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Ninja Gaiden 2

Written by DM on Tuesday, June 10 2008

The graphics and sound in the game are top notch. There is no other way to say it. Of course, we expect this type of quality from the team behind Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden on Xbox, which looked almost as good when re-done on PS3. The backdrops, while not terribly detailed, are richly colored and wonderfully rendered. Team Ninja always opts to go with that “clean” look for all their characters and environments, which is something I have always been a fan of. No dirt or grime to be found in the Team Ninja universe, everything is clean cut and symmetrical. The sound of weapon on weapon combat and a sword slicing through flesh are wonderfully in-tact yet again as well, and the surround sound, at least on my receiver, is very well done. The only complaint anyone can ever have about Team Ninja’s presentation is that things are too pristine, but that is a style choice rather than a fault.

Of course, if you do not have the frame rate to go along with the top-notch graphics, then you might as well set the whole thing on fire. Fortunately, Team Ninja delivers. In fact, some of the animations you wi witness during combat are truly impressive. The individuals who stood-in for the motion capturing sessions for Ryu must have been ridiculous acrobats because that is the only way the smoothness and natural look of the maneuvers could have been attained – real people being recorded. Especially in later levels, the acrobatics that the game’s characters perform, all at 30fps or above, mind you, is simply stunning. Even more so than the crazy wall-walking moves in Ninja Gaiden on the Xbox.

While the game has no multiplayer mode, there is an online component added in the form of leaderboards. Statistics like time to complete and karma level are recorded, and you can choose to upload them to the Xbox Live leaderboards if you think you have a chance of breaking into the top ten. While it is not anything like an online co-op mode, which would have been fantastic, it does add a bit of depth to a game that does not have much replay value after you play through it once or twice.

Ninja Gaiden certainly has its technical flaws, the camera being first and foremost. The other big gripe is that even with all its additions, the game basically feels like a continuation of the first Ninja Gaiden. Of course, more of a great thing is never bad, but it is not revolutionary either. There are other things to do while playing, like collecting crystal skulls and other trinkets while you progress, and joining in Tests of Valor (arena type tests that are spaced throughout the game). While they certainly add to an already good game, they are not enough to make it stellar. While it is certainly one of the top three adventure games on the Xbox360, the game is still linear, though, you go forward and you kill, that is it. There is no choice to take path A or B. There is no difference between you and Joe Shmo the gamer, who is having his NG2 experience in another country. If you dislike being locked into a game’s path, then NG2 is not for you. Fortunately, Team Ninja does such a good job in masking all of these drawbacks, that anyone who picks up the game and spends some time with it will likely give it their seal of approval. Chances are you really do not want to miss this one, even as a weekend rent.

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