"First" Archimpressions: Bushido Blade 2

 There's nothing like this out there.

 Sweet mother of jesus, this game knows how to get you tense. When your life could be over in your next attack, you really start being careful "Am I close enough?", "Is he gonna parry?", "What if he attacks now?!" and other questions. It's even worse when you are playing as a sub-character, where defeat means having to start all over, if you want to unlock him/her.
 What baffles me the most, is how the six default characters have a unique costume for Story mode, yet use another one on the other modes, Tatsumi's schoolboy costume is not as good as his story mode costume. Speaking of costume, the character designs are hideous. The art itself looks pretty amateurish, and the designs look as if they have no rhyme or reason! THERE'S A GUY WITH AN AFRO ON A RONIN GAME. Ronins? Eh, assassins fits the bill better, me thinks.
 Regardless, I'm loving the game. Onwards!