There's a game in Japan called Go, and it doesn't look like much. It's a board game that is broken down into grid lines, and you play by placing black and white stones on the board. So, you can learn the rules to Go in about 5 minutes. But, you can spend the next 50 years perfecting your play and discovering new depths to the game. From the developers of the first Tenchu, Way of the Samurai is not a visual feast. There are only about 8-10 unique locations in the game, none of them really huge. The character models are done nicely, and the faces animate realistically with smoothing that helps give them a more lifelike quality. But, Way of the Samurai is not the prettiest game on the planet. What it does have that so many other games are lacking is depth.

Presentation is everything, and what Way of the Samurai may lack in sophisticated graphics it more than makes up for in style. From the opening movie to the soft colors and animation of falling cherry blossoms in the title screen, we feel like we're starting something cool. And, as the game opens up and more of its secrets are revealed, the 'wow' factor is greatly increased. Some of the musical styles are a bit questionable, as in the cheesy lounge-rock that plays during certain segments of the game. Mainly, the music is subtle, building during encounters (it seems to key off you drawing your sword) and staying under the rug most other times. In playing the game, you'll have the chance to customize much of the presentation, including new outfits for your characters, new swords (all the time) and special gameplay modes that introduce new areas and characters not available in the main game. Mostly, I found myself so engrossed in the action that graphics' quality wasn't the first thing on my mind.

Some games are criticized for being too long and taking up more time than most gamers can reasonably commit to, and others draw fire for being too short and leaving us feeling like we wasted precious funds. I think Way of the Samurai may lead the way to a formula that will make everyone happy. The game is both 'pick up and play' short and simple, but doesn't lack depth. The way it accomplishes this is very slick. Starting your adventure, you'll probably go through a brief Training. The Training will educate you on swinging your sword, picking up objects and moving around. The manual that comes with the game is also fairly vague, so you may not know exactly what to expect coming into the first level. Well, you think it's the first level. What I found was that I played around for awhile and wasn't sure what to do next. Non-linear is really the keyword here.

You pick your body choice and your outfit and your sword and you enter the world of Way of the Samurai. A small area of land has become contested territory between two rival families, the government and a group of hangers-on in a mostly vacant town. As you enter the game, your first encounter will determine much of how things play out in the game. You witness a kidnapping and can choose to get involved or pass by. If you fight the kidnappers, certain plot lines will open up later. If you join them or simply walk by, different events will be possible later. So, as you step through the game, each encounter will determine further how your destiny in the game will play out. The culmination of a particular plot line can be reached in as little as 2 hours, but with multiple endings (I managed to see at least 5 or 6) and the intricacies of combat, the replay value is incredible here. Really, there's no 'ending' to the game, since each story can be replayed with differences in how you approach combat and how you navigate dialog during encounters.

When you reach the conclusion of a certain path, you'll be graded and given a rank. Sometimes, you'll see another area of the game open up, and one of the first sections to be exposed is a 1P vs CPU or a 1P vs 2P combat mode that lets you take your fighting skills into the ring, choosing from a host of unlocked characters and environments from the main game. Other items that can be unlocked are new costumes for your samurai and new body types. The details of combat are best reserved for Mechanics, but suffice it to say that while the story is pretty interesting, the battles are awesome.

There are many techniques to master, and you'll find that certain scenarios will become much harder than others as they develop. Much of the difficulty can be mitigated by developing a great sword, as in having it improved by the blacksmith and also learning as many custom moves as possible before taking it into battle with a strong enemy. This game is the antithesis of button-mashing fighting games. So, while soft enemies may fall to a careless sword, the higher-level bosses and such will knock you on your kiester for trying to defeat them by sheer force.

Unlike easter-eggs or features one has to discover outside the game in some way like cheat codes or devices, there is a cool trend toward hiding things 'in plain view' in games. Take for instance the language discovery through 'primers' in Final Fantasy X where you gradually learned (through some effort) how to read the Albed language. Well, starting as a new samurai in Way of the Samurai you have some basic attack skills. As you experiment, you will periodically learn new skills. You'll be informed that you 'created' a new move, and it will be added to the list of possible moves for that sword. And when I say 'that sword' I really mean it. Over 40 swords can be found during the game, and each of them has a completely unique set of possible moves. If this sounds overwhelming, it isn't. You really just find a sword in the hand of an opponent, strike him or her down and take the sword. From there, you can customize the sword by fighting with it, and further customize it by taking it to the local blacksmith who will offer to strengthen it or improve certain qualities.

The game engine, for what it may lack in developing the finer details of graphical niceties, is killer during combat. The amount of detail that goes into controlling your character during combat extends to a push-pull motion you can use during a lock-up of swords. Learn your enemy's style. Is she aggressively attacking all the time? Pull back during a skirmish and watch her overextend, setting you up nicely for a killing blow. Or, are you fighting a weaker enemy? Give a push and watch him stumble back, again setting you up nicely. It's possible to stumble over bodies in combat, throw objects, climb and use the environment strategically. The elements of a winning third person fighting game are all here in spades, but the non-linear development of the plot and also the character's sword technique is a brilliant addition to the genre.

Saving is a little obscure, and since this really is a one-sitting experience by and large, you'll find no manual save points and only a few automatic saves. So, one of the more confusing pieces of the game is making sure you can take a sword with you on future occasions. The blacksmith has something to do with it, but it's way too subtle. A real fault in documentation and maybe in the design, but a dark corner in an otherwise brilliant game. Anyone who likes the idea of a samurai game but hasn't found the balance of action and story quite to their liking in previous offerings will probably fine Way of the Samurai very much to their liking. It's one great game.