The story puts you in the not to distant future. All the fighting and wars have taken so many human lives that battle androids are left to do the fighting. It is the end the world and the conflicts are left to the androids who are sent out to destroy the enemies. Okay, my only question is…if all these humans were dying because of war, why did the wars continue? Why not stop while at least a futile existence is still present? Oh well, as the song goes, “War what is it good for”. This story of an android’s life and growth isn’t a pleasant one, plot wise or even game play and graphics wise. Heck for that matter the audio kinda stinks too. So why should you play Rengoku? I dunno, if you have the answer to that, you tell me. For my money, there are better and more interesting games on the market.

Visually this game looks like a first gen PS2 title, and a bad one at that. Blocky, low quality textures, and bland environments make you wonder how this one slipped passed the radar on visuals alone. The character models are pretty cool, but the coolness wears off when you start seeing the slew of repeated enemies. Boss battles keep the monotony boys at bay, yet they are so few and far between you wonder if it is worth the effort just to fight them. There is a great assortment of weapons to blow the crap out of your foes, but the effects are less than spectacular. Lastly the camera really needs more work and makes for frustrated battle sequences in close quarters. Need I go on? Nah…on to the audio.

Ah, the audio. Well, to me it is just a bunch of noise. I have heard late 90’s, low rent industrial bands spew out better tunes than what Rengoku puts out. The result is a bunch of annoying sound effects made to seem like music. Speaking of sound effects, there are not much “oomph” to them either as not only do you not get the visual splendor from your weaponry, but also the audio leaves a lot to the imagination. Game play section ready…on we go.

Game play, in a word, frustrating. I also have another word, boring! Run through some bland environments, shoot enemies until they expire, repeat over and over again. Sure, you can customize your weapons and armor, upgrade them into more powerful and useful weapons and armor, only to run through more uninspired backdrops and kill even more enemies. The A.I. is actually smart. You will see enemies dodge, duck, and strategize on how to kill you, or maybe they are trying to see how to get into a better game… you decide.

Rengoku does offer Wi-Fi multiplayer action, but that just means you have to con up to three others to endure this ludicrous blunder with you. Do not be surprised if your friends list somewhat depletes if you attempt this. The game offers a decent amount of levels to sort through, but if you are not bored of this title by the second or third stage, you have too much time on your hands.

Do Konami a favor and do not buy this title. In doing so they can see the error of their ways and not publish such vile catastrophes. For the love of crumb cake, please bring back the Konami I know and love!