completes the atmosphere of ancient legend. The game just looks promising from the moment you turn on your console.

The gameplay here is quite solid. This game contains a story mode, in which a few paragraphs introduce each character’s life story and the player then battles through a series of enemies to complete the tale. Each story revolves around a mysterious cowboy sharpshooter, Draco, and a scheming warlord, Golba, who is determined to revolutionize Japan in a way that seems to spell doom for the samurai.

The bulk of Samurai Shodown Sen lies in the combat system and in battling friends. Each battle has the two fighters face off, with the usual health meters and such overhead. Although you can have time limits to each match, it only takes a few well-placed hits to slay your foe, so strategy and cunning play a large role in the fight. Each character also has a POW meter below their health, and if they take enough of a beating, this meter hits full and the player can activate a rage explosion. This will power up the character’s attacks and allow for new combo moves. If a character is near dying, the player can activate a desperation attack, which is slow-moving but extremely powerful, and can get you out of a tight spot. The best part of the combat, however, is Samurai Shodown’s signature brutal finishing moves. Each character can perform powerful vertical and horizontal slashes, which if used to kill an enemy can sever heads, arms or torsos or unleash fountains of blood from chests and backs. The carnage makes for an exhilarating finish and a humiliating loss if you are the victim of the attack.

Each character, like in many fighting games, has a list of attacks and special moves that you can read up on and practice. However, the way this game’s combos work is different from many fighting games you may have played. Most games are simple enough that you can start mashing buttons and something good will inevitably happen. Samurai Shodown Sen is different. Although it can be a bit daunting at first, Samurai Shodown forces you to learn each character’s moves first, because just whaling away at the buttons on your controller won’t achieve much. Each attack or combo is a bit slow and needs to be very precisely executed, or you leave yourself open for a punishing counterattack. Although this does mean more time spent in practice mode and less getting to the bloodshed, it makes for a more in-depth fighter and more technical combat. It also gives much more entertainment value to playing with a friend or on Xbox Live.

Speaking of which, in addition to the story mode, you can play a single match against the CPU or against another friend if you have a second controller handy. Of course, Xbox Live support is there, too, if you want to challenge friends or strangers online. This has a few extra features. You can organize parties to play in a group, creating a chat room for everyone not battling. You can play in ranked matches, which boosts your online rank if you win and allows you to battle other players with similar skills. You can also play normal matches, where there are no rankings or points and you just play for fun. Finally, you can save battle footage from an online match as a replay and watch it any time you want to from the game’s menu. This adds some variety to the main game and gives more play value to the title in general.

Overall, Samurai Shodown Sen does lack somewhat in single-player features, with only the story mode and single battles to entertain. The difficulty levels are also very steep, with CPU opponents often stooping to the level of using one attack over and over, making it near impossible to hit them. The graphics are a bit behind the times, but that does not detract from an otherwise entertaining and solidly built game. There are a few hang-ups, but the real value lies in playing with other people anyway. The technical nature of the game lends well to playing online or competitively. Although seeming a little frustrating at first, Samurai Shodown is a fast-paced and fun fighting game. Lush environments, fluid movements and intense combat make for a quick fix of violence or an entertaining adventure through the lives of many samurai warriors. I enjoyed this game very much, and would recommend it to any fan of Samurai Shodown and its history, and anyone else willing to take a bit of time to master a new fighter.