Games
Sony
Microsoft
Nintendo
Other Platforms
Upcoming &
Recent Releases
70
Ashes Cricket 2009
xx
Assassin's Creed II
70
Axel & Pixel
60
Bakugan Battle Brawlers
80
Band Hero
63
Bass Pro Shops: The Strike
92
Batman: Arkham Asylum
89
Beatles: Rock Band, The
xx
Black College Football: The Xperience - The Doug Williams Edition
xx
Blood Bowl
83
Borderlands
44
Brave: A Warrior's Tale
83
Brutal Legend
70
Bubble Bobble Neo!
79
Bust-A-Move Live!
xx
Cabela's Big Game Hunter 2010
xx
Cabela's Outdoor Adventures 2009
xx
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
61
Cars Race-O-Rama
67
Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs
72
Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 - Commander's Challenge
xx
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - Deadly Intent
45
Darkest of Days
83
Defense Grid: The Awakening
87
DiRT 2
84
DJ Hero
86
Dragon Age: Origins
xx
Dragon Ball: Raging Blast
xx
Dreamkiller
57
F.E.A.R. 2: Reborn
54
Fairytale Fights
65
Fallout 3: Mothership Zeta
91
FIFA Soccer 10
66
Football Genius: The Ultimate Quiz
91
Forza Motorsport 3
42
G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
xx
Gears of War 2: All Fronts Collection
79
Gears of War 2: Dark Corners
68
G-Force
90
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony
85
Guitar Hero 5
83
Halo 3: ODST
xx
Hei$t
62
Heroes Over Europe
80
IL-2 Sturmovik: Birds of Prey
63
Inferno Pool
61
Invincible Tiger: The Legend of Han Tao
73
Ion Assault
xx
James Cameron's Avatar: The Game
xx
Jurassic: The Hunted
xx
Karaoke Revolution
63
King of Fighters XII, The
xx
Left 4 Dead 2
76
Left 4 Dead: Crash Course
xx
LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Adventure Continues
75
LEGO Rock Band
70
Lips: Number One Hits
62
Lucidity
xx
Madagascar Kartz
68
Madballs in Babo: Invasion
85
Madden NFL 10
69
Magnacarta 2
82
Marvel vs. Capcom 2
73
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2
48
Mass Effect: Pinnacle Station
61
Military Madness: Nectaris
73
Mini Ninjas
xx
MX vs. ATV Reflex
83
NBA 2K10
71
NBA 2K10: Draft Combine
80
NBA Live 10
xx
NCAA Basketball 10
83
NCAA Football 10
83
Need for Speed SHIFT
88
NHL 10
68
NHL 2K10
77
Operation Flashpoint: Dragon Rising
80
Panzer General: Allied Assault
84
Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection
xx
Planet 51
77
Pro Evolution Soccer 2010
xx
Qubed
63
Raiden IV
xx
Rainbow Islands: Towering Adventure!
38
Raven Squad: Operation Hidden Dagger
66
Red Faction: Guerrilla - Demons of the Badlands
58
Risen
66
Rock Band Country Track Pack
xx
Rock Band Metal Track Pack
xx
Rogue Warrior
xx
Saboteur, The
75
Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space
62
Saw
88
Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition, The
69
Section 8
88
Shadow Complex
71
Sonic & Knuckles
71
South Park Let's Go Tower Defense Play!
84
Splosion Man
xx
SpongeBob's Truth or Square
42
Star Wars The Clone Wars: Republic Heroes
38
Summer Athletics 2009
60
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled
80
Tekken 6
xx
Tony Hawk: RIDE
69
Tornado Outbreak
44
Tour de France 2009
57
Tower Bloxx Deluxe
86
Trials HD
xx
Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures Ep 2: The Last Resort
xx
Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures Ep 3: Muzzled!
xx
Wallace & Gromit's Grand Adventures Ep 4: The Bogey Man
39
Warriors: Street Brawl, The
44
Watchmen: The End is Nigh - Part 2
56
Watchmen: The End is Nigh - Parts 1 and 2
69
Way of the Samurai 3
69
WET
51
Where the Wild Things Are
72
Wolfenstein
81
WWE SmackDown vs. Raw 2010
55
Yo-Ho Kablammo
65
Zombie Apocalypse
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed games.
Dishwasher: Dead Samurai, The
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 24 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 16 votes
Read user comments
Rate this game >
Game Info
Publisher: Microsoft
Developer: Ska Studios
Genre(s): Action, Platform
Players: 2
ESRB Rating: M (Mature)
Release Date: April 1, 2009
Summary
[Xbox Live Arcade] The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai is a 2-D stylistic action platformer for Xbox LIVE Arcade showcasing fast action, deep gameplay, and a unique visual style. An undead samurai dishwasher in a dystopian universe is on a quest for revenge against the evil cyborg army. To dispatch hordes of zombies, cyborgs, and robots, the Dishwasher has at his fingertips a devastating array of attacks using ancient blades, disturbing machinery, and screen-obliterating Dish Magic. Compete with the rest of the world in a variety of speed run and high score challenges to become the most formidable Dishwasher yet. Fresh take on gameplay: Gameplay in The Dishwasher is a fresh take on popular stylistic action combat, taking combo- and timing-intensive combat into a 2-D, blood-soaked environment emphasizing speed, vertical movement, and maneuverability, and player-driven pacing to create a truly unique, fluid and visceral experience, with an appealingly psychotic art style. New game modes with guitar peripheral: The Dishwasher has arcade co-op, drop-in solo campaign co-op, and drop-in solo phantom guitar co-op using the guitar peripheral. Phantom guitar players can unload electric death by playing wicked solos, perform basic movement, and use the guitar's motion control to rip through enemies with a razor-sharp headstock. The power of XNA: The Dishwasher is a testament to the power of XNA. The game was created by one guy with no professional game development experience (and a self-described lousy programmer) in about a year and a half. [Ska Studios]
Cheat Codes & Hints: Cheat Code Central
Also On The Web: Official Website
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
ZTGameDomain
Probably the most fun I have had playing an XBLA game, so far. With its simple to learn and use controls to the ton of levels you can play, I can see why this game was so talked about when it made its first run on the XNA.
Read Full Review >Team Xbox
While Dead Samurai’s gameplay could have used a bit more Dawn for it to truly shine, the visuals and overall presentation value makes this unique, indy-produced IP easily worth its 800-point asking price.
Read Full Review >WonderwallWeb
A Xbox Arcade title that shows all of the big publishers how to make a good game. Fun for both high score gamers and beat-em-up fans.
Read Full Review >Games Master UK
An immensely enjoyable and visually stunning game. [July 2009, p.82]
Impulsegamer
As a complete package, The Dishwasher : Dead Samurai is good value at 800 points, and is a nice modern touch on a classic arcade style.
Read Full Review >Gamer.nl
The Dishwasher made its way from a community game to a fully equipped Xbox Live Arcade title. And it even competes with the big boys. Keep in mind that the game has a very high difficulty setting and that only the true Dishwasher will get to the end.
Read Full Review >Official Xbox Magazine
For those of us who like a little tough love with our games, Dishwasher's ironclad challenge and simple-but-effective design scratch an itch few games can reach. [Feb 2009, p.83]
Read Full Review >Xbox World 360 Magazine UK
A 2D fighter with a 3D combo system; The Dishwasher is a huge chunk of game for a small price. [Apr 2009, p.102]
Eurogamer
For those who persist with The Dishwasher, however, there's a deep and interesting set of mechanics here, which ought to appeal to fans of Viewtiful Joe, God Hand and perhaps even those a little disappointed by MadWorld.
Read Full Review >NZGamer
An incredibly fun (albeit seriously depraved) experience. If you're a fan of side-scrolling games and aren't easily offended, grab the demo at least - just be sure and play it long after the kids have gone to bed.
Read Full Review >Destructoid
The Dishwasher may be too difficult to handle, but please remember that the game shines the brightest when you have all of the weapons unlocked and are tasked with fighting more than two or three starter enemy types -- don’t let the demo’s simplistic nature fool you.
Read Full Review >Edge Magazine
Beneath The Dishwasher's grungy surface is an original and polished take on a genre that may yet have its best years ahead of it. [June 2009, p.96]
games(TM)
By far one of the strongest downloadable titles of the year so far. [June 2009, p.121]
GamePro
Easy isn't easy and difficulty levels above that are just stupidly tough.
Read Full Review >Meristation
James Silva and Ska Studios did a good job with The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai, a very nice beat'em up without a deep storyline, but a great gameplay that remind us the classic games of the genre. This is not the "new Castle Crashers", but it's really a game that deserves an opportunity.
Read Full Review >GameFocus
For those who love a real challenge and enjoy a good bloodbath will go head-over-heels for what The Dishwasher has to offer. The tight controls and long length make this a valid purchase for those who want to experience a test even if the story is fairly weak.
Read Full Review >X360 Magazine UK
For a single designer, though, a cracking effort. [Issue#40]
SpazioGames
The Dishwasher Dead Samurai has a great design, unique style and funny gameplay, but it lacks in detail quality. After few hours of gameplay you could get bored because of its repetitive mechanics, and a too-short story mode. Online Multiplayer is too far, in terms of functionality, from Castle Crashers; so consider the game only if you want to play in single or in local, trying to get better scores everyday.
Read Full Review >PALGN
Apart from a few bad design issues and ridiculous premise, The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai has most of the elements required for a good and possibly even a great game.
Read Full Review >MS Xbox World
The gameplay is fun enough to make you want to come back, just not fun enough to make you never want to leave. On the bright side, there is co-op play, so if you and a friend are looking to shoot the breeze while you whack away at some bad guys, this just might be your cup of Bancha.
Read Full Review >Game Revolution
If you dig the sort of masochistic experience found in bullet hell shooters and beat 'em ups like Alien Hominid, there is a challenge, albeit a repetitive one, in Dead Samurai.
Read Full Review >Teletext GameCentral
For a game that won an amateur game design contest, this lacks in both imagination and implementation.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this game is 9.1 (out of 10) based on 16 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Matthew P gave it an8:
This is a good title on XBLA. Dishwasher is not without its small flaws, but what more can you really want out of 800 MSP? It has lots of levels, lots of modes, a variety of enemies, weapons, bosses, levels, and so on. If it has any setback it's probably the co-op settings, which are either local but not online, online but not local, or neither. See Castle Crashers as a better example of co-op implementation.
Adam R gave it a9:
The game is a simple, yet brutal side-scrolling brawl fest, caked in vast quantities of blood and creative ideals. The game basically revolves around out Protagonist, who was a dishwasher before he died and his heart ripped out, goes on a mission of revenge, revealing the storyline along the way in short comic-book like strips. The graphics have a dark grunge-like style, the music is a "gothic" feudal-Japan era composition (accompanied by the occasional electric guitar). This game earns the M-rating, being VERY brutal, some of the execution techniques are very bloody and violent, and having a menagerie of weapons from meat cleavers to chainsaws, you hack and slash and some magic skills to kick ass through a TON of levels. Also, there's a few "guitar-hero" themed sections, which earn you points based on accuracy (a perfect rewarding an item needed to upgrade gear and etc) with a spetacular light show as the song progresses (yes, you CAN use the guitar controller for it). Very cheap, tons of fun, suggest buying, plain and simple.
