Ninja Gaiden II – 360 – Review

It’s all so graphic, gruesome and perfectly
orchestrated that you’d think you were experiencing a new creation from David
Jaffe or Ed Boon. But it is not Mortal Kombat, God of War, or a vehicular
combat game with clowns gone bad. This beast has another kind of DNA running
through its body, that of Team NINJA. Its offspring is the long-awaited sequel
to the Xbox groundbreaker, Ninja Gaiden.

 
In between Ninja Gaiden games, Ryu took
a few SoulCalibur lessons.

Now With Extra Red Sauce

If you’ve been eyeing Ninja Gaiden II since the
day it was announced, then you’re well aware of the visual changes: the game
is gorgeous (who was stunned by this? Anyone?) and is overflowing with blood.
The latter seemed like an odd choice. Why make the game gory and create a Sin
City or Kill Bill effect, when Ninja Gaiden has traditionally been more
serious?

But the screens are misleading. In motion – and
most notably, on a TV just a couple feet from your face – the blood is not
only realistic, but it is not at all cheesy or out of place. It is actually a
very constructive (and destructive!) addition to the series, since you are now
able to make your enemies (ranging from human-sized ninja freaks to mammoth
monsters) feel the kind of pain you want to inflict. When donning Ryu’s new
claws – three foot-long blades that clamp onto each hand – players are able to
stab through chests, slice off arms, rip through inches of flesh, and finish
by cutting off an enemy’s head.

 
It’s Lucky Charms cereal meets the most
vicious anime – magical and brutally delicious.

Monsters and Monstrosities

While Ninja Gaiden II’s appearance is instantly
different, the gameplay changes are not as apparent. Building on the stellar
mechanics of the first game, Team NINJA has pumped up the speed, widened the
size of each environment, increased the number of on-screen opponents, and
multiplied the size of those opponents.

The weapon lineup has also changed, providing
new weapons and/or upgrades (plus a stellar list of combos for each type) to
test out in nearly every stage. Fans of the DS edition will be glad to see
that the magic system has been carried over, albeit with less importance on
solving puzzles and more emphasis on making devils (ahem – monsters) cry.

There is a story involved, and though some
gamers may be engaged by its above-average voice acting, high-quality
presentation and TV-style camerawork, the beauty is in the beast. Or rather,
it’s in the slicing and dicing of that beast, as well his siblings and
lifelong friends.

Swords are painful and unforgiving. The Dragon
Sword is Ryu’s default weapon; in the beginning, Shurikens are his only other
option. When he unleashes a Dragon Sword combo on a 10-foot poison-breathing
monster, flesh is torn like a knife slicing through butter. It glides through
easily, twisting and flipping with Ryu’s every precise and realistic move,
giving the player a bit of courage and the sense of unyielding power. Ryu is
twice as deadly when wielding the Dragon’s Claw and Tiger’s Fang, two Japanese
swords that were once used by a master. (And if you ask me, still are.)

 
One of the many overbearing,
building-sized monsters of Ninja Gaiden II.

If only visual, Ninja Gaiden would be a cool
movie. But everything Ryu does is controlled by the player. There is a simple
charge move (one per weapon) where, once performed, Ryu executes a vicious,
unblockable combo automatically. But that is the only one of its kind, and it
is impossible to use during most end-of-stage boss battles. The rest of the
combos – of which there are many – are performed solely by the player. They’re
easy to pick up and master, two elements that should always be requirements
(and likely were by the developers’ standards). You couldn’t base a fighting
game off this engine since the two attacks buttons, while excellent in this
game, would become repetitive in a one-on-one arena. But with hordes of
enemies and new monster types frequently introduced, you won’t be bored.
You’ll be overjoyed.

You may also be, on occasion, very frustrated.
To this day, no action game seems tougher to me than the original Ninja Gaiden
titles (the first one for NES and the first one for Xbox). But aside from the
boss battles, which can be enormously difficult (especially if you’re low on
health items), Ninja Gaiden II didn’t seem as difficult. It’s still a
wonderfully challenging game, but this time around I only lose hairs and break
windows while fighting bosses.

Newcomers may disagree. Those players should
expect to be overwhelmed. Ninja Gaiden II is a game where you must be on guard
every second. Death is sneaky; just when you think you’ve got the upper hand,
a monster will throw in a combo and reduce your life meter to nothing.

In the grand scheme of things, these are all
positive elements. But there are a few tidbits of tenacity, most of which
would have been expected on the original Xbox but not on Xbox 360.

As with every game these days, the camera is
controllable and moves smooth most of the time. When it doesn’t, however, you
could end up with an awkward perspective. If standing near walls, buildings or
walking through a tunnel, the camera might even get locked until the current
battle is over. Given Team NINJA’s heritage, I would have expected them to
iron out this issue.

Players come to Ninja Gaiden for the action;
they don’t come for map-and-compass-free exploration. But like the first game,
that’s just what you get. I’m not looking for arrows to point me in the right
direction (that’d be a lame). However, a simple, Resident Evil-style map would
have been the perfect way to remind players of where they are, where they’ve
been, and where they need to go. Ninja Gaiden II is mostly linear, so you
won’t need a map most of the time. But when navigating the sewers, I walked in
circles for 20 minutes before realizing that the small, unmarked opening at
the top of one corner was where I needed to go.

 
Austin Powers to enemy: "He’ll never get
ahead in life. He’ll never be the head of a major corporation."

Aside from the aforementioned changes, most
players will be convinced that this is another Ninja Gaiden born from the
first game’s concept. That’s not a bad thing, at least not in this case. This
series had room to grow within the current spectrum, as proven by the tweaks
and additions made here. Enhancements, jaw-dropping battles and a
near-seamless combat system are a part of Ninja Gaiden II. But if you were
blown away by the Xbox original, you may only be very impressed
with the sequel.