By: EntropyInk

The 3D action-adventure game Genji: Dawn of the Samurai is based on "The Tale of Genji" - the 11th Century Japanese classic written by a Heian court lady known as Murasaki Shikibu. Available exclusively on the PS2, Genji is as full of idyllic scenery and poetic dialogue as it is of impressive martial arts moves and killer weaponry. Genji: Dawn of the Samurai features authentic swordplay choreographed by Japan's leading swordsman, and production directed by acclaimed industry veterans.

This historic samurai tale is set against the beautiful and elegant environments of feudal Japan, and delivers a story of two noble warriors engaged in a crusade against mythical forces controlling Japan. The setting takes place in 1159 A.D. Feudal Japan and the aristocratic period has come to an end. Wealth and family lineage no longer control the land. Power now rules the land and the people. The Heishi - a brutal samurai clan armed with powerful mythical stones - has struck fear into the citizens of Kyo with its tyrannical rule and mysterious power. As Yoshitune - a cunning swordsman and one of the few surviving descendants of the vanquished Genji clan - you embark on an epic adventure across the beautiful countryside of feudal Japan to rid it of the Heishi clan's oppressive rule. With swords in hand and the aide of a powerful ally, players must wage war against skilled swordsmen, vicious demons and a world rife with evil. The dawn of the samurai has arrived.

Genji runs at a solid 60 frames per second, making for a silken smooth experience that will make you consider swearing off 30 fps games forever. The background art direction, with some of the most impressive use of color, geometry and reflection effects you've seen this generation reminds me of the cinematic scenes used in movies such as "Hero" and "House of Flying Daggers". Your character journeys through cherry blossom and wisteria-filled gardens, cascading waterfalls and tranquil koi ponds, ancient Japanese temples, and continues to a snow-frosted castle and a floating garden in the sky. Each scene is more impressive than the last, and all hold the beauty of a sunset reflected off of a finely polished katana.

While keeping the elements of the fantastical, the characters' costumes and armor are traditionally styled. Many of the settings are reminiscent of those used in the "Tale of Genji," which is based upon actual locations in Japan. See photos of the temples, waterfalls and gardens from the novel here, and compare them to those used in the game.

The music in Genji sounds like Nogaku, which is the music played during No performances - it basically consists of the haunting Hayashi flute and the fierce Tsuzumi drum. This heart-driving and beautiful music only adds to the historical feel of the game. Besides all of the dialogue being spoken in Japanese, adding to your immersion to feudal Japan, Genji has support for Dolby Digital Pro Logic II. You can choose between centering the sound on your camera, character or player position.

Yoshitune is as nimble as a feral cat and gracefully dual-weilds his way through legions of Heishi. To best use Yoshitune - or his beefier counterpart Benkei - you must make use of a special attack meter called the Kamui meter. According to this site, Kamui means "God" in Ainu language. (Hey, I found it on the Internet, so that means it's true. Right?) This Kamui meter slowly fills up as you play. Fill the bar to the max, and you can activate Kamui mode with a tap of the L1 shoulder button. Once you've entered Kamui mode, the action goes into bullet-time slo-mo and the screen blurs a bit. All of your enemies stagger back, reacting rather offended that you would do such a thing.

Within moments, your enemies will begin to recover from the brief daze and attack you. Just prior to the enemy's attack, a button icon will flash on the screen indicating that you should press the attack button. If you time this perfectly, you'll successfully strike the enemy with a deadly blow. When luck is on your side, you may manage to take out multiple enemies with one graceful strike.

The challenge in using Kamui comes with timing your use of the attack button. You have just a moment's time to attack successfully, which varies depending on the speed and strength of the enemy, with bosses (obviously) requiring more precision. Want to feel like a real bad-ass ninja? You can charge up multiple levels of your Kamui meter and activate them simultaneously and slow your enemies to a standstill.

The use of Kamui is an integral part of surviving in the world of Genji. Of course, you can ignore the whole thing and simply beat your enemies into submission using standard kicks and attacks, but this would take a long time, especially if you find yourself surrounded. It is a much better strategy to strike all of your enemies with a single powerful hit, than it is to trudge through killing all of your opponents with standard attacks while leaving yourself open to attack.

The game gives you a good arsenal of moves when using standard attacks, both as the dexterous Yoshitsune and the meat-shield Benkei. You have access to both standard and strong attacks using different weapons that you collect as you advance through the game. You can also bound nimbly into the air to execute air combos. Press the R1 shoulder button and you'll lock onto the nearest enemy, simultaneously blocking weaker incoming attacks. You can then dash towards, away from and around the enemy. Watching the heroes leap and strike, you can see that Game Republic put Ken Watanabe's stunt double from "The Last Samurai" to good use with authentic swordplay reproduced with motion-capture technology.

One element of combat worth noticing is that once engaged with an enemy, you become "boxed in" by an invisible wall. This prevents you (and your enemies) from leaving the newly imposed arena, and allows you to focus on combat.

I am looking forward to immersing myself more in the feudal Japanese world offered in Genji: Dawn of the Samurai when it releases in September.