Genji: Dawn of the Samurai, is like a veggie burger: delicious and satiating to those who want to give it a chance, but definitely not a meal for someone looking for some no-nonsense access to grilled beef. A solid combat system, impressive graphics and a plot interesting and written well enough to give you a reason to play the game completely through, Genji has all of the promising trappings of a classic Playstation 2 title. In the end, though, Genji only comes through as a "good" action game, one that has everything fans of the genre look out for, but at the same time has a decent amount of flaws that keep it from being a near-perfect title.

The game's setting isn't anything new to the videogame scene: Feudal Japan. Playing as Yoshitsune Minamoto, you quickly learn that you are the descendant of a general who was defeated fighting the Heishi clan, an oppressive group that rules over the country in an incredibly nasty fashion. The Heishi rulers all posses the Amahagane, an enchanted magical item that grants them immense power and makes short work of their enemies. Yoshitsune is fortunate enough to also have an Amahagane, as well as access to a priestess who can perform the Yosegane, a procedure that fuses multiple Amahagane into one, thus increasing their power immensely. The only way for Yoshitsune and his companion Benkei to fulfil their desire for vengeance and defeat the Heishi is to go after their generals one at a time, stealing and fusing their Amahagane along the way.

The core of the combat system isn't anything new for an action title seen before. It's incredibly easy to get the hang of; it's made up of the standard attack, jump and block maneuvers that we've all grown accustomed to. Where it sets itself apart from other action titles is in the use of the Amahagane. When activated, the Amahagane slows down time so that you have the opportunity to make some pretty devastating dodge and counter attacks. Unfortunately, using the Amahagane isn't as empowering as one would expect. Once activated, the actual timing of the moves required in-game to take advantage of the item's power are incredibly hard to pull off and more often than not require an insane amount of precision. Granted, once successfully done the Amahagane-related moves are incredibly devastating, but actually pulling them off is often times an incredibly frustrating feat.

The game allots you two playable characters: Yoshitsune and Benkei. Both characters have incredibly distinct fighting styles, and this variety is taken advantage of quite well as you can play as either of them pretty much through the entire game. Yoshitsune is equipped with two samurai swords, and his skill set is made up of quick, graceful attacks and agile dodging. Benkei relies strictly on might to take down enemies; he is incredibly slow and not very maneuverable, but when his hits connect the damage adds up fast. Genji does a great job of making both characters more than a cosmetic addition to the game. Since both of them are selectable at pretty much any point in the game, using them isn't necessarily a matter of who is best for the job, but instead how you desire to approach the situation. It's really quite the gratifying addition, and it gives a lot of room to develop a pretty open ended personal playing style.