Like many I suspect, I was eager to play Asura's Wrath after hearing Brad, Vinny and Patrick (and since Ryan) sing the praises of this game. Yet after completing the main game (I have not experienced the DLC) I was left baffled why they loved it so much. Yes it's over the top and in a word I guess epic... but never have I been so bored watching a giant finger crush down upon earth. It's been a few weeks since I completed the main story available on disc and I'm still bothered by the whole experience. Did I miss something? It bothers me because few if any games truly bore me, but as I played Asura's Wrath I kept waiting for it to end and that's something I rarely say for any game I play. I know to some degree why I had such a below par experience with it. One, none of the moments felt earned. Yes they try and make you work for those quick time events (PRESS THAT BUTTON AS FAST AS YOU CAN) but none felt earned in the context of the gamers input. Take God of War for an example, usually it's QTE's require you to beat the living church bells out of the enemy before you get to see that sweet special move and so feels earned. Maybe I'm missing the point but Asura's Wrath as an whole package felt lacklustre and shockingly forgettable. Which considering what happens in that game even more worrisome. 
 
It should be noted that I was very eager to play Asura's Wrath after the Bombcast chats, it simply sounded amazing. I'm sure many of you adored it and it's probably about game play tastes. But I really do feel I missed something.

The GB guys seem to really like highly cinematic games with simple mechanics and little gameplay. Obviously that's fine, but this should serve as a lesson to why you should always be suspicious of hype.

they don't watch anime, so they were impressed with a generic story

they are game critics, never trust their opinion when it comes to story

I think since they don't watch anime they found the story mind blowing but for people familiar with anime it hits very familiar and generic beats.

I don't think it was the story they were impressed by. Simply how crazy and over the top it gets.

I don't think you missed anything. The story was as generic as they come in anime; nothing special about it. Like others have said, it's probably due to their lack of familiarity with what the anime industry has produced since the mid-90s (and even by that standard, the story of Asura's Wrath is still very lackluster).

I don't know. I've been enjoying it more than I did Fez. And they raved about that game just as much.

I'm about halfway through the storyline and for the most part, I'm enjoying if. I actually wish that there was less combat because it's not very good. I'll also say that as someone who doesn't watch anime, I'm enjoying the absurdity of it all. The boss fight on the Moon and how it ends stands out as particularly amazing.

Everyone has their tastes. Unfortunately yours, along with probably expecting something different from the game, did not click. It happens!

I really want to play Asura's wrath because of the bombcast hype as well but think i'll feel as you do. It happened to me with Saint's Row the third last year.

You didn't miss anything, the game is no masterpiece. I think the reason the GB guys like it is because they don't watch anime, so this game feels different than anything they've seen before. For people like me who watch anime all the time (I hate most anime too) the game didn't really impress me that much.

edit: looks like everyone already said the same thing.

Your point about rewards not feeling "earned" is what has put me off about the game so far. Doing something that looks rote, unimaginative, and easy doesn't make the OMG AWESOME RIDICULOUSNESS look all that interesting.

There's no accounting for taste and all that jazz.  I enjoyed it because of immaculate taste, others don't because they are insane, life moves on.

Nothing like playing it for yourself to decide. You have a number of members say basically the same thing but IDK, I might get something out of it since my anime exposure doesn't go much beyond Akira, Star of the West (I think), a couple chapters of Lain and an early 90's serial on some cartoon channel that was actually pretty strange.

@TrueEnglishGent said:

Like many I suspect, I was eager to play Asura's Wrath after hearing Brad, Vinny and Patrick (and since Ryan) sing the praises of this game. Yet after completing the main game (I have not experienced the DLC) I was left baffled why they loved it so much. Yes it's over the top and in a word I guess epic... but never have I been so bored watching a giant finger crush down upon earth. It's been a few weeks since I completed the main story available on disc and I'm still bothered by the whole experience. Did I miss something? It bothers me because few if any games truly bore me, but as I played Asura's Wrath I kept waiting for it to end and that's something I rarely say for any game I play. I know to some degree why I had such a below par experience with it. One, none of the moments felt earned. Yes they try and make you work for those quick time events (PRESS THAT BUTTON AS FAST AS YOU CAN) but none felt earned in the context of the gamers input. Take God of War for an example, usually it's QTE's require you to beat the living church bells out of the enemy before you get to see that sweet special move and so feels earned. Maybe I'm missing the point but Asura's Wrath as an whole package felt lacklustre and shockingly forgettable. Which considering what happens in that game even more worrisome. It should be noted that I was very eager to play Asura's Wrath after the Bombcast chats, it simply sounded amazing. I'm sure many of you adored it and it's probably about game play tastes. But I really do feel I missed something.

You were expecting it to be a game and not an interactive movie.

That's what it is. An interactive movie. The charm of Asura's Wrath centers around it's absurdities. It's an experience better watched than played. Hell, there's a watch mode in the game after you complete it.

I really came out enjoying my time with Asuras Wrath, I loved the crazy story and characters and what there was for Gameplay was good enough.

Different strokes for different folks man, sorry you didn't care for the game but that's just how it goes sometimes.

Might as well say I really enjoyed it.

So much hate in here. Makes me sad.

All of talk about the game (and its own presentation) makes it pretty clear that Asura's Wrath is basically a game without substantial gameplay mechanics (but having everything else).

It seemed like, especially with Heavy Rain (or the new ghost sixth sense one), that a lot of people are interested when story, cutscenes, and animation are used but all of the traditional defining characteristics are dropped. Especially people who review games and probably see the same mechanics all the time.

I think these sort of things should be named something else (interactive cinema maybe?), because the game mechanics portion is required to make a legitimate game. But eh, that does not seem to be the way the definition is going. And stuff like walking dead is actually using the interactive part of the cinema to go in viable directions compared to the straight movies with QTEs stuff. But hearing some of the people who make these sort of items, like when beyond is up, makes me roll my eyes when the "super serious and mature" content is discussed. To pretty much the same extent as Metal of Honors overblown marketing.

I started this game the other day after hearing the hype... With a friend.. We were both somewhat drunk... We had no fuckin idea what the hell was going on.. Like, yeah, we could keep up with the story.. But goddamn if it wasn't the weirdest thing I've put into my 360... And we both like anime...

Drinking game: whenever something odd or absolutely outrageous happens, drink... Works best in the first episode.. We got drunk real fast. I think this should be how we start our drinking game nights off, with an episode of asuras wrath drinking game..

Gonna try and replay the episodes sober to see if i might actually like it better. I've got hope.

/necrothread

Asura's Wrath is a game I was happy to have played through, but one I probably would have preferred to watch - I hated the gameplay that much, I just found it awful. I hated the parts where it tried to be more like an actual game, and I kind of also hated performing the QTEs as well. The stuff that happens though? Fantastic (and that true ending DLC? Holy shit!). Awesome soundtrack, too.