Eastern Mind

Samurai Dou 4 slashing its way to the PS3 this Winter

Samurai Dou ranks among the brightest examples of samurai fiction games of all time. The fair portrayal of the codes and legacy of ancient Japanese times has witnessed its share of popularity in that country (and also internationally) as no single title ever becomes a tetralogy without the support of many committed followers, so clearly fascinated in learning their nation’s History with the aid of new media. Consequently, the Way of the Samurai series has fittingly earned its exceptional repute as a group of story-based titles, exhibiting some very decent production values and attention to details, where players are allowed to act according to their own ethics - thus shaping the course of events almost entirely. Acknowledging this freedom of movements and of moral choices as the true essence of their virtual Jidaigeki, Spike has invested greatly in the improvement of this system from one episode to the next.

The newly announced Way of the Samurai 4 will be set, as expected, during the Tokugawa period. Its open-ended narrative will take place in a port town in the region of Ami, a town of fishing industry, old inns and open commercial relations with the foreign nations. Expectedly, the town is dominated by three different factions, based upon genuine social standings that represent a cross-section of Japanese society of the Edo era; the Shogunate forces, struggling to keep the order in the town; the anti-foreigner militias, whose fervent patriotism demands Sakoku; and, lastly, the foreigners themselves, comfortably settled in Japan under the conditions of the Convention of Kanagawa. Upon arriving to the town, the wandering Samurai is free to intersperse with any of the parties, although none of the choices is forever binding, as demonstrated in the following sequence of images.

Should the player decide to join the Shogunate forces, for instance, he will be required to cooperate in missions whose objective is to eradicate extremist positions regarding the presence of outsiders in the region.

It is possible to simply retreat in the middle of a mission, unavoidably putting an end to the relations between the character and the respective faction.

A similar reaction will derive from attacking any of the members of that faction, in this specific case, a high ranking officer.

It is possible to simply retreat in the middle of a mission, which will surely end the relations between the character and the respective faction.

Adept followers of the series may also expect all the remaining features that characterized previous episodes, from the full customization of the character, from clothing to looks, as well as the open world ready to be explored on request or the improvement of battle skills and diversity of weapons. Bearing in mind the inevitable pragmatic affairs, it is not expectable that Spike will be capable of providing a notable technical leap from what they previously achieved in the third episode: small adjustments apart, the game engine is likely to remain the same which, as far as adepts of the game may be concerned, is fully functional and capable of representing the mixed varieties of both Eastern and Western influences of the port city and surrounding locations.

Due to the poor reception of the XBOX 360 version of part 3 in Japan, the upcoming game is to become a PS3 exclusive.

[ Source: Spike | See also: Samurai Dou 4 pre-launch website ]