Samurai Shodown Sen

This new version of the classic franchise is far from being an interesting experience, appealing to watch, or to a certain extent; fun to play. I could see the die-hard fan having a good time, but for anyone who is looking to get something different (or better) than the most recent fighting game releases such as Tekken 6 and Super Street Fighter IV, I’m not sure it would be a good idea to shed money for this piece of boredom and sourness.

After hours upon hours of competitive gameplay, Samurai Shodown: Sen didn’t serve enough entertainment value to satisfy my tastes. It’s a shame since the series has long been one of the more popular franchises among hardcore fighting fans.

But these entertaining elements do little to alleviate the game's nearly unbearable stiffness and atrocious visuals. Although the online support works well, I could only find two people to play against -- days after Sen hit retail.

It’s artistically weak, lacking in substance, and as a result is somewhat cut adrift from the rest of the battling pack.

Despite the improved character roster and so-bad-it's-funny decapitations, Samurai Showdown Sen has very little to offer you except easy Achievement Points.

You may have read this review and wondered, where's the cool stuff? Good question.

Samurai Showdown Sen is the perfect example of how a great 2d series can be destroyed by a clumsy attempt to fit it into a 3d gameplay. Samurai Showdown Sen has a poor graphic, a cheap gameplay and a general lack of personality. If you're looking for a 3d beat'em up, take this game out from your wishlist.

A total Failure. Ugly to see, too hard to master and really poor on the gameplay front.

Ultimately, Samurai Shodown Sen is a title lacking the polish and depth found in the other brawlers available at this time. Poor controls and odd damage calculations dampen what could have been an entertaining experience, while plain scenery and dated graphics make it a little stale for the eyes.

Some truly horrendous loading times. [Issue#58, p.94]

Fun in really, really short bursts. [June 2010, p.103]

Casual players will have a hard time jumping in and having some quick fun due to the game's rigid combo system, unforgiving CPU, and lackluster training mode, and the competitive fighting community has expressed no interest in this game at all.

Unfortunately, the bare mechanics of the game make every character boring very quickly.

A tired and outdated fighter and another failed attempt by SNK to update one of its classic franchises.

A miserable, frustrating, and graceless experience, I can't recommend this game to anyone but the most dedicated Samurai Shodown fans—and even those players should be well-warned to stay away

Perhaps it's most critical element is deceptive: Samurai Shodown: Sen is so unfamiliar that even the franchise's most dedicated fans won't recognize it. [Jun 2010, p.83]