Lots of fun, but dragged down by some frustrating problems.
Have you ever wanted to feel like a human buzzsaw? If so, check out Ninja Gaiden II! In this bloody, action packed sequel, Team Ninja took what made Ninja Gaiden on the Xbox a fan favorite among hardcore gamers and built onto those elements. Unfortunately, it seems like the things people hated about the first are back, among other issues that will cause you much frustration.
In Ninja Gaiden II, you again play as a badass ninja named Ryu Hayabusa. This time around, it's your job to stop the forces of evil from taking over the world! Honestly, the story is pretty ridiculous. I didn't know what was going on half the time, and the bits I did catch were filled with cheesy ass, cliched evil characters and dialogue. If it wasn't for all the gore, I would have felt like I was watching some generic Saturday morning cartoon. But really, who wants to play Ninja Gaiden II for the story? Everyone knows this game is all about cutting fools' heads off.
Ninja Gaiden's best asset was its combat, and it's only gotten better here. It plays almost exactly the same as before, but now there are Obliteration Techniques that'll have you flinging so much blood, your mom's head will spin. Basically when you're fighting dudes, you'll be cutting off arms and legs. When an enemy gets injured like this, it leaves them prone to an Obliteration Technique; which has you performing gruesome finishing moves that would make the characters of Mortal Kombat stand in awe. The catch is that when an enemy loses a limb, he/she becomes more fatal. An example would be when they latch onto you and blow themselves up with an explosive shuriken. This can be absolutely punishing and unexpected.
Even on the the lower difficulty level, Ninja Gaiden II can be tough as nails. Enemies have plenty of unblockable moves and throws, and now there can be way more enemies on screen. Difficulty is also ramped up in some cheap and unintentional ways. Without giving you any kind of warning, some enemies will blow up after you kill them. It can extremely frustrating to work so hard in killing something, just to have it blow up in your face after it's dead--killing you in the process and making you start over again. Team Ninja also likes to put enemies that shoot projectiles at you just out of camera range. Oh, and the camera hasn't changed from the last game. You'll still have to babysit it, and it will often be the cause of your demise.
As irritating as the camera is, Ninja Gaiden II is still nice to look at. It moves fast, the graphics are clean, and there are some good lighting effects and textures. I did occasionally run into some slow down when there would be a lot of enemies on screen, though. There was one spot that was supposed to be epic, but became little more than a slideshow. This only happened in a few rare spots, but it's worth noting.
So maybe the camera still sucks, and maybe the story is written for 13-year-old boys. You could find a lot in Ninja Gaiden II to complain about, but it's still fun as hell--and that's what ultimately matters. It does what it needs to do to appeal to hardcore gamers and fans of the first. Play this game if you crave blood, a good challenge, and don't mind few rough spots along the way.
