Ninja Gaiden (Xbox only)

Team Ninja, also the developer of the Dead or Alive series has (not surprisingly) explored the concept of being a ninja. No one actually knows much about ninjas except for the fact that they were elite assassins and masters of disguise. In this game you will learn about swordplay, magic and most importantly the way a ninja moves. If this is starting to sound lame to you then just hang on a second and you will be amazed. Or not. But the important thing is that you COULD be amazed so just keep reading. At first glance this might seem like an ordinary third person 'run around while hammering the X button to kill everyone around you' type of game, but its not. This game is hard. VERY hard. Trust me on that one (although it wont actually seem hard at all after you've completed it) before rushing straight into the game on hard mode. The fighting is very 'strategic' meaning that you have to plan your every move as hammering the X and Y buttons (attack buttons) will probably result in you dying and barely scratching your enemies. You're nearly always pitted against numerous strong (or sometimes weak) enemies who WILL most definitely cut away at your health bar if you do not defend. The most important thing to do is block and then counter by pressing X while being attacked during a block. The enemies you fight are numerous ranging from ordinary soldiers and ninja to demons, zombies and bugs, LOTS of bugs. Also at the end of various stages you will get boss fights. These can be quite challenging especially when you have just realized that you are about to fight the toughest boss in the game and haven't got any potions to help you in the fight. Thats just tough luck and you'll have to make do withough although it is guaranteed to make you want to smash your controller into the ground and devour the remains. Once again bosses range from normal height (as high as you) to abnormal (about 20 times larger than you) so some will be hard while others not so much. Sometimes however you will encounter mini bosses, which are weaker than an end of stage boss but strong enough for you to need to use potions to defeat them. As in they are stronger than normal enemies but weaker than proper bosses. Some of these are complete pushovers while others are tough as nails.

The story is a bit strange so bare with me for a moment as I explain a few things before hand. In Ninja Gaiden you have things called fiends which are basically humans who have lost their sould and mutated. You also have greater fiends of which there are four (I won't go into detail now). These are still mutated humans but they still possess their souls so they have a conscience and all that. The major difference however is that all the greater fiends that you encounter end up being end of stage bosses, and very formidable opponents at that. Anyway, going back to the story. You are a ninja called Ryu Hayabusa from the Hayabusa Ninja clan which suprisingly enough lives in Hayabusa Village. You are part of the 'Dragon Lineage' - a protector of an evil sword named the Dark Dragon Blade. It is carved from the bones of a black dragon and contains the souls of vanquished Black Dragons. The sword itself fed on death and suffering. Whoever wielded the blade will become the devil incarnate (this is actually all explained in the intro movie). Basically one of the Greater Fiends, named Doku, now has possession of the blade and has come to destroy your village. In the first chapter your mission is to stop him (obviously). But as he is has become the devil incarnate and all you will end up losing (sorry if I spoiled that for anyone but I thought it would be quite obvious). The god thing here is you don't actually have to fight him - you can just sit back and watch the beautiful CG cutscene. You don't die as otherwise the game would only last for about one hour, so you begin your quest to find the Dark Dragon Blade and destroy it so it can never be used again.

Throughout the game you will encounter quite a few CG cutscenes. When I say these are the best graphics that you have ever seen in your life I actually mean they are BETTER than quite a lot of the XBOX 360 titles. They are INCREDIBLE and that's not saying much. From every pebble to every blade of grass, it all looks so convincing you will want to jump straight in there. The only thing stopping the cutscenes from looking completely realistic is stuff like zombies, mutated humans, fiends but nonetheless its so realistic that if say your parents walked past and saw one of these cutscenes they might just ask "what movie are you watching". Its THAT good. Moving onto controlls. This handles good, however sometimes it feels too sudden. By this I mean that, because the character is a ninja, he will be doing back and front flips all over the place when all you want him to do is run along a wall straight in front of him. Apart from that the way he moves is amazing. It feels by far better than Prince of Persia. You will be able to reach places you would have never thought of being able to. Imagine this for example: You are in a room the ceiling of which is about 30 meters up. There is another level with adoor leaving out, just below the ceiling. You cant get a ladder out, or a grapple cannon or what not. You have to use your feet. So you start running along one wall, then jump around the corner onto another, then around the next corner to the next wall and so on until you get to the top. The feeling of getting to such a high place just by running up walls is amazing. Apart from a few exceptions the movement is fast and flawless. As I mentioned at the beginning you will be able to use magic or 'Ninpo' as it is called in the game. As you progress you will find items that will increase the amount of Ki you have. The amount of Ki you have is not measured in a bar but in small flame shaped containers below your health gauge. You can only have 5 of these Ki containers. Each magic attack, no matter how powerful, uses up one Ki container so at the beginning you will need to be careful how you use your ninpo. There are four spells that you can learn - The Art of Inazuma, The Art of Inferno, The Art of the Ice Storm, and the Art of the Fire Wheels. The first three I mentioned can be 'leveled up' using special items you find on your quest so as to make them more powerful. Ninpo can be very useful at times. Say your stuck in a corner and being beaten to a pulp by a group of fiends. All you have to do is just simultaneously press the Y and B buttons and sit back while you enemies get fried, or frozen depending on the ninpo attack that you use. It helps keep the game fresh (not that its not) and inventive.

The only downfall in the game is the sound or the general background music playing throughout the game. It gets repetitive after a while as the same tune repeats itself over and over again. The music is just odd and feels out of place. Its not that bad, its just that it doesn't suit the game. A shame really as this does affect the score quite abit.

If you don't have a particular interest in third person games, then play this and THEN see how you feel. This game is the definition of third person action adventure. The story is enthrilling and the gameplay fast pased and incredably enjoyable. This is one to look out for especially with graphics capable of matching those of the XBOX 360. However I recommend that you buy Ninja Gaiden Black instead as that is the SAME game but with more features such as an easy mode and a sort of mission mode which is not related to the story. It is simply ten stages, with each stage having a certain ammount of enemies that have to be beaten. You can use this mode to help you with the story. The only difference is that the bosses in Ninja Gaiden Black are harder. It makes no difference which you buy, although the first is older so may cost less. Its up to you.

Sound 7/10 - Does'nt really 'fit in'. It's not bad, it just sounds odd and out of place for a game like this.

Graphics 10/10 - Easily the best on XBOX and are capable of beating the graphics of most XBOX 360 games.

Gameplay 10/10 - Smooth, fast and extremely thrilling. It will make you feel like a ninja.

Value 10/10 - There are many items in the game to collect which unlock the original Ninja Gaiden on the SNES. After you complete the game you can then unlock harder modes which consecuently unlock more things.

Final Score: 9.4/10