The developers at Team Ninja brought back the Ninja Gaiden series in a
big way. They created a game that looks amazing from beginning to end,
is fun to play despite an unreasonable amount of difficulty, and gives
you the feel that you are in total control over the most butt kicking
ninja ever put into a game.
You reprise the role of Ryu Hyabusa, the series' ninja hero. In this
game, your clan has been wiped out and its powerful sword stolen by
enemies unknown. This leads you on a mission of revenge, while you
track down the sword. During the course of your adventures, you'll go
from the wilderness around your town, to an airship, to a foreign city
crawling with enemies. While this game plays like a third person action
game, like Onimusha or Devil May Cry, you'll quickly realize that Ninja
Gaiden is in a class all its own.
Ninja Gaiden is technically superior to any game made for the current
generation of consoles. The graphics in this game are absolutely
mindblowing, and there is not a flaw to be found anywhere. Ryu moves
with stunning fluidity and speed, while your enemies are all well
designed and varied nicely. The game moves at a constantly high
framerate and can handle multiple enemies, motion blur, particle
effects, and tons of movement without a hitch. It's amazing what Team
Ninja was able to do with the Xbox hardware.
Ninja Gaiden is also one of the most difficult games in the current
generation of consoles. Early on, before Ryu gets powered up, you'll be
decimated by your foes for any mistake that you make. Later on, you'll
go up against very strong enemies that can suck down your health
quickly. Even worse, the bosses in this game are ludicrously hard to
take down. They require nerves of steel and as much patience as you can
muster. All of them come at you with a full complement of attacks, and
it's up to you to first learn their weaknesses and then exploit them.
Not to be outdone by his enemies, Ryu gains a host of weapons and
techniques to wipe out anyone that stands in front of him. You can
bounce off of walls, use magic, and flip all over the place. The
controls are perfect; you always feel like you are in total control of
Ryu. As you progress through the game, you'll learn how to carve
through the mass of nasty enemies using brutal attacks and smart
defensive moves. It's refreshing to see that you get more and more
powerful, but it's still balanced with the ever increasing enemy
difficulty.
One of the nicest features offered is the ability to download updates
for free off of Xbox Live. This includes a new weapon, the staff, and
some challenge levels. The challenges up the difficulty more and offer
some more value to the game. You can also unlock the original NES games
and play those. They're not as fun as you probably remember, but it's a
nice addition.
The only negative I can see about Ninja Gaiden is the uneven pace.
There are a few instances where you'll breeze right through several
sections with nary a battle, or backtrack through areas that you've
already cleared. You may also find that the boss battles in the earlier
parts of the game tend to be a lot tougher than the later bosses. It
may just be because Ryu isn't as powerful early on, or that you'll be
better at using him. It would have been nice to create some tougher
later stage bosses.
Ninja Gaiden is a game that cannot be missed. It's rare that a game
comes along that looks this good, plays this good, and is as
challenging as Ninja Gaiden. This game is an absolute must-have for
anyone with an Xbox.
