awfully shiny and fun, just too damned hard...
Okay so the now controversial final tecmo/itagaki game has released. we've all heard that he's quitting tecmo and suing the company. and much of the buzz about that has translated directly to buzz over ryu's latest adventure. Is it justified? well sort of.
Let's get the inflammatory stuff out the way first. Itagaki has still released a ridiculously difficult game. Despite promises to the contrary Itagaki has released a game that only the dexterous uber hayabusa fans can conquer. Even path of the acolyte difficulty which is passive-aggressively insulting in it's title by his design, is still waay too hard for the advertised: "casual inexperienced gamer". Man i couldn't get passed the 2nd boss and i've been gaming for twelve years now.
So of course the immediate response is, "Well gaeren, clearly you aren't very good at action games." okay mebbe. i don't think so but hey mebbe that is the case here.
However, as an example to the contrary i attempted a boss fight 17 times with the aid of acolyte difficulty and a strategy guide, and a fully upgraded sword for attack...still got butchered. My issue with the game is not really that it is difficult. the issue is that it is cheap and underhanded in it's technique. not really spoilers ahead...
example one: archers shoot flaming arrows at you from perches you can't reach. these guys show up on the first level of the game. fortunately you can snipe them with a bow of your own....except you don't get said counter weapon till two hours later in the game?? really? really?
example two: bosses will defy your attacks outright ceaselessly interrupting combos, and shattering your defense, all while never relenting their own attack combos even so far as to take a breath.
point is, for most of us this game is gonna be rough. Now- that said, if you can stomach the difficulty and frustration what you are presented with is a visceral exploration of graphical genius and violent dismemberment. in a word...awesome.
course you'll need to be able to see the action to appreciate it, and the camera in this game is not good, at all. it regularly fights you. example: when a main controller button ((the right trigger)) is assigned to righting the camera, you should get the hint that you will be using it a lot...like too much.
All told the action is awesome, the new weapons are snazzy, the enemies are relentless and you'll see game over a lot. In the end Ninja Gaiden 2 really is an arcade game in the old school definition. If you dig that and like getting hurt (different strokes for different folks) then have at it. Itagaki has a game for you.
