The gore level of the game is unmistakably higher than in the previous game. Each one of your attacks that connects with the enemy without being blocked, has a chance of dismembering or decapitating them. The results of this is truly gorgeous – once you get a hang of the combat system, you’ll have limbs flying all over, accompanied by gallons of blood all over the place.
There's a catch though: cutting off a limb does not equal to killing the enemy. In fact, it’s quite the opposite – there’s nothing more dangerous than an enemy without a hand or a leg. Knowing that they’re probably going to die anyway, the dismembered enemy will lunge at you when he gets a chance, and launch a devastating suicide attack that will surely leave a scar on your health bar. To ensure this doesn’t happen, you’ve got to perform an obliteration move on the enemy once he’s dismembered.
The obliteration moves (or techniques) basically has Ryu slaughtering the enemy in some of the most stylish ways possible. They can range from a slick decapitation, to an elaborate array of blows that’ll reduce the enemy to a stump – no hands, legs or head, just a boring ol’ torso. The kind of obliteration move you get a chance to execute depends on which weapon you use.
I had the chance to try three different weapons: the Dragon Sword, the Lunar Staff and the Falcon Talons. The Dragon Sword is a katana, the Lunar Staff is well, a staff, while the Falcon Talon is a set of three-fingered, wolverine-ish blades that are on both of Ryu’s hands and feet. What I loved about the weapons in the game, is that no weapon is more powerful than the other and each one serves its purpose and suits a particular situation.
For instance, I preferred using the Lunar Staff for boss fights since they have a longer reach, and Falcon Talons to slay the game’s normal enemies (man, I love this weapon), since they’re quicker and have more devastating short-range combos.

