Review
Ninja Gaiden 2 Review (Xbox360)
The first Ninja Gaiden was a great game. However, for most of us mere mortals it presented us with a challenge that very few could rise to. Most of the people I have spoken to that played the Xbox game, couldn't complete it. They enjoyed it, but at some point or another there was a difficulty spike so frustrating that they just couldn't go on.
Of course, the hardcore hack'n'slashers will laugh: they've completed Ninja Gaiden on every difficulty, with every weapon and even use the karma score to compete against their hardcore mates. You know, just for fun like.
So we had two camps, the inexperienced and the experienced, both enjoying the same game but in completely different ways. Isn't that what makes a great game? Well yes, I think so. In fact it begs the question: how can Ninja Gaiden 2 improve on this? Or moreover can it? The short answer is yes. The long answer is well, this review. Read on.
The first thing Temco has done is to make the game more accessible. The inclusion of the Acolyte difficulty is an open invitation for all gamers - the skilled and the un-skilled - to give it a try. I was surprised as how adept at the game I became in such a short space of time. Within minutes I was dismembering wave after wave of enemies with a huge smile on my face. With blood splattering everywhere and body parts strewn across the floor I twirled my lunar staff with ease. I hadn't had this much fun in ages.
You wade your way through the opening levels, you are taught many of the basic movies and abilities. As an added incentive to actually use them, after you've tried them out a couple of time you are awarded an Achievement. This really adds to your sense of erm, well, achievement. There's something about Microsoft's Achievement system that really makes you want to carry on and get more and more of them. With many games these days being thrifty with them, making you play for hours and hours - I'm looking at you GTAIV - it's refreshing to see them being used properly, i.e. not only awarding you for your efforts, but actually serving as a gameplay element that encourages you to keep on playing. So full marks to that.
However, I don't want the hardcore to feel left out here, and they mostly won't. Acolyte difficulty will be like a walk in the park for them, but the Warrior difficulty plays just like the Ninja Gaiden of old. However, not just concerned with helping out newcomers, Ninja Gaiden 2 now has a full treasure trove of moves to learn, weapons to master and techniques to perfect. So if you were one of those people who played for a high karma score and even higher combo hits, then Ninja Gaiden 2 hasn't forgotten you. Kind of.
You see what Ninja Gaiden 2 rather unsportingly does is that on a few occasions enemies spawn literally right on top of you, thus breaking your stride as you're racking up the points. Whether this is on purpose or simply a design fault is unknown, but those of you who want to rack up the highest score possible will feel a little put out as it won't be down to your lack of skill that you're not topping the 200 hit-combo mark, it's the game. For those of us playing on the 'easy' difficulty, it's somewhat annoying but only like someone who's just come back from the popcorn stand at the cinema and you have to stand up mid-movie to let them get past: your concentration lapses for a split second, but in no way is the film ruined and within seconds you're back in their again.
On the subject of minor niggles - because the aforementioned problem is to me, only minor - we reach the graphics. Although there has been talk of the engine being re-modeled from the ground up it's difficult to see where. I wouldn't say the game looked 'last-gen' but I've certainly seen much better. When you consider that the Xbox 360 is nearly three years old we'd expect a first-party to push the hardware to its limits. However, the back-drops are bland and we noticed some screen tearing and minor frame rate drops at certain intervals. The character models and animation are however, excellent and to be honest, you'll most likely be having so much fun hacking people into small pieces you really won't care.
These minor niggles however, never make the game unplayable. You'll never find yourself wanting to hurl the controller through the television. Yes, there are some water levels later on in the game that are more a case of luck than judgment, and yes, being unfairly attacked from behind whilst in full flow will make some of you groan, but on the whole the core game mechanic: hacking and slashing, is so damn satisfying that you won't care. It's that whole '3 seconds of fun' championed years ago by Bungie: basically you're doing the same thing over and over again and it never gets boring.
Team Ninja has listened to the critics and has somehow managed to improve on what was already one of the best games of the last generation of consoles. Now everyone is welcome from the complete newcomer to the seasoned veteran. And that is what makes a great game, which Ninja Gaiden 2 truly is.
Top Gaming Moment: Getting the 100-hit combo Achievement. Lunar staff twirling insanity!
Of course, the hardcore hack'n'slashers will laugh: they've completed Ninja Gaiden on every difficulty, with every weapon and even use the karma score to compete against their hardcore mates. You know, just for fun like.
 |
 |
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| Total Carnage. Love it! | Best to deal with these beasties first as their fireballs are unavoidable |
So we had two camps, the inexperienced and the experienced, both enjoying the same game but in completely different ways. Isn't that what makes a great game? Well yes, I think so. In fact it begs the question: how can Ninja Gaiden 2 improve on this? Or moreover can it? The short answer is yes. The long answer is well, this review. Read on.
The first thing Temco has done is to make the game more accessible. The inclusion of the Acolyte difficulty is an open invitation for all gamers - the skilled and the un-skilled - to give it a try. I was surprised as how adept at the game I became in such a short space of time. Within minutes I was dismembering wave after wave of enemies with a huge smile on my face. With blood splattering everywhere and body parts strewn across the floor I twirled my lunar staff with ease. I hadn't had this much fun in ages.
You wade your way through the opening levels, you are taught many of the basic movies and abilities. As an added incentive to actually use them, after you've tried them out a couple of time you are awarded an Achievement. This really adds to your sense of erm, well, achievement. There's something about Microsoft's Achievement system that really makes you want to carry on and get more and more of them. With many games these days being thrifty with them, making you play for hours and hours - I'm looking at you GTAIV - it's refreshing to see them being used properly, i.e. not only awarding you for your efforts, but actually serving as a gameplay element that encourages you to keep on playing. So full marks to that.
However, I don't want the hardcore to feel left out here, and they mostly won't. Acolyte difficulty will be like a walk in the park for them, but the Warrior difficulty plays just like the Ninja Gaiden of old. However, not just concerned with helping out newcomers, Ninja Gaiden 2 now has a full treasure trove of moves to learn, weapons to master and techniques to perfect. So if you were one of those people who played for a high karma score and even higher combo hits, then Ninja Gaiden 2 hasn't forgotten you. Kind of.
 |
 |
|
| The bigger they come, the harder they fall. | Our old friend the lunar staff! |
You see what Ninja Gaiden 2 rather unsportingly does is that on a few occasions enemies spawn literally right on top of you, thus breaking your stride as you're racking up the points. Whether this is on purpose or simply a design fault is unknown, but those of you who want to rack up the highest score possible will feel a little put out as it won't be down to your lack of skill that you're not topping the 200 hit-combo mark, it's the game. For those of us playing on the 'easy' difficulty, it's somewhat annoying but only like someone who's just come back from the popcorn stand at the cinema and you have to stand up mid-movie to let them get past: your concentration lapses for a split second, but in no way is the film ruined and within seconds you're back in their again.
On the subject of minor niggles - because the aforementioned problem is to me, only minor - we reach the graphics. Although there has been talk of the engine being re-modeled from the ground up it's difficult to see where. I wouldn't say the game looked 'last-gen' but I've certainly seen much better. When you consider that the Xbox 360 is nearly three years old we'd expect a first-party to push the hardware to its limits. However, the back-drops are bland and we noticed some screen tearing and minor frame rate drops at certain intervals. The character models and animation are however, excellent and to be honest, you'll most likely be having so much fun hacking people into small pieces you really won't care.
These minor niggles however, never make the game unplayable. You'll never find yourself wanting to hurl the controller through the television. Yes, there are some water levels later on in the game that are more a case of luck than judgment, and yes, being unfairly attacked from behind whilst in full flow will make some of you groan, but on the whole the core game mechanic: hacking and slashing, is so damn satisfying that you won't care. It's that whole '3 seconds of fun' championed years ago by Bungie: basically you're doing the same thing over and over again and it never gets boring.
 |
 |
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| Beauty and the beast - right there. | Definitely not a game for the squeamish. |
Team Ninja has listened to the critics and has somehow managed to improve on what was already one of the best games of the last generation of consoles. Now everyone is welcome from the complete newcomer to the seasoned veteran. And that is what makes a great game, which Ninja Gaiden 2 truly is.
Top Gaming Moment: Getting the 100-hit combo Achievement. Lunar staff twirling insanity!
Videos
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Ninja Gaiden 2 Teaser Trailer
01:01 | 1,337 views | 1 comments -
Ninja Gaiden 2 GDC 2008 trailer
00:45 | 1,313 views | 0 comments
Comments
By Fat78 (SI Newbie) on Jul 17, 2009
