For four years running the
developers at Eighting have released a Naruto fighting game to the masses. The
first two were on the Nintendo GameCube and the other two on the Wii. These
games have been extremely fun to play, but a pattern is starting to emerge that
needs to be eradicated. The problem is that each of these games are practically
mirrors of each other. While each version gets tweaked by updating the graphics,
adding additional characters and stages, the core gameplay remains the same,
with little if no changes. If players have loved the previous Naruto games, then
they will feel right at home with Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2.
Here is a quick rundown of the
series if you are unfamiliar with it. Naruto is a young boy who dreams of one
day becoming the leader of the village, the Hokage. He has had a very hard
childhood and is known for acting out (by pulling pranks), just to get attention
from the village residents who have shunned him. Due to his recent actions, he
is starting to get the attention he desperately wants and is growing up to being
the ninja he has always dreamed of. If he stays true to this path he might be
able to obtain his dream one day.
The gameplay for Naruto: Clash of
Ninja Revolution 2 is just as good as the previous games. Players can load up
the game, select their favorite character from the Naruto universe and go at it.
As with the previous games, this is a third-person fighter game, in the same
vein as Smash Brothers which allows players to use special moves to knock out
the other characters. Players will be able to play on with up to four characters
(in any combination) to see who the best fighter is. The problem is that there
is very little depth to the fighting game (with a limited number of special
moves and attacks players can actually pull off), but it is a good stress
reliever.
What gamers will enjoy is that they
will be able to choose between five different control schemes, so they can find
the right one just for them. The options are: Wii-Mote only, Wii-Mote and
Nunchuk: Movement mode, Wii-Mote and Nunchuk: Button mode, Classic Controller,
or GameCube controller. So everyone will be able to find a style that will suit
their needs. The only problem is that this game doesn’t make use of any motion
based controls. This in itself is a shame, but hopefully be corrected in the
next version.
The first time players load they
game they will be astounded by its contents. There is a mission mode, survival
mode, story mode, arcade, team and free-for-all battles and more. The mission
mode alone contains over a couple hundred adventures to partake in! Then
compound that with the roster being updated to 35 characters. Players will have
a lot of things to do in this game for quite some time. Since there are so many
characters, it is a good thing that the developers made sure that they are
pretty well balanced, so no one fighter is more powerful than the other. This
makes it better when playing against other humans so no one fights over getting
the “better” character.
The graphics for Naruto: Clash of
Ninja Revolution 2 are really nice. What is good about this game is that the
developers strived to get the same look and feel as the TV show so they used cel-shading
technology to bring this game to life. The developers managed to get a lot of
details from the show included here, such as the whiskers on Naruto’s face,
various locations where the characters battled, and many other things. The
special effects from the various Jutsu’s (special moves) are well done and look
like the shows counterpartsm which makes players feel that they are actually
living the show out.
Just like the previous games, the
developers got the same voice actors from the TV series to lend their voices to
this game. This is a good thing for people who have seen the show and can easily
identify with all of the characters. Another thing that is suitable is that you
will hear the characters trademark phrases when you are fighting. The sound
effects and music are also taken directly from the show (and from previous
games) so it makes the game more real to players.
Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2
is rated Teen.
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Gameplay: 8.0
Just like the previous version, this series proves to be a blast to play.
The controls are easy enough for anyone to jump in and start playing. Also the
characters are all well balanced so no one fighter is better than another.
Graphics: 8.1
The visuals for Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 are really good. What
makes them good is that they mimic how the TV show looks and it gives it a real
cartoon feeling to it. The framerate is really fluid and makes the game even
more fun to play.
Sound: 8.2
The dialog is taken straight from the dubbed show, which is a good thing
because people will be able to recognize it immediately. The music and sound
effects are good as well.
Difficulty: Easy
This game is really easy to get into and performing some fancy moves. You
should have no trouble beating this game.
Concept: 5.0
Can anyone say repetition? It is a good thing to give fans more of the same
thing, but this game is practically the same as the previous versions with new
characters and stages to fight in.
Multiplayer: 8.2
The multiplayer portion of the game is where the game really shines, as it
is always more fun playing with up to four human fighters then the computer AI.
Overall: 8.1
Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 is a great game that will give hours of
enjoyment to anyone who is looking for a fighting game or likes the Naruto
series.
