Ninja Gaiden II

Our definitive review of this anticipated sequel.

	Version Xbox 360	Developer Team Ninja	Publisher Microsoft	Genre Action

Page: 1  2  3 

Page 3

NG1 already looked amazing, arguably like an Xbox 360 game (in fact if you missed NG1 you absolutely need to play it - it's backwards compatible on 360, a bargain off of eBay, and the glitches have been fixed since the last time I tried it when 360 first came out). Ninja Gaiden II is an aesthetically beautiful and detailed world, if rather a static one. Environments now range from occasionally ropey to mostly lovely and sometimes breathtaking. By today's standards there is nothing in the way of frivolous environment interaction or multiple routes, but really, such things would do more harm than good in Ninja Gaiden II: going overboard with destructible crap would slow down the game engine from its outstanding quality and very stable, very necessary 60fps frame rate, while multiple routes would really not be in the interest of the way the action is meant to play out. There's not even a map screen this time around.

Having said that, while it's arguably a good thing to have deceptively simple level maps with intricate surroundings that give an almost-clever illusion of much grander, more detailed environments, there are many areas throughout the game that feel a little bit clinical, and fail to present the illusion of choice and detail in as clever a manner as some of the better levels. The Times Square area early in the game really didn't sit right with me, for example, and even throughout Warrior mode there are areas that somehow feel sparse - even barren - in a world of invisible walls. For me this is actually the biggest area of concern in the game on the few occasions you notice it.

But there are plenty of other stunning areas in the game, which actually match up to the original - in fact thinking about it, there are an awful lot of levels and bosses that are very similar to those from NG1. I have to say I was ready to declare NG2's levels inferior on the whole to those in NG1, but like I said at the start of this review, the way your mind stores up memories of something you loved four years ago can be very misleading. Going back to Ninja Gaiden 1 just now, and refreshing myself on all of its levels, as awesome as it still is, NG2 basically has just as much detail and variety, and is just as long. It's just that back then NG1 was something exciting and brand new, and I guess for me, that feeling of awe is not as strong because of how I remember it at the time. Having said that, I don't think that anything in NG2 can match the stunning spectacle in NG1 that was the monastery, which spanned several chapters in different forms - deep below it, immersed in water - one of the most epic sections of gaming I have ever played.

I also think NG2 is less atmospheric than the original, and I think a large part of the reason why is that the mind-blowing soundtrack of Ninja Gaiden 1 is not remotely matched this time around. In the original, the range and quality of music was among the best of any videogame I've played, perfectly suiting each level. Many tracks were not melodic but just added that atmosphere, whether it was all eerie and tense or in-your-face action. NG2's soundtrack, by the standards Team Ninja set last time around, is a bit of a disappointment. It's by no means bad, it's just not as memorable as before. The sound effects are still good, though.

In terms of gripes about other glitches, firstly I have to say I have nowhere near as much of a problem with the camera as some others have complained. It never feels particularly awkward for me to be honest, and my only issue with it is one that not many seem to have mentioned, the fact that while the X axis is smooth and loose, moving the Y axis locks into either up or down position and you can't move it freely as you please. That seems dumb to me as it doesn't feel natural, but it's a minor quibble. And you can still look around with full freedom on both axes in first-person view mode by holding down LB.

There are some other glitches too: the odd bit of 3D clipping and blood spatter textures that appear to 'hover' off from their surface, but this sort of non-tangible, non-physics based world is all in the interest of a very, very fast and stable game engine, and to most observers will still absolutely look the part. There is slowdown on occasion - but this is rare (wait until you see a 100-man battle later in the game) and there are a few occasions of one-second, in-game loading - but they've tried to keep these to areas in between fighting bouts. In other words, cry me a river about all these things - none of it detracts from the enjoyment. The only thing along these lines I would like to have seen is faster loading after you die and need to restart; having racked up about 500 deaths, this 25-second wait can get a bit trying, although I suppose it is a chance for you to cool off before you re-enter battle.

Ninja Gaiden 1's story was pretty much a waste of time, and Ninja Gaiden II doesn't do much to sort that out, although I would argue three things in relation to this: firstly, the story really isn't supposed to take itself too seriously here, and it knows it. Secondly, the cut-scenes that do play out the story look seriously beautiful - some of the best in-engine visuals we've seen to date. Thirdly, many of the bosses and characters that make up NG2's admittedly nonsensical story are way more enjoyable than some of the nitwits from the original - I'm particularly a fan of Volf. Characters, in general, are a strong design point in Ninja Gaiden II. It's just a shame Ryu's dead personality doesn't remotely match his athletic coolness.

Although my game save file says I completed Ninja Gaiden II on Warrior difficulty in 11 hours and 46 minutes, the reality according to the game's handy 'total play time' tracker is that it took me 40 hours to accomplish this. This is a meaty game, and like the original, certainly worth playing through more than once, especially with the world watching on Leaderboards and your friends checking out your saved videos in the Ninja Cinema, which is a nice bonus. There are also some costumes to unlock, hidden items to find throughout the game (like the Scarabs in the original), and a bunch of secret Achievements. But I would also really have liked the ability to play any level I want to once I have completed the game, a feature which is strangely absent. Other things to look out for include full nudity!

Generally speaking it's the next-gen consoles themselves that could not possibly live up to the fantasy-like expectations many of us had dreamed up four years ago, and the resultant game I imagined Ninja Gaiden II might possibly be way back then. Nonetheless, as it turns out, Ninja Gaiden II's deliciously tight, core gameplay is what truly separates it from the pack in today's action game landscape. It's some of the deepest and most rewarding multi-enemy combat ever programmed, and levels, enemies and bosses throughout the first half of the game are designed specifically to correct any bad gameplay habits you've picked up and make you a stronger player in preparation for the huge challenge that awaits. The package as a whole is suitably epic, but I will close by saying that while Ninja Gaiden II is a must-buy game for nearly any Xbox 360 owner, it is a sequel in the truest sense - that is to say, you have to play Ninja Gaiden 1 as well, whether before or after really makes no difference, and which version of NG1 doesn't really matter - but in my mind the two games together represent some of the best gaming of the last decade.

I also thought it was interesting how Tecmo's chairman was included in the Special Thanks of the credits... but oddly, not its CEO.

Page: 1  2  3