Suggestion: spend more dev time on gameplay, less on boobies.
My first experience with Ninja Gaiden was on the NES back in the early 90s. That was one hard game. The next NG title played was the remake on Xbox, and then the remake of the remake (Sigma) on the PS3. That was one hard game. The graphics, gameplay, pacing, and boss battles in both of these games, when taking into account the eras in which, and the systems for which, each was released, were top notch.
Enter Ninja Gaiden 2 (for the Xbox 360).
You're still Ryu Hayabusa, resident badass of the Dragon lineage, wielder of the dragon sword and a plethora of other exquisite instruments of death, and you're still hacking and slashing your way through a fast paced, action packed, visceral thrill ride of brutality. I'd go into the story, but it's just as bad as the last one... well, maybe it's worse. It's difficult to say when dealing with plots so unbelievably ridiculous. But, I digress...
Notable additions? Well, a larger and welcome variety of weapons, such as Wolverine-styled claws/talons and an impossibly huge scythe that most Final Fantasy heroes/villains would have trouble hefting. The speed of gameplay feels like it's slowed somewhat, but it's no less intense. The insanity is heavily augmented by the graphic dismemberment that has been incorporated into the mix. Whereas in NG/Black/Sigma, decapitations were the only form of severed body parts, NG2 rewards your violent flurries of blade and staff with a veritable confetti of legs, arms, heads, and torsos. This effect is more than just aesthetic, as an enemy with no legs will attempt to crawl towards you, and a one-armed ninja will pull a knife and try to take the suicide bomber route. Fortunately, these foes can be quickly and stylishly dispatched with Obliteration Techniques. By pressing 'Y', Ryu will perform a context sensitive, weapon and level specific finishing move, which invariably ends in showers of blood, flesh, and bone. A grisly pleasure, to say the least.
However, it's not all fun, blood, and guts. Just to be clear, NG2 is not as solid an outing as its prequel. The pacing is questionable; at time the level design is deplorable; the majority of boss encounters are excercises in frustration and confusion (what is the point of having one of the best combat engines ever created only to be forced to use the infinitely less satisfying bow-and-arrow to take down half of these guys?); the frame rate takes major hits in a few areas; the graphics are nothing to write home about; and, yes, there are glitches. Oh, how there are glitches.
As of the writing of this review, several of the glitches have been corrected by the litany of patches released since the game hit shelves (freezing at cutscenes and game-breaking respawn issues in Chapter 10 which forced gamers to completely start over, among others). Certain glitches of varying annoyance have not been addressed, and probably never will be. *sigh*
However, it is a testament to how solid the combat engine in NG2 is that these issues notwithstanding, I still came away with a largely positive experience. It took me a little over 14 hours to defeat NG2 on the Acolyte (i.e. n00b) setting, and I have little to no interest in tackling the more trying difficulties. If there was less cheapness involved in the enemy design (rocket launcher hellspawn with infinite ammo and clip, to name one) and fewer uninteresting, repeating boss battles, I might be tempted to do so. Unfortunately, Team Ninja decided it was more important to master the fine art of "realistic" boob physics of triple D blondes than it was to fine tune balancing and fix all the bugs. But, hell, if they spent half as much time on the stuff that actually matters as they did on meticulously crafting the many fine pairs of luscious jubblies, I have no doubt we'd have the game of the decade on our hands.
