Ninja Gaiden

Ninja Gaiden is based on the classic arcade game that was released in 1988 and was known as the first video game to introduce cutscenes to the industry. You play as Ryu Hayabusa, a vindictive ninja who not only is the main character of the Ninja Gaiden series, but also a combatant in the Dead or Alive Series. He's on a hot trail for Doku, a mysterious and powerful being who's responsible for the massacre of the Hayabusa village and the death of Ryu's childhood friend, and now their champion is boiling for vengeance.

The storyline may not be the main attraction of Ninja Gaiden because the game really accentuates more on the action, which is not too bad actually. Ninja Gaiden delivers one of the best action game ever made not only of 2004 but the years to come. It's fast. It's slick. And it's smooth. This is one of the first few action adventure games that really emphasizes a lot in blocking and jumping around. You have to be on your toes every time for this is not your typical hack and slash game where you can just make your character stand in one place and beat the hell out of everyone. Almost all the enemies in this game are tough, brutal and vicious. There are no easy enemies in Ninja Gaiden nor there are any easy boss fights. The damage they inflict you can take away tons of your health and it's just painful to see the health bar draining out rapidly. Blocking and jumping are your only allies in this game.

Speaking of allies, Ninja Gaiden introduces two gorgeous female characters that will help Ryu in his quest. First is Ayane from the Dead or Alive series who acts as your navigator and informer. The next one is Rachel, a big bosom Fiend Hunter cleavage babe in tight leathers who's searching for her twin sister Alma. Although you don't get to play as Rachel in the Xbox version but just by watching her really adds some colour to this mediocre plot.

Everything about Ninja Gaiden is amazing. The graphics are spectacular, the sounds are excellent and the characters are enjoyable, but despite all that the games has its faults. Ninja Gaiden is without a doubt THE most FRUSTRATING game I ever played in my entire life! I'm not sure about other people but I never died more than 100 times in my entire video gaming life, ever. This game delivers a really stressful experience due to it's insanely difficult enemies, weird stage designs and awkward control schemes. 

There's absolutely nothing wrong with the controls as it is tight and responsive, but thanks to it's clunky camera angle, it sometimes very difficult to judge distances when you want to jump to another platform or to do an attack. You think you might be able to dodge an attack or land safely when you jump, but for some goddamn reason you just couldn't do it. There has never been any other games that made me cuss so hard and use the F word excessively. You wouldn't believe how much swearing I gave to Ryu Hayabusa because he just couldn't respond the way I wanted him to. Beware: Ryu Hayabusa and yourself will not be in best of terms when all this is said and done. It's nice to know that you have unlimited continues but limited safe points with no checkpoints can make this game a pure torture. I will never understand if people say this is the easiest game they ever played.

I would've given up a long time ago, but I was determined to finish it to see how the game ends. But the real reason and main motivation was actually Rachel. I mean seriously, how could anyone resist such a voluptuous vixen who kicks monster's ass for a living? I was kinda bummed that they didn't show a lot of her, but since she's a newbie and not the main attraction of Ninja Gaiden, I was cool about it. Looking forward to see her in any upcoming sequels.

So there you have it. For any of you who have played or heard of Ninja Gaiden in the late 80's and want to see it in 3D, then this game is a must buy. It is an instant classic for the Xbox console, but if you are those who do not want to suffer from headaches, blood pressure and outburst swearing, then play it at your own risk. 
 
Score: 
Gameplay: 1 Star
Graphics: 1 Star
Sounds: 1 Star
Replay Value: 1 Star
Overall: 1 Star
Total: 5 out of 5 Stars