By: John Doe
The graphics are dark, as you are in the underworld. This leads to many an unseen death, like my favorite, "falling off a ledge you couldn’t see." The enemies follow their little patterns, appearing where they always do and at least are easy to kill. As Akuji makes his way, he must collect 100 voodoo dolls for an extra man (big groan) and must punch big HINT tablets floating in the netherworld (SUPER big groan). There’s nothing like a HINT tablet lying in the middle of the underworld that ruins the continuity and reality of the game. Okay, so I already said this game wasn’t original. You get the point. I’ll stop harping.
Akuji can find magic spells which gives him longer range attacks than his Wolverine-esque claws. He can over hand swing, jump, crawl, fly (if he finds the right thing) and turn into a panther, in fact he can do anything he tries. Even dance and sing and play a flute...oh wait that’s Pinnochio, sorry.
My complaint with the voices is not that they are poorly done, just poorly cast. Akuji sounds like he could be Solid Snake. I thought he was African? At least give the guy an accent.
The biggest thing this game has going for it, is the easy control, good camera and number of weapons and magic. Akuji controls very well and controlling the 3D camera is just as easy as a flick of the R or L buttons. When it you get down to it, Akuji is fun to play. It really grew on me the more I played it. In fact, I thought it controlled better than Tomb Raider 3. If you liked Gex 2, Spyro and Tomb Raider and are looking for another 3D platformer fix, you could do much worse than Akuji. It’s a solid effort. It’s no Metal Gear Solid, but it will keep you interested and occupied.
Just one last note. Many people have been emailing me with questions and comments. Please let me state that I DO NOT answer gaming questions. I’m not the code guy. I’m the review guy! If you can’t find your answer on this site, then either you haven’t looked thoroughly or the code doesn’t exist (yet). As well, please make sure that if you want a reply, that your e-mail address is correct! I do write back to 95%, but I am starting to give up due to so many returns! I almost never bother with AOL addresses anymore as at least 90% are returned. Thank you.
Final Analysis: