GAMETIME: Ninja Gaiden II

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GAMETIME: Ninja Gaiden II

Post by CoFree »

GAMETIME: Ninja Gaiden II
By Cody Webb
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Anyone who’s ever played the original Ninja Gaiden for the original Xbox can tell you that the game was hard. Many aspiring ninjas were crushed underneath the game’s many enemies and controller-throwingly hard bosses. It was also known for its (at the time) amazing graphics and adrenaline-fueled action, along with the staggering amount of gore that filled the game. Good news, ninja fans, Ryu’s second outing is more forgiving than his first.

Ninja Gaiden II is rated M for Mature, for “intense violence” and “blood and gore,” and is exclusively on the Xbox 360. It was developed by Team Ninja, the people behind the Dead or Alive series. NG2 is filled to the brim with action, throwing enemy after enemy at you for you to slice to pieces with whatever weapon you see fit to use. As for being “more forgiving,” Team Ninja has wisely decided to implement different difficulty levels, allowing new players to enter without fear of dying every few minutes.

Sadly, because of how much action Team Ninja packed into this game, the story is lacking. There’s one there, but it only shows through in short cutscenes before and after levels. It isn’t a horrible storyline or anything, it just doesn’t seem to matter. All that you really need to know is that you play as Ryu Hayabusa and he is some sort of super-ninja in a futuristic time, and that he has a ton of skills for butchering the game’s many enemies.

Speaking of his many skills, Ryu learns four magic spells throughout the course of NG2. These skills range from giant fireballs that you aim at enemies, to a blade made of wind that you aim into a cluster of enemies. Each magic power, called “Ninpo” in the game, cuts through weaker enemies like butter. Players will also get hold of several different weapons during the game, allowing for different play styles and different ways to kill enemy ninjas.

There aren’t as many weapons as there were in the first game, but the ones that are featured have fleshed out combo systems. Each weapon can perform a long list of combos, making every weapon feel different and unique. My personal favorite is the Eclipse Scythe, which is a large scythe you get about halfway through the game. Further adding to the carnage, each weapon features its own finishing moves; which are called “Obliteration Techniques”. These can be used once an enemy has lost a limb, and do just what their name says: obliterate the poor fellow.

The sounds and music aren’t really anything extraordinary, they fit without being too overly done. The music blends in well when you’re in the middle of a boss fight. The voices aren’t movie-caliber, which kind of fits the generic story. That’s not me saying the voices are bad, they work, but they could’ve been better. Much like the stuff in between the near-constant fights that could’ve been done much better.

For example, the game has occasional platforming elements which can be a bit off at times, forcing players to redo segments just because a wallrun didn’t work like they wanted. This happened to me a few times, but thanks to frequent checkpoints, it doesn’t become too big of a hassle. Every once in awhile players will encounter a rogue loading screen in the middle of a level, jarringly stopping the otherwise fluid action. These issues aren’t too bad, but it just makes gamers stop and wonder if Ninja Gaiden II could have used a little more polish before it was released.

The bottom line here would be to play the game for the action and not for the story. Anyone looking for an involving storyline and engaging characters will be letdown, while players looking for an action-packed bloodfest will be satisfied. Ninja Gaiden II gets a B, and be sure to try out the Scythe and slice up a few enemies for me!
"FIGHTING TYRANNY in a TECHNOLOGICAL NOTTINGHAM"
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