The near perfect action flick this generation of video games has to offer.
First things first; I haven't played any games of the Ninja Gaiden franchise before this, so there would be no comparisons.
Make no mistake, Ninja Gaiden 2 (NG2) isn't for the faint of heart or the attention deficient. It's a tough game, tough to the point of being punishing, merciless! More likely than not, there will be times when you'll simply want to throw your controller at the screen or scream obsceneties. Persevere, and thy will be rewarded! Now that this, the most probable deterrent for any casual gamer or even NG veterans has been touched upon, let's get on with the review.
Story....hmmm..well...it's as cheesy and downright uninteresting as it could get, but that's not the point of NG2 anyway. FYI though, Ryu Hayabusa (our Ninja hero) has been given the inevitable job of saving the world again. He has been on a revenge mission since the black spider clan Ninjas and fiends (the main villains) destroyed his village. This time around, there's a CIA?? twist in the tale and Ryu gets the help of Sonia (a buxom agent) intermittently in the game. The Archfiend has awakened and he threatens to shatter the peace on earth with the help of his four greater fiends (bosses you got to fight on and off in the game).
What surprised me immediately about NG2 was that it didn't hold my hand and tried to spoonfeed me at all. As soon as the intro cutscene was over, there I was, smack! in the middle of 10 angry ninja foes ready to mince me for dinner. Thereafter, it kept presenting me with scrolls on how to perform a specific evading move or how to counter an attack, so on and so forth. Never did it feel like Iwas being taught, but it still felt like I was learning. If you're one of those who think they are good because they can pull of insane combos and ratings in
The enemy design and AI, specially the bosses is truly marvellous. Master Ninjas, dragons, six legged werevolves, giant armadillos,giant worms, gargantuan mosnter skeletons, flame throwing dark lords, vampirish fiends, spider like warriors, you name it..you've got it. What's more interesting is that, except for a few, there are many ways to tackle a specific boss. I won't spoil the fun for you here, it's best you figure it out for yourself. Level design is mostly good with the exception of a few which seem kind of bland considering what we're used to seeing on current gen systems. The game also experiences a few hitches when the framerate drops during intense battles or sometimes goes to the loading screen abruptly. The in-game camera can also be annoying; it tends to follow Ryu too closely sometimes or it simply gets stuck in a wall while you're fighting. Fortunately you have the option to reset the camera in front of Ryu with the right trigger. Most boss battles also have a free camera mode option with the RB button for different players' needs. The camera aspect is certainly not a game breaking experience but I would have still liked to have it centred a little farther away from Ryu than it currently is.
What would be a Ninja without his cool weapons eh? By default, Ryu is equipped with a Dragon Sword as his melee weapon and Shurikens as secondary (projectile) weapons. As you get further in the game you'll get access to many more like the Lunar Staff, Dual Katanas, Kusuri-Gama, Nunchakus, Scythe and a couple of others. Ryu is also blessed with the ability of casting Ninja Magic spells (Ninpos) on his enemies, which include elements of fire, ice, wind etc. These Ninpo spells come in very handy when you feel you're being overwhelmed by a large group of enemies. Not only do they deliver severe damage to all around you, they also protect you from any attack during those spell casting frames...neat eh?
Which brings us to NG2's combat element. Holy cricket!! is this the mother of them all. It's tough, yes, brutally tough actually, but oh sweet lord is it rewarding. Call me up when you perform and Obliteration technique the first time and do not go 'damn!!!'. If I were to talk about all the combos fo every different weapon here, it would take ages...so I'm not gonna go there. But, as I said earlier...no matter how cool an obliteration looks or how cool a mid air 40 hit combo looks, the better part of your attention should always be focused on the block, dodge and jump moves. This is no Devil May Cry 4 (a game I thoroughly enjoyed by the way), even a measly foot soldier in NG2 is potentially dangerous. Don't get too caught up in ogling at the blood you just spilled or it's time for the Game Over screen. In addition to all the moves and combos, every weapon in NG2 also has an Ultimate Technique, which basically means you have to hold down one button long enough to charge it and deal chaos on the enemies. You won't always have the time to do so, but when you do..it certainly makes things a little easier. Add to this the fact that Ryu can jump from wall to wall, do flying bird flips and can also deliver massive damage delaing hits while doing his acrobatics. Everything in NG2, all of Ryu's abilities are there for a reason. Getting yourself acclimatized with his projectile weapons, ninpo spells, airborne combos, block/dodge is AS important as chopping enemy heads off with your favourite melee weapon.
Slicing off enemy limbs, chopping their heads off in NG2 is cool not only because it looks awesome, but because you know you've done it right and earned it. Now I don't know whether this game will sell bucket loads but I'm sure as hell that it would go down in the annals of gaming as one of the most challenging and rewarding cult hits. Less than stellar graphics aside this is a magnificent game and certainly a must own of anybody who isn't easily put off by punishing difficulty in games.Overall Rating: 9.4/10
