[Demo Spotlight] Asura's Wrath (PS3)

In the barren month of January, where game releases are few and far in between, a demo for a hyped up game is quite appreciated. With a little over a month before its release, Asura’s Wrath has appeared on both the Playstation Network store and Xbox Live Arcade Marketplace. Filled with over the top action and excitement that reminds us of noteworthy action anime like Dragon Ball and Naruto, this game has already caught our eyes.

The demo offers two levels with vastly different playing styles, both of which exhibit the game’s changing controls and abilities rather well. The first has Asura fighting against a giant boss, a battle that will have players drawing up memories of the PS2 classic Shadow of the Colossus. Some parts of the battle work out like a generic action adventure title with Asura shooting plasma while avoiding incoming attacks. In the second stage, it’s a one-on-one duel, where plasma shots are put aside for fist fighting. Both of these showcase the game’s changing command list that is based on the stages and story rather than some tech tree. Once he has built up enough meter, burst will flash across the screen with a button prompt that will be the first of many more. Unlike traditional quick time event games, Asura’s Wrath flourishes on it and continually gives varying, appropriate commands. It manages to be cinematic without ever boring.

Everything about the game is sure to give anime fans chills. The designs look like they’re straight out of an episode of Naruto, mixing Asian mythology with machinery. Even better, a boss can have his starting monologue cut short with a single button press. It all contributes to Asura being nothing short of a badass and players a part of an anime episode with action packed battles. The biggest gripe with this so far is that the English voices also properly mirror a horribly dubbed anime, devoid of emotion and sounding just plain laughable at times. Hopefully a dual audio option will be available for the full release.

Asura’s Wrath seems to be Japan and Capcom’s answer for Sony’s own God of War, featuring both eastern mythical figures and a plethora of quick time events that deliver an exciting visual experience. It’s a shame the demo didn’t showcase anything other than boss fights, but it certainly has us hyped up for its release on February 21.