A difficult, combat-rich and bloody experience.
Pros
Cons
Gameplay
As Ryu, a ninja of course, in a storyline that doesn't matter, you're going to kill a lot of enemies. Over my span of an 8 hour game on the lowest difficulty, I killed 1,800 enemies and died 50 times. Don't be turned-off, though, as most of those deaths were at the final bosses. To begin with, you have 4 difficulties (2 unlocked when you begin). Being a ninja, you have at your disposal a variety of skills, magic, and weapons. You can run along walls, kill enemies with grace, and walk on water. Your magic, Ninpo, can assist in a hasty defeat of your enemies. And you have an assortment of 8 weapons, which you find throughout the game, ranging from claws, to a Lunar Staff, to nunchaku with a blade attached. With each weapons you have different combos, and can upgrade these weapons to present you with more combos.
All of this may seem pretty confusing, but you only attack with X and Y, using B for projectile weapons like bows and shuriken. In maybe half-an-hour you will think you are the greatest Ninja Gaiden player ever. But no, you'll get beat down ruthlessly. With good reason, this game wants you to use skill, and a bit of simple reasoning. For instance, you can block attacks, and consequently counter them. Also, you can chop off their limbs and Obliterate them by pressing the Y button to instantly kill them. With the game consisting of 14 chapters, each chapter spanning 30-45 minutes, you have a hefty amount of game to fight your way through.
Graphics/Sound
The sound is very slick. You'll consistently hear your weapons cutting through air, and the thuds of an enemy carcass getting beat down. The musical score is fine, although something that gets your blood rushing would have been better. The graphics are awesome as far as character models go. The cinematics as well as in-game graphics are very nice. The gore is intense, it's not surprising to see a head rolling down a set of stairs or a ramp. The terrain and environments, though, definitely deserves an improvement. Too often I was questioning where all the effort was put.
Value
An 8 hour playthrough on the easiest difficulty, which doesn't count the numerous deaths (which I think tacks on another 4 hours of attempts). Then 2 unlockable difficulties, and an option to continue your completed game with a New Game+ and play with all your previous weapons and items starting from Chapter 1. Complete with 60 achievements, leaderboards, and the possibility of downloadable content and you have yourself quite a package. I recommend a buy, as a rent won't get you through the wealth of content.
[I reviewed this game on GS on June 6th, I transferred it here.]
- Fluid combat with a variety of combos.
- Slick presentation.
- Character models are excellent.
- Cinematics are impressive to watch.
Cons
- Chest physics, no woman needs a chest that big nor with physics.
- Storyline is convoluted, confusing, and throw-away.
- Environments need more work.
- Achievements are unjust, and take a lot of time.
Gameplay
As Ryu, a ninja of course, in a storyline that doesn't matter, you're going to kill a lot of enemies. Over my span of an 8 hour game on the lowest difficulty, I killed 1,800 enemies and died 50 times. Don't be turned-off, though, as most of those deaths were at the final bosses. To begin with, you have 4 difficulties (2 unlocked when you begin). Being a ninja, you have at your disposal a variety of skills, magic, and weapons. You can run along walls, kill enemies with grace, and walk on water. Your magic, Ninpo, can assist in a hasty defeat of your enemies. And you have an assortment of 8 weapons, which you find throughout the game, ranging from claws, to a Lunar Staff, to nunchaku with a blade attached. With each weapons you have different combos, and can upgrade these weapons to present you with more combos.
All of this may seem pretty confusing, but you only attack with X and Y, using B for projectile weapons like bows and shuriken. In maybe half-an-hour you will think you are the greatest Ninja Gaiden player ever. But no, you'll get beat down ruthlessly. With good reason, this game wants you to use skill, and a bit of simple reasoning. For instance, you can block attacks, and consequently counter them. Also, you can chop off their limbs and Obliterate them by pressing the Y button to instantly kill them. With the game consisting of 14 chapters, each chapter spanning 30-45 minutes, you have a hefty amount of game to fight your way through.
Graphics/Sound
The sound is very slick. You'll consistently hear your weapons cutting through air, and the thuds of an enemy carcass getting beat down. The musical score is fine, although something that gets your blood rushing would have been better. The graphics are awesome as far as character models go. The cinematics as well as in-game graphics are very nice. The gore is intense, it's not surprising to see a head rolling down a set of stairs or a ramp. The terrain and environments, though, definitely deserves an improvement. Too often I was questioning where all the effort was put.
Value
An 8 hour playthrough on the easiest difficulty, which doesn't count the numerous deaths (which I think tacks on another 4 hours of attempts). Then 2 unlockable difficulties, and an option to continue your completed game with a New Game+ and play with all your previous weapons and items starting from Chapter 1. Complete with 60 achievements, leaderboards, and the possibility of downloadable content and you have yourself quite a package. I recommend a buy, as a rent won't get you through the wealth of content.
[I reviewed this game on GS on June 6th, I transferred it here.]
