| Ninja Gaiden |
| In the days of old, well for some gamers anyway, there were a few titles that everyone knew and played: Super Mario Brothers, Tecmo Superbowl, Contra, Pac-Man. Most remember the hours they may have spent enjoying all these titles. Ninja Gaiden was also on this list of highly hailed games of the NES's life. Years after Tecmo's release of the "last" title of the series, Ninja Gaiden 3: The Ancient Ship of Doom, Microsoft decided it should be revived on their XBOX. Many, including myself, eagerly awaited this game in hopes to bring back those good old days of ninja hack and slash through the inner city, alien space ship, or anywhere else Ryu was needed. Ninja Gaiden tells the story of Ryu Hayabusa and his struggles to reclaim the Dark Dragon Blade from the evil Doku and Vigoorian emporer. Some of you may recognize the main character's name. It's true he was featured in XBOX's hit fighting game Dead or Alive 3. While the transitions in the story arn't very fluid it's still not terrible. Basically it could still use some work. Ninja Gaiden is said by many to be the hardest game on the XBOX console since it's release. I didn't find it as difficult as I've heard it's supposed to be. It plays much like the Devil May Cry series, which was terribly easy, so maybe that is why I found it not as challenging. Much of the game is Ryu running through different areas using the same combos to fight off a decent number of enemy types. The bosses were mainly disappointing. They're called bosses not because they have loads of extra health, but becuase they are difficult. The first few were tricky, but by the end they were dwindling down in brute force (not bragging, but I beat the final boss on my first try and I didn't take any damage) Not saying it still wasen't fun, just not as challenging as I was expecting. The game's graphics made up for some things it lacked. The cinema graphics were excellent. I commend Team Ninja for those scenes. Normally most games will have pretty nice looking cinemas, but then the normal gameplay will be very nasty looking. Ninja Gaiden threw this normality out the window. While running around, pulling off awesome combo strings, or just running up walls you'll be very pleased with the in-game graphics. The enemies are also nice looking. Simply put, this game has some of the best graphics I've seen in a while. The soundtrack was also another high-point of the game. Throughout the hack-and-slashing you're given some really nice and well put together songs that meld world music with techno, a great combination I've always thought. It fits the plot with Ryu being a ninja from a more ancient time who is thrown into a very modernized world. So, with little flaws, Ninja Gaiden awaits you. A really nice play if you're into action/adventure games with a hint of the puzzle genre. If you finish the game easily, like I did, you still might find there are other things to do. Ninja Gaiden 1-3 on the NES are available to play on the XBOX version, along with a few other unlockables. So, get out there and try out the game XBOX magazine said is the best on their console, though I must respectfully disagree with their rating. |
| Overall Rating: 9 |