Genji: Day of the Blade is the direct sequel to last year’s Genji: Dawn of the Samurai. While the first Genji was a quieter release, Sony made it a point to showcase Genji: Days of the Blade. Many gamers will remember the infamous “giant enemy crabs” line from this year’s E3 as their introduction to the game. With Genji releasing along with the PS3, many people were expecting a next-gen feel and look to the game that only the PS3 could deliver. Does Genji: Days of the Blade give gamers the total experience? Read on to find out.

Story
Genji 2 picks up right where the last game left off. You have saved the world and the Amahagane is in the right hands, and the world shouted, “Hurray!” However, there are rumors afoot that the Heshei are gathering and looking to cause more trouble, and the world said, “Didn’t see that coming!” All right, so the story is formulaic but that doesn’t stop it from being an enjoyable narrative of an ancient and mystical feudal Japan. If you haven’t played the first game then you might find yourself lost in the story and not knowing who some key characters are. There are really no story flashbacks to help alleviate some of the confusion but if you are dedicated enough, you might be able to figure it out because the story progresses slowly. Or you could read the instruction manual, it gives some background but it still won't cover all the familiar faces you'll encounter. Oh, and yes, there are giant enemy crabs with weak spots that you can hit for massive damage.

Controls
With the major push Sony has been giving the SIXAXIS controller, motion control is absent from Genji. It is safe to assume that Genji was too far into development when they were faced with the choice to add those kinds of controls and it would have caused a delay. Still, depending on what character you use, there is a different animation set but the basic button combos remain the same. That is a nice feature seeing that you’ll be switching characters in and out of battle on the fly, frequently. Switching characters is as easy as tapping the corresponding d-pad button. The move sets that each character has seem sluggish and not as speedy as one might as expect from an action/adventure game.
While the basic fighting controls are simple and straightforward, to truly master them is another topic. Once you get used to stringing the combos and dodging out of the way, it is a thing of beauty.

When it comes to the camera, there is a serious lack of control. In fact, you can't control it at all. It was an attempt by the development team to make Genji a more "cinematic" experience but all too often, you'll be trying to slash an enemy off screen. It's like the game picks the worst angles to show the action from. It will annoy you as you get poked and slashed from off screen and you can't figure out where it is coming from.

Sound
The sound is quite nice overall save for the English voice acting. The music and sound effects add to the game’s atmosphere. The music that accompanies the constant action blends traditional Japanese flute music with a sense of chaos. As strange as it sounds, the music works but a few tracks can grate on the nerves with repetitiveness. The swordplay sounds are very well done and give a sense of being in a battle for the future of Japan.