Lawrence Norton over at Games Fusion fired off a quick email to us saying that he's updated his skins section with ten new top-notch additions, bringing the total count to 116. Be sure to swing by the site if you're looking for some good replacements.
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custom skins r0x0r5, but the best are already compiled into a nice pack. -
The last time i installed skins, I could not play CSComment
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The events of a battle can drastically affect the path that your further adventures take.
Fans of the Tenchu series don't know what to think these days. The next game in the popular ninja series, Tenchu III, is due out later this year for the PlayStation 2, but a new developer is working on it. Meanwhile, Acquire, the developer responsible for originally creating the Tenchu series, recently released Way of the Samurai for the PS2 in Japan. Since one of the best elements of the Tenchu series was sneaking around as a ninja, some are concerned that Way of the Samurai is simply "Tenchu without stealth." We recently played the Japanese version of the game to get a sense of whether or not that's actually the case.
The game is set in a period in Japanese history when the role of the samurai has begun to fade. You play as a ronin who has wandered into the middle of a feud between two clans over a nearby iron foundry. Decisions you make during the game will affect how specific events in the game play out. For instance, in one case, you'll cross a bridge when a warrior kidnaps a local girl. You can either choose to confront him and try to stop him or opt to leave the fight for one of her friends. Or you can avoid the bridge altogether and take a different path. Perhaps more notably, if you surrender during a fight with a specific warrior, he'll tie you to a section of train tracks. After he wanders off, you can try to make enough noise to attract other samurai. You might be able to talk them into freeing you, but, in our case, they just left us on the tracks. Branching paths like this one are littered throughout the game.
You'll be given several dialog options in most encounters, some of which lead to different paths.
When you approach characters in the game, you can choose to speak to them, ignore them, or draw your sword and attack. (Wandering around with your sword drawn is a good way to invite trouble, if that's what you're looking for.) Occasionally, events draw you in without your having chosen them, and you can decide then whether or not to participate. As we mentioned before, though, attempting to bow out gracefully can produce adverse results. Besides offering branching paths and multiple outcomes, the game lets you unlock different samurai and robes from the character customization screen, as well as extra features like the two-player versus mode, which adds to the game's replay value.
As in Square's Bushido Blade, the game environments are expansive and seamless--new areas are loaded once you reach another's borders. You can find health-recharging items, such as vegetables and mushrooms, scattered throughout the land on farms, in gardens, and on paths. You can also sometimes run away from a fight to find one of these to eat, but since the time it takes to sheath or draw your sword leaves you very open to attack, you have to do this very carefully. You also have to be careful of what you eat, since some items can damage you, rather than replenish your health.Comment
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wtf?Comment
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