Samurai II: Vengeance

Feudal Japan as depicted in Samurai II: Vengeance may not be the most relaxing island getaway, but there's no denying the entertainment to be found in hacking apart demons and their human minions.

Sharp katanas clashing atop awe-inspiring stupas, crimson blood splattered across arched wooden bridges, heads freshly chopped rolling on a dank forest floor - it's the farthest thing from tranquillity, and that tense action is precisely what makes this game great.

The graphics are fierce and the gameplay is fun, making this island getaway well worth enduring the combat pressure for.

Drawing from popular mythology, Samurai II puts you on an errand to defeat the demon Orochi who has been terrorising the people of Japan from his floating fortress. Getting to Orochi means terrorising his minions with the sharp edge of your katana.

Seven stages make up the game's main story, which is joined by a survivalist Dojo mode that hurls endless waves of enemies at you.

Hari-kari holiday In a radical departure from the first game, Samurai II ditches gesture-based combat mechanics for a straightforward virtual control scheme. Buttons and an analogue stick replace flicks of a fingers - it's a wonderful thing. Gone are vague, unresponsive combination attacks: in are precise, fluid attacks. The difference is astounding.

Combos are easily executed by varying presses of the two 'attack' buttons - one for light attacks, the other for heavy ones. As you acquire points from fallen foes and breakable barrels, you can unlock new combos and even expand your current set from an upgrades menu.

While these combos become quite involved, you're eased into learning them since you gradually unlock each part of the attack.

Placing an 'evade' button on the screen is perhaps the single greatest decision by developer Madfinger Games. This addresses a glaring deficiency in the original, not only making it easier to avoid the frequently devastating attacks of enemies, but also to quickly cover ground so as to keep your combos going.

The lack of a 'block' button remains a problem, although less so than in the first game because it's much easier to evade attacks. 2010