Game: Ninja Gaiden
Console: Xbox
Developer: Team Ninja
Publisher: Tecmo
ESRB: Not Yet Rated; probably M for Mature
TORONTO (djc) — When we last saw the classic sidescrolling action game Ninja Gaiden, it was released as a trilogy for the SNES. Now, the game is coming back, this time to Xbox. And this time, it’s coming back with a vengeance.
The plot is classic ninja stuff. You are Ryu Haybusa, master ninja, and your clan has been wiped out by the Vigor Empire. You are honour bound to seek revenge and that will mean hunting down and killing the Holy Emperor and reclaiming the mystic sword, Ryuken. Before that happens though, you’ll have to slash your way through armies of rival ninjas, soldiers with guns, robots and demonic creatures.
The good thing is, there’s no better man for slashing than Ryu. You have strong and weak attacks, the ability to block, primary and secondary weapons to beat on the bad guys with and ninja magic to rain fiery death on your foes. You can also jump, roll, and dash, allowing you to perform amazing feats such as acrobatic jumps and running across walls.
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Screenshot: Ninja Gaiden features awesome gameplay, cool graphics and gigantic levels. |
The game has gone totally 3D (naturally) and presents some very detailed and rich environments. I wandered around one that was packed with ornate furniture. It looked kind of like a nice way to decorate your apartment, minus the ninjas trying to disembowel you.
And despite the fact that it might be extremely politically incorrect to say, the game is stunningly violent (in a dizzying, delightful way). Make the right moves and you can have Ryu charge three guys, and in a blur of movement, literally have their heads roll off their shoulders. The game is designed to encourage you to string combos and multiple hits together. We’re not talking four or five hits, but twenty, thirty or more. Apparently the record around the Team Ninja office for one string of hits is over 100. I can see how it’s possible — some attacks allow you to toss your opponent in the air and then “juggle” them with your weapons.
And as for the weapons: We’re looking at about 10 primary weapons: swords, nunchukus, axes, warhammer, etc., and six secondary weapons, such as shuriken and incendiary shuriken, which detonate after they imbed in something. Your attack style does change to fit with the weapon you carry and weapons can be upgraded. Watching Ryu zip around the screen spinning his weapons is one of the game’s real delights.
Ninja Gaiden won’t be all blood n’ guts though. There will be some simple problem solving too. Like finding items; one puzzle I played required me to interpret a simple clue to get the combination to a safe.
There are lots of ninja games out there and sometimes you feel pretty weak and helpless for a supposed highly trained killer. But, this isn’t the case with Ninja Gaiden. You will feel like a death machine with the motor cleaned and running.
Ninja Gaiden is new to Xbox this November.
