Review by David Jenkins - Japanese developers are weird. How can a country so well versed in the art of video game making still fail almost every time when trying to make a decent anime tie-in or a samurai-themed game?

It'd be like American developers always messing up movie tie-ins and never making any decent cowboy games. Oh.

Anyway, whoever's fault it is we want a decent samurai sim and this isn't it.

Developer Acquire are also behind the flawed Tenchu and Shinobido series, so they have a bit of previous when it comes to squandering the potential of their cultural history.

This is in many ways a more ambitious title though, eschewing straight action for a more open world adventure.

It's not exactly Grand Theft Auto: Medieval Japan but it does make you wish such a game actually existed.

Cast as a nameless ronin the game wears its filmic influences on its sleeve, as you wander the game world playing three warring factions against each other.

Or not as the fancy takes you, since the game does give you complete freedom to work for whoever you want - whether it's one of the big three or simply fetch quests given by villagers.

But whatever you do will affect your reputation and how you are perceived.

Morality systems are almost old hat nowadays but it's rare to see every single action have real consequence.

Not just lopping off the wrong person's head but forgetting to bow or getting out your sword in the wrong company can have terrible consequences.

All of which sounds terribly exotic but unfortunately beneath the basic set-up lies the same old-fashioned and clunky design of the previous two games.

There are several problems here, including the fact that the supposedly open world environment is really just eight fairly small areas.

The game's also a technical mess, clearly dragged kicking and screaming from the PS2 with its dodgy camera and buggy physics engine in tow.

Combat isn't as uniformly awful but it is severally limited by its dependence on just two basic attacks.

What's more interesting about the combat is the idea of trying to knock opponents off balance.

Some you'll find impossible to block unless your sword has been sufficiently upgraded and death can come in an instant, which feels nicely realistic.

Indeed anyone in the game (except children) can be killed and will stay killed no matter how this skews the main plot and your reputation.

Underneath the sub-par graphics, glitchy camera and dodgy mechanics there's a great game waiting to be unearthed (and given a bigger budget).

The period feel and the sense of a real world environment with its own rules and culture comes across well.

But without the gameplay to back it up all the fine ideas and enthusiasm just fade away into another frustrating and quickly repetitive misfire.

IN SHORT: An unusual open world samurai adventure, with plenty of authenticity but little spit and polish.

PROS: Impressive atmosphere and one of the most interesting morality systems around. Combat is flawed but inventive.

CONS: Low tech graphics and camera constantly irritate. Little variety and small game world. Lots of bugs.

SCORE: 5/10 Out: 12/3 (UK)