Ninja Gaiden: Hands-On, Screens, Videos

Tecmo's massively anticipated Ninja Gaiden hits US stores tomorrow, and before we deliver up the full review, we take you through our impressions and show you just how amazing the game looks in some new videos and screens.

After a lengthy hiatus from his lead role in the gaming world, legendary Ryu Hayabusa is set to make his long awaited return tomorrow in an all new Ninja Gaiden adventure. After umpteen impressive trailers, several gameplay demonstrations from creator Itagaki and countless delays, the game is finally here - and if you've been waiting patiently, we can tell you it's all been worth it.

Things are slightly different since Ryu's last Ninja Gaiden outing as he's launched into a glorious 3D world with vast, beautifully textured landscapes and ferocious new monsters. No time for an Xbox cheer though, as Ryu must avenge the brutal death of his clan at the hands of the evil Vigor Empire. Armed with lethal ninja weapons and lightning fast moves, Ryu sets out to destroy his enemies and reclaim the magical sword, "Ryuken", from the Holy Emperor. Textbook!

From what we've played so far, Ninja Gaiden is best summarised as a mixture of Capcom's Onimusha and an arcade styled beat 'em up. Not only are you hacking and slashing away at enemy ninjas and other evil cretins during the fast paced action portions of the game, but there are plenty of puzzles to solve with keys to find and use, unlocking doors leading to other important areas to explore in the game.

With that, the gameplay of Ninja Gaiden can pretty much be broken up into two categories really, action and adventure/exploration. For the most part, the action portions play like a fighting game and require a little skill and strategy as button mashing will only get you so far.

Ryu comes fully loaded with an arsenal of ninja weapons and moves he can use to dish out a beating like no other. He can block, counterattack, throw shurikens, perform various air attacks - including his trademark neck throw, and perform various slashing moves that lead into some wicked combos when using his nifty Dragon Sword, or the incredibly cool Vigoorian Flail that can used like nunchukas in combat. And what ninja would be caught dead without some form of ninja magic? Ryu's equipped with ninja spells to help him out of those sticky situations.

Ninja Gaiden's controls are very responsive. So far at least, it just feels totally right as Ryu runs across walls and propels himself from wall to wall in order to access areas out of regular reach. We've been hacking and slashing our way through these stunningly gorgeous environments, running all over the place and decapitating opponent scum with the greatest of ease, and it feels fantastic.

Using combos to defeat enemies rewards you with extra points that can be used to upgrade your weapons. You can string together and rack up some major combo hits, and the more enemies you fight at a time, the higher your combo. Even early in the game, it's possible to nail some 100+ hit combos, and we're sure these get much higher as things progress...

Although arguably one of the best camera systems around at the moment, the camera can still be a little spotty at times, often needing to be readjusted. But other than that, Ninja Gaiden delivers the goods with all the glitz and glamour that you expect from Team Ninja.

So on the surface it looks like Ninja Gaiden is set to live up to the staggering hype accumulated over the last couple of years, but to find out for sure, check back for our full review hopefully later this week - along with tonnes of new direct feed gameplay videos throughout the game. (Expect the quality to improve over this first set as well, to our usual high standard).

In the meantime, check out our first selection below, presented along with all our previous videos to get you ready for the big day tomorrow. Click here for masses of extra Ninja Gaiden screens. European gamers will have to wait until around May for the game, which isn't the best turnaround, but it's fairly standard for Tecmo's Atlantic voyage these days.

Joseph Jackson
Staff Writer, Kikizo