Game Review: Ninja Gaiden II (Xbox 360)

Ninja Gaiden II is the latest release from specialist developers Team Ninja. I remember playing and loving 2004’s Ninja Gaiden on the first Xbox, and as a result I was determined to sink my teeth into Ninja Gaiden II. The hype around this game was massive but, with the developers extensive and successful history, I was convinced Gaiden II would live up to it.

Like the other games in the series, Gaiden II follows Ryu Hayabusa, a Dragon Ninja from the Hayabusa clan. At the start of the game, Ryu learns that the Black Spider Clan have attacked his village, and are now plotting to resurrect the Archfiend. As stories go it’s not the best, and it’s not particularly well explained during the cutscenes, but who cares? I was just happy to be slicing things up.

The core element of Ninja Gaiden II’s gameplay is the combat system which is, as you’d expect from Team Ninja, excellent. The simple control layout (which I’m invariably going to compare to the brilliant Devil May Cry 4) works brilliantly with the incredibly fast paced gameplay, to give you one of the smoothest combat experiences that I’ve ever seen in a game. Even if you are just mashing buttons randomly, you’ll be awestruck at how effortlessly stylish the game makes you feel.

I don’t mean to sound like a sadistic psycho but I think I speak for a large part of the gaming community when I say that, while cutting through thousands of enemies is fun, it’s much more fun when you’ve got a lot of different toys to do it with. Ninja Gaiden II gives you that, which allows you to vary your style constantly as you’re playing through the game. As well as the standard issue sword there are scythes, bows, shuriken and claws that you can use to carve your way through limitless hordes of enemies. Each weapon fights that little bit differently, so I can almost guarantee there will be something to suit you’re preferred style.

Everyone knows that two swords are infinitely more badass than one sword.

While the combat makes up the bulk of the gameplay there is a platforming aspect to Gaiden II, which allows you to run along walls, hop across water, and wall jump your way up huge buildings. Normally I’m not a big fan of platforming because I’m absolutely pants at it, but I really enjoyed this. Like the combat, the platforming is incredibly stylish with minimal effort, and as a result is great fun. With the platforming and combat seamlessly combining, you’ve got one hell of a gameplay experience.

So you’ve got the slick action, and you’ve got a bunch of sharp objects at your disposal. Personally I’d be happy with that, but Ninja Gaiden II goes the extra mile, and gives us something we’d never admit to wanting: excessive gore. I don’t think I’ve ever seen as many limbs flying around on screen as I have in this game and I absolutely love it, simply because I’m making the limbs fly so effortlessly. This is the kind of gore that would satisfy someone who uses a potato peeler to pleasure himself, it’s f**king brilliant.

Just a flesh wound.

The bulk of Ninja Gaiden II is absolutely superb, and it ranks as one of the better hack and slash games I’ve played. Unfortunately, the game has a tendency to shuriken itself in the foot.

Like most hack and slash games, Ninja Gaiden II has the occasional boss battles, which are meant to present a greater challenge to the player. Normally I’m cool with this, I remember loving the boss battles in Devil May Cry 4, but Ninja Gaiden II takes it a little too far. The excessive spikes in difficulty level take a lot of enjoyment out of the game, and it gets to the point where you’re not being challenged, you’re just getting your ass kicked. Beating a boss isn’t particularly satisfying either, because you know that another, harder boss is only 10 minutes away. Admittedly I did get used to the difficulty spikes, but I honestly don’t think I would have bothered playing much more after the second boss, if I didn’t have to write this review.

Yep, that's a wolf with four arms, wielding a scythe twice your size, and there are other wolves backing him up. Excessive? You bet your ass it is.

The other big flaw in the game is the camera. Gaiden II uses the third person, “over the shoulder” camera, which I’m usually a big fan of. But when it’s constantly conflicting with the level design and the environment, it becomes very annoying. I’m all for close combat and platforming, but when the camera is constantly being obstructed by pillars and walls it becomes frustrating, and makes the gameplay almost impossible.

Despite Team Ninja’s history of ground breaking, beautiful games, I felt Gaiden II looked a little dated. Don’t get me wrong, the characters, environments and gore look very good, for the most part. But some animations looked a little robotic, whilst most enemies were fairly generic. Maybe I’m just being picky or my standards are too high, but Gaiden II just doesn’t look as good as I expected it to.

All that said, Ninja Gaiden II is still a very good game. Apart from some glaring issues, the vast bulk of the game is still superb. A warning to casual players, though: This game is going to kick your ass round the block. Twice. It’s an incredibly tough game to beat, but if you like hack and slash games, you’ll definitely have fun with it. For me, Gaiden II falls just short of the hype, but it’s still a great game, and I recommend it to anyone who has enjoyed a hack and slash game before. Or just for anyone who ever got a kick out of dissection in science class.

8/10