Super Street Video Game Reviews
Game Title: Samurai Jack: The Shadow of Aku
Publisher: Sega
Genre: Action, Platform
Platform: PS2
Rating: 
Sega brings the hit Cartoon Network animated warrior, Samurai Jack to the game world with the recent release Samurai Jack: The Shadow of Aku. Gamers, if Samurai Jack isn't familiar, don't worry, this stylish game is strong enough to stand on its own. Working closely with the creator of the series and key people including the composer, voice actors, and show artists, Sega's Samurai Jack manages to do more than just stick a few moves behind a cartoon character and call it a game. Sega built a strong platform game, and then successfully integrated the cartoon to make this a surprisingly slick game that fans will love and make fans out of newcomers to the cartoon series.
Playing as Samurai Jack, gamers launch themselves into an adventure that will take them through 24 levels in 4 different worlds. Fans of the series will recognize the world of Samurai Jack, which on the surface might not seem as sophisticated as other platformers like Ratchet and Clank or Sly Cooper, but Samurai Jack is a great platform game whose animated world is made even cooler by sticking to distinctive animation style of the series. Another strong plus here is the smooth controls and Samurai Jack's ultra-cool sword combos that wipe-out enemies and keep the pace of the game continually moving forward.
Shortly into the game, Jack will collect all of his weapons, and unlike other warriors, Jack doesn't need an arsenal, he only needs three: his sword, his bow and arrow, and the swift and accurate Throwing Stars. Samurai Jack travels light, so enemies beware! Like all Samurai warriors, Jack has a mission, and that is to save the innocent people from the evil of the wizard Aku. Travelling through the many levels gives Jack the opportunity to rescue the many imprisoned citizens which in turn adds power to the Zen Meter. Once the meter is full, it's time to unleash the fury on the enemy by going into Sakai mode, which practically paralyzes the enemy in slow motion while Jack dispenses justice to all that stand in his way.
A good interactive environment has Jack able to smash items or blast through doors to collect ammunition and health. Other cool features include power-ups that will increase Jack's health, his fighting power or his Zen power, but these upgrades cost, and players must find and collect ancient relicts to trade for the power. Our favorite feature to acquire is Blade Magic which enables players to hit the R/L directional buttons to switch to three different magically suped-up swords that include the Flame sword, the Crystal sword, or the Electric sword. Plus, these enhancements also work on the bow and arrow and the throwing stars. A sweet perk on top of a cool feature, eh?
Samurai Jack: The Shadow of Aku is a quirky, fun game that remains true to the series, but also performs as a solid action platform game. Smooth controls, a good story line, and nice graphics will have gamers playing for long stretches at a time. Fans will appreciate the small details included, but players don't need to be familiar with the series to like this game. Although, if it sparks an interest check out the series on Cartoon Network, or check out the show on DVD, season one should be released soon. We give this game 4 nukes.