Unlike anything you've played. Asura's Wrath is filled with science fiction, Asian mythology and a whole lot of anger.
Within the first thirty minutes of playing however, things start to turn upside down for Asura. What started off as a sweet life for the demigod quickly turns to ash. He is betrayed by the eight other demigods; his wife is killed and his daughter is kidnapped for her mystic powers. Asura is framed for the murder of the Emperor and soon the entire world recognises him as a traitor. Cast out by those he once protected, Asura sets out on a journey of revenge against those that betrayed him; all while seeking out his daughter at the same time.
Asura's Wrath does a remarkable job in the story department. You are truly motivated to unleash your err... 'wrath' on the other eight deities lined up against you. Each demigod is instantly recognisable from one another thanks to some excellent character design and in fact, every enemy and ally you encounter has been well crafted to improve your overall experience. The game uses stylish cell-shaded graphics in its world, which allow all the action to be easily translated on to the screen without fear of slow-down or jagged edges and textures. Some scenes are really quite beautiful in their presentation thanks to this method and it was a great visual style for Capcom to go with.
There are three different types of gameplay sections in Asura's Wrath: quick-time events, on rail shooter sections and basic brawler style areas.
The quick-time events are the main part of the game and are present in all of the cinematics throughout the game as well as appearing occasionally in the brawler sections. These quick-time events allow the player to take part in each and every jaw-dropping, brain exploding and intense parts of the game, of which there are many. While some might argue that quick-time events are not "proper" gameplay, I disagree and believe that as long as they are engaging and not gimmicky, they have a place this type of cinematic game. These events allow you to do things like grow extra arms, take part in incredibly intense one-on-one duals and even destroy entire fleets with your ever increasing powers of rage.
The second type of gameplay seen is on-rail shooter sections. These moments are when your character follows a set path while allowing you to target things freely with your long-ranged blast attacks. One incredibly well done example of this appears later in the game, where it combines amazing use of music, enemy combinations and an absolutely mind-blowing setting. Apart from this particular highlight however, the on-rail sections were a bit lacklustre for me, being more of an exercise in patience than an exciting change of pace.
The final type seen is the brawler style areas. This is when you are placed in either a series of rooms or one arena and you have to fight all comers in a third person view style beat-em-up. These sections are a great break from the regular cinematics because they simply allow you to create your own action. You have three attacks in these sections; a light, heavy and ranged attack, which although basic allow you to mix things up a bit with occasional combos and some fun melee.
Asura's Wrath is an great game that lasts for 18 well-rounded episodes (that is split into three acts). This rounds out to about six or seven hours overall, which although I wish it lasted to around the ten hour mark, I can't argue with the quality they produced. There are many post-launch DLC to still be released and a few that have already come out so there's still a heap to do once you finish if you wish to experience new things. Another reason to replay the game or specific chapters is because you are ranked on each individual one, and if you score an S rank on five or more, you unlock an alternate secret ending, which is a great type of unlockable. Also, you may just want to replay the game to re-experience the incredible moments you find yourself in. Remember, in this game you are a demigod, that's code for huge explosions and intense battles on the ground and in the stars.
I can't really say enough good about the story in Asura's Wrath, it is very well done and is filled with memorable characters and plenty of crazy moments scattered throughout. My only complaints are that I wish the on-rails shooter sections were done a little better or that they at least added a couple of more exciting elements to them other than "Shoot x amount of times/enemies". Also, because the campaign is fairly short at only six or seven hours, that is a bit disappointing despite how well-paced the whole thing is.
It's over fairly quickly, but what's there is damn good quality. You need to play Asura's Wrath. Regardless of whether you like it or not, it is definitely an experience worth having, because no other game out there is like it.