ninja gaiden II re-review 5 Minutes ago
This review is for Ninja Gaiden II, a game thats been anticipated by many who have played the original version on the original Xbox. The primary reason for this review is the lame score that it recieved on this site(from a reviewer who didn't even complete the game)and i just want to justify that while it has flaws, it's not the game that this site will make you believe it to be.
For players who are familiar with the original game, this game will allow you to jump right in with the much famed Dragon Sword and get right to work. There are also 7 other weapons that can be used to slice dice and mince foes. A great thing about these weapons is that while they are not neccessarily needed they can make the game alot easier if you know when and how to use them in the right situations(They will be needed and used effectively to get passed the game on higher difficulty settings).
Newcomers will no doubt need some time adjusting even on the easiest difficulty. But this is a good thing. How many games do you see nowadays just let you smash the walking bowling pins called "enemies" just so you can progress through the storyline? Itagaki told us that every enemy on the screen has the intentions to kill you. Well folks he wasn't lying and man does that make for a frantic pace.
As i mentioned earlier one of the main additions to the game is the ability to slice limbs off of your foes which adds a whole new mechanic to the game. Don't get it confused though. An enemy with a missing arm or leg will still attack you with the same intensity sometimes as an enemy with all his limbs. I can't tell you how many times I've died from a legless ninja tackling me then self destructing.
Also new are the Obliteration techniques. These new moves finish off limbless foes in style. Each weapon has 3 to 4 different obliterations depending on which limb or limbs are chopped off at the time you use this new technique. It gives me that "Chainsaw" feeling from Gears of War. I mean yeah i can kill the guy by just slashing him to death, but it's just so much cooler to do it like this and it never gets old for some reason.
The last addition is the regenerative health bar. In the original version of NG you didn't get your health back unless you used healing items. In NGII after you clear a room of enemies your health will regenerate back. This makes good because less pausing is involved to micromanage your character which in turn allows a smoother flowing game.
I lied. Another addition includes the in game weapons and items menu. If you press up or down on your d-pad during the action you can change your weapons magic and even use healing items without having to go to the pause menu. This feature is a nice addition to those who like to switch weapons mid-combo and really show your friends how stylish you can be while destroying enemies.
While all of the above are new and welcome additions, some additions could have been tweaked. The camera is what I'm talking about. Having a free roaming camera is a good idea for this game but Itagaki and the boys (and girls I'm assuming) could have taken some time out to get this thing right. I personally could have waited another month or two. At the same time while the camera has issues, these aren't issues that will severly affect gameplay like some will have you believe. It mainly affects the platforming parts of the game but let me tell you, there are few of these moments. NGII is about action.
The story is lame. Any of you who've played the first Ninja Gaiden knows that the story was decent and brought you into the game a little bit. NGII's story made me feel like i was a Power Ranger or something going from locale to locale to fight giant beasts with really corny dialogue. But lets be honest there's about 3% of us who will purchase/rent/or borrow this game because you want to see what's going on in Ryu's life. The other 97% want the game because it truly delivers the best combat in any action genre. PERIOD.
While the game doesn't offer any TRUE next gen innovations like maybe an online co-op or even a versus(yes the fighting system is that deep) it sticks true to it's core of intense combat and sometimes you just gotta say if it aint broke then don't fix it. The Graphics are beautiful and while I haven't played NG Sigma on the Gaystation 3 I heard they are comparable.
Sadly this will be the last Ninja Gaiden (from the Itagaki team anyways) so it will be cherised. It's not the perfect game by any means but it is definetely the best and deepest action game on the Xbox 360 to date.



8.75/10