When Ninja Gaiden made its debut to the Xbox in 2004, it established
itself as an instant classic. The explosive, bloody action, engaging
story and punishing difficulty made it a must play game. So obviously,
the bar has been set high for Ninja Gaiden II, the much anticipated
sequel. While Ninja Gaiden II offers some improvements to the gameplay,
the overall experience doesn't have the "instant classic" feel that as
its predecessor carried. Nonetheless, Ninja Gaiden II is a superb game,
and one of the finest action experiences out there. Not to mention,
it's fun for the whole family...
...Ok, not really. Those who
have followed the Ninja Gaiden series know that this is a gruesome
game, and Ninja Gaiden II is probably the bloodiest of the bunch. You
play Ryu Hayabusa, a ruthless ninja with a lot of bones to pick with
the Black Spider Ninja Clan. In this installment, however, the premise
is all over the place, and you don't know whether you're after the
Black Spider Ninja Clan or the CIA. The story revolves around the
resurrection of the "archfiend," and we're given little to no
information on what the hell the archfiend is. To say that this game
has a bad story would be an understatement; it almost has no story at
all. The whole plot begins to fall apart after the second chapter, when
we see Volf, the main antagonist (we don't really know who he's
associated with), on top of the statue of liberty flinging bolts of
lightning into the air. So if you're looking for the immersing plot
that Ninja Gaiden had, you will probably be disappointed.
Obviously, Ninja Gaiden II isn't big on story, but it sure is grand on
action. The combat in this installment is deeper and more visceral than
the last, due to the various weapons, new moves, and spectacular
fatalities. Fairly early in the game, you can select a few alternative
weapons to the dragon sword, the first two being the lunar staff and
the dragon talons. They both have their own advantages and situational
benefits; the staff is great for swathing through the ankles of
multiple foes, while the talons can eviscerate an enemy into oblivion.
There are 8 total weapons in the game, and each are worth using.
And, as I mentioned earlier, there are dozens of new moves available,
most notably the fatality moves. You need to punch in combos in order
to perform them, and they are of great visual and practical reward.
Depending on the weapon, you can decapitate your enemy, dash their
brains out onto the wall, bring them to their knees and lunge your
weapon into their head, and many more. These fatalities are new to the
Ninja Gaiden series, and are definitely a welcome addition because they
make the combat deeper and discourage button mashing. It's one aspect
of the game that increases its longevity, because after playing it for
10 hours by now, I still have the proverbial "Oh snap!" moment each
time I perform a fatality.
Visually speaking, Ninja Gaiden
II looks fantastic and has a fluid frame rate to back it up. However,
the environments are not so great looking. The sadistically pleasing
animations and slick enemy appearances are great, but whenever I walk
through an area, it feels like I'm walking through a stripped down
multi player map for some FPS game. For example, the office building in
the second chapter. The only colour I really see is gray, and the walls
don't seem to have any texture. The environments as a whole feel static
and uninspired, and I wish that the developers spent more time on them.
And yes, the horrid camera that plagued Ninja Gaiden is back. You do
get a "Reset Camera" button (right trigger) that places the camera back
behind Ryu, but it still doesn't help the fact that on occasion, you
can't distinguish yourself from your enemies in the thick of battle,
leaving you at a major disadvantage.
Aurally, Ninja Gaiden
II offers some downright cool sound effects to the table. Yet still,
the voice acting is quite bad, and it definitely doesn't help the
already abysmal "story" progress -- so keep the subtitles on and your
mute button handy if you wish during the cut scenes. The music is quite
fitting with the fluid ninja action, even though it tends to get
repetitive and lost within the sounds of blades swinging and brains
splattering.
Ninja Gaiden II's campaign comes in at a solid
15 hours, and you'll probably want to replay it at the higher
difficulty level. But be forewarned; Ninja Gaiden was notorious for its
masochistic level of difficulty even on normal, and Ninja Gaiden II is
no different. Not only is the difficulty extremely difficult, but it
tends to get imbalanced and cheap. Take the boss of Chapter II, for
instance. He pretty much dodges every attack you throw at him, and the
only way to defeat him without using every single disposable item is to
manage to get behind him and mash the X button. "But wait! I thought
that Ninja Gaiden II discouraged button mashing?" Yes, it does, but for
some boss battles like these, its the only way to do it without getting
killed within the first 3 seconds, which is quite disappointing.
Another thing that will leave you puzzled is that fact that the second
boss is a lot harder than the next few. Its quirks like these that make
Ninja Gaiden II's campaign not as consistent as it could have been.
I will admit, my disposition towards Ninja Gaiden II according to this
review seems pessimistic, but really I am trying to communicate that
while it is a game rife with flaws, it is one that is still first in
its class. As for the teaser, no, it isn't the revolutionary game that
Ninja Gaiden was -- however, that's not to say that it shouldn't be
overlooked. Ninja Gaiden II offers some visceral carnage that is like
nothing else, and if you can ignore a forgettable story and a few
flaws, then you will allow yourself to have an unforgettable, action
packed experience.
