In the gaming world there's always been a constant battle for exclusivity. And in these I-can-only-afford-two-games-a-year, PS3-VS-Xbox 360, next generation gaming times, the competition is fiercer, and more violent, than ever before. In the old days of K-TV Candice Hillebrand and innocence, gaming companies favoured family-orientated mascots to carry their names; Sonic the fuzzy blue Hedgehog (Sega), Mario the whimsical little plumber (Nintendo). But these days, Candice is playing cold-blooded assassin Nina Williams in the upcoming film version of violent arcade fighter Tekken, and video game companies are switching to limb-displacing antiheroes like Ninja Gaiden 2's blood-squirting protagonist, Ryu Hayabusa.
MARIO THE PLUMBER
SONIC THE HEDGEHOG
Now, perhaps a climate of the times, exclusively-licensed gaming heroes look a little bit more like this, and cute and fuzzy has been bludgeoned to death by armed-to-the-teeth and dangerous:
XBOX 360: MARCUS FENIX - GEARS OF WAR (2006)
XBOX 360: MASTER CHIEF - HALO 3 (2007)
PS3: METAL GEAR SOLID - GUNS OF THE PATRIOTS (2008)
PS3: SHANE CARPENTER - HAZE (2008)
AND, Xbox 360: RYU HAYABUSA - NINJA GAIDEN 2 (2008)
Getting back to Ninja Gaiden 2, the bloodiest and most violent game I've ever played, Ryu Hayabusa is no stranger to exclusivity. First seen on arcade beat 'em up Ninja Gaiden, in 1988, Ryu has paid his ninja dues - from the arcades, to Nintendo, to Sega, until the Xbox release of Ninja Gaiden in 2004, and his new home with Microsoft.
RYU HAYABUSA CIRCA 1988.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE GAMEPLAY IN HD
If you watched some of the gameplay demoed above, you'll already know that Ninja Gaiden 2 is brain-hurtingly fast, slick, and gratuitously violent. The speed of Ryu's combat takes some getting used to, but when you've got it down, and your fingers are firing faster than Pete Doherty's synapses, the game dynamics are truly breath-taking to behold. But the best part is, despite all it's high definition glory and three dimensional artistry, at heart, Ninja Gaiden 2 is an old-school, combo-attack, arcade classic - smart thinking by game developers Team Ninja (but how could you screw up a ninja classic with a name like that?)
The story begins in Tokyo, six months after the events of Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword(Nintendo DS). Looking for Ryu, CIA agent "Sonia" is kidnapped by the Black Spider Ninja Clan (classic ninja stuff), and it's up to dragon ninja Ryu to get her back. Just like the violence, Sonia's physique is gratuitously exploited (high heeled boots and hot pants - standard issue CIA stuff).
While Ryu is chasing after Sonia, the Black Spiders attack Hayabusa Village in search of the Demon Statue (you've gotta love the Japanese). Eventually, "Queen of the Greater Fiends and the Ruler of Blood", Elizébet, takes the statue, and Ryu and Sonia must travel the world to get it back. All the while re-painting "just about any dam wall" red.
One of the main elements of gameplay that helps such a fancy next gen platformer retain its simplified arcade ramblings are the classic end of level "boss" fights. And the games full of them - increasingly epic and screen-filling the further you progress.
Overall, it looks awesome, the slicing and dicing is fast, to say the least, and the action is two dimensionally arcade, in the best possible way. The story also never loses the plot, and sticks to everything we've come to love about ninjas and their simple quests. And the style is authentically Japanese. A great hack and slash adventure for Xbox 360 owners.
GRAPHICS: 85% - In HD you'll be reaching out for a splatter suit.
GAMEPLAY: 85% - Fast, and furious. It's easy to look good. One or two manageable camera control issues though.
STORY: 70% - Never oversteps the mark. Keeps it simple. Keeps it ninja.
LASTABILITY: 80% - Fun and easy to pick up, again and again...
STYLE: 90% - With a design company called Team Ninja, what did you expect?
OVERALL: 82%
