|
|
Ninja Gaiden 2 Published by wes213 on Saturday, November 10, 2007
Tagged: Gaming, Xbox 360,
You’ve got red on you - Ryu Hayabusa sharpens up his act for a 360-exclusive sequel, while Tecmo’s Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword, like the initials, fits perfectly on to the DS.
Anyone else would have crawled under a rock after last year, when Tomonobo Itagaki railed against the makers of Tekken, dismissed underachieving gamers as ‘ninja dogs’, then produced the utterly average Dead Or Alive Xtreme 2. But there he was, the brains and mouth of Team Ninja, swaggering across the stage at this year’s TGS. His trademark braggadocio may have lost some currency over the years, but mention of Ninja Gaiden clearly has not.
 With many still discovering and returning to 2004’s breakneck bloodbath, be it through 360 emulation or PS3’s Sigma remake, there’s no denying the timeliness of announcing a proper sequel. The hardcore, faced with the rise of non-gaming and Japan’s labored uptake of new consoles, are yearning for some old-school pain. Ninja Gaiden 2, as you discover from the off, has more than enough to go around.
“I’d like to say that we’re not depicting this violence for the fun of it,” insists Yoshifuru Okamoto, the game’s producer. “We want it to actually have meaning inside the game, in terms of the experience. Violence is a key challenge of this project – we don’t even think it’s possible to alter it. I understand that in Japan we will be Z rated [the dreaded adults-only rating, which effectively brands games as culturally hazardous]. In the US, though, we’re confident we’ll be an M [for Mature].”
Integral or not, the violence in Ninja Gaiden will have you feeling like Lady Macbeth after just five minutes’ play. Granted, heads did roll in the first game (in most versions, at least), but this is something else. Ryu Hayabusa’s staccato sword-swipes literally chop his opponents to pieces, leaving heads, shoulders, knees and toes in great puddles on the floor. Better – sorry, worse – still is what happens to the pieces left attached: without a hand or foot, for example, enemies will writhe, hobble and hop around until finished off. And like the Black Knight himself, they’ll fight you the entire time.
“The enemy AI changes as he loses an arm or a foot,” Okamoto explains. “Our objective is to show cool action right up until the enemy is killed. But our ninja won’t search bodies or steal weapons from the dead. Bodies remain solely for the purpose of graphic realism. I think the increased power of Xbox 360 has made a unique way of depicting violence possible: how the blood is spilt, how the body is dismembered and how the parts remain on the ground.”
With this in mind, together with an image of Jack Thompson spontaneously combusting upon sight of it, it’s worth pointing out that there is a story beneath the carnage. While Itagaki will doubtless say otherwise during the remaining months of development, Team Ninja is especially keen to expand Ninja Gaiden’s audience. “After we released the previous Ninja Gaiden,” says Okamoto, “we thought about the game and realized that a gap was forming between what we originally wanted and the reaction of the players. It was very much about the difficulty level – and we felt the need for casual gamers to enjoy our game as well.”
It’s too early for Okamoto to go into detail, but he promises a more intense and ‘interesting’ game than before, with a wider variety of rival characters and boss battles. Foremost will be a rival ninja to Hayabusa – a nemesis central to the game’s events. The proposed enemy types sound a mite familiar – demonic beasts and gun-toting commandos join the usual ninja hit squads – but their attack patterns and strategies, whether grouped or isolated, are more varied. The need to find the right weapon for each challenge, furthermore, will be brutally enforced.
“It all started with the weapons we wanted Hayabusa to carry,” says Okamoto, “turning him into some kind of super ninja. This led us to think about the actions which would fit these weapons, and how that in turn would affect the game’s fun factor.”
But the problem, as it exists in this early alpha code, is less a question of challenge and intrigue than that old Team Ninja bugbear, visual evolution. You could cut and paste concerns over Ninja Gaiden 2’s technology from reviews of either DOA4 or DOAX2: it just doesn’t feel particularly modern. Ironically for a game which cuts more flesh than a chef who moonlights as a serial killer, it’s disconcertingly clean. Light and shadow effects, for both characters and environments, are quite deficient, leaving some very smooth (60 frames per second) but flat visuals.
He might not have lived under a rock for the last year, but you have to wonder how much Itagaki and his team have isolated themselves from the influence, and more importantly the examples, of other studios’ games. Okamoto openly admits to a policy of looking away from ‘the competition’, and speaks little of conflict with Devil May Cry 4 because he ‘hasn’t seen it’. Ninja Gaiden will certainly make headline news simply for its gore, and will probably be enjoyable as hell for the masochistic elite. But if it wants to speak to casual gamers as well, then graphics are a language it can’t afford to ignore.
News-Source: Next-Gen
( Subscribe via    
)
|
|
  | Latest Ninja Gaiden II News (13) |  |
| All News for Ninja Gaiden II (13) | |
|
Latest Ninja Gaiden II Screenshots (29)
|
|
| Most Recent Trailers for Ninja Gaiden II | |
| Most Recent Forum Discussions for Ninja Gaiden II (1) | |
| All Forum Discussions for Ninja Gaiden II (1) | |
| HQ Ninja Gaiden II Xbox Live Gamers (2) | |
| |
Dead or Alive 5
From a stoically evolving "3D Fighting Game" to an all gamers engulfing "3D Fighting Entertainment" Dead or Alive 5 makes it's way back for its 5th fighting game sequel.
Dead or Alive 5 marries its signature fighting style with MMA fighting techniques to deliver a major kick for players new and old. Visually striking scenes from around t.. | | |
| |
Dead or Alive 4
Tecmo Inc. and Team Ninja will be the defining gaming experience on Xbox 360. It will encompass all that the next-generation console has to offer, giving players the most rewarding digital fighting experience to date on any video game console. .. | | |
| |
Dead or Alive: Xtreme 2
Join the DOA girls once again on Zack’s Island in DOA Xtreme 2; the sequel to the most thrilling beach game every created: DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball. Play & explore at your own pace as you compete in all new island activities. Play as one of the nine beautiful DOA girls and experience first-hand the way resort life was meant to be enjoyed.
.. | | |
| |
Ninja Gaiden 3
Ninja Gaiden III is the 3rd installment in the Ninja Gaiden series... | | |
View All Games Developed by Team NINJA (8) | |
|
| |
Halo 4
The next installment of the famous video game shooter. Halo 4 is due for release on November 6th, exclusively on Xbox 360.
The Master Chief returns to battle an ancient evil bent on vengeance and annihilation. Shipwrecked on a mysterious world, faced with new enemies and deadly technology, the universe will never be the same. Enl.. | | |
| |
Halo: Reach
The Halo saga reached a dramatic climax with Halo 3, but the franchise did not end there -- not by a long shot...
Halo: Reach, developed exclusively for Xbox 360 by acclaimed developer Bungie, is the blockbuster prequel to the best-selling Xbox franchise of all time. It represents the culmination of Bungie’s 10 years of experie.. | | |
| |
Gears of War 3
Gears of War 3 takes place around 18 months after the sinking of Jacinto at the end of Gears of War 2. The Locust, now without a queen to lead them, are struggling to survive after being forced to the surface. Human society on Sera has been reduced to small collections of people in an almost feudal or tribal system. Marcus Fenix and a small group o.. | | |
| |
Halo Wars
“Halo Wars” is a strategy game based on the legendary “Halo®” universe. In campaign mode, players will command the armies of the UNSC warship “Spirit of Fire,” consisting of familiar and new UNSC units in its initial encounters against the Covenant, an alien coalition threatening to obliterate mankind. “Halo Wars” will immerse gamers in an early pe.. | | |
| |
Ninja Blade
Step into the dark and mysterious world of “Ninja Blade,” where gamers will be given the epic task to defend Tokyo and ultimately humanity itself from a horrific, genetically mutating disease.
High atop the towering skyscrapers of modern-day Tokyo, Ken Ogawa and his team of skilled ninjas are deployed to destroy the infected monster horde .. | | |
View All Games Published by Microsoft (118) | |
|
| |
 
 |
|
 |
|
Tuesday, April 16 | |  Epic Fantasy RPG 'Dungeons of Hinterberg' is |
Monday, April 15 | | Delta Force: Hawk Ops gets a brand new traile |
| Perennial Order is set to bloom on Xbox Serie |
Friday, April 12 | | Umbraclaw hits Xbox, PlayStation, Switch & PC |
Thursday, April 11 | | TMNT: Wrath of the Mutants Hits XBOX, PlaySta |
| GIC’24 Early Bird Tickets Now Available |
Wednesday, April 10 | | Mars 2120 launches out of Early Access onto a |
Tuesday, April 09 | | Die by the Blade Slashes Its Way onto PC in M |
Monday, April 08 | | Strike Gold with the Call of Duty Gold & Silv |
| Neptunia: Sisters VS Sisters Arrives May 21st |
Thursday, March 28 | | FALLEN LEAF Teams Up with STUDIOS EXTRAORDINA |
Tuesday, March 26 | | Explore the World of Ink Painting in Realm of |
Monday, March 25 | | JSAUX’S Black MODCASE for the ROG Ally Is Ava |
Friday, March 22 | | Barton Lynch Pro Surfing Update v1.07 is LIVE |
| RuneScape developer Jagex joins CVC Capital P |
Thursday, March 21 | | Paper Ghost Stories: Third Eye Open coming to |
Wednesday, March 20 | | Dark JRPG Graphic Adventure 'Neon Blood' debu |
Tuesday, March 19 | | Hauntii hits Xbox Game Pass for console and P |
Monday, March 18 | | Discover the Sound of Life in The Lullaby of |
Thursday, March 14 | | WWII-based strategy epic Classified: France ' |
| Night Slashers: Remake confirmed for XBOX, Pl |
Wednesday, March 13 | | Highwater is coming soon for Xbox X|S, XB1, P |
Tuesday, March 12 | | Terra Memoria is set to launch on Xbox Series |
| Rugrats: Adventures in Gameland releases in M |
Monday, March 11 | | Sonic X Shadow Generations hits Xbox One, Xbo |
Friday, March 08 | | Taxi Life: A City Driving Simulator out now f |
| Sci-fi adventure 'Sky of Tides' announced for |
Thursday, March 07 | | Planet Zoo: Console Edition arrives on March |
Wednesday, March 06 | | MLB The Show 24 launches later this month on |
| FLIPGO: A portable dual monitor that you can |
See All Xbox 360 News | Xbox 360 News Archive
|
| |
HQ Network: 5,531 | 
Guests: 2998 |
Members: 0
- Jun 3, 2008 (US)
- Jun 3, 2008 (US)
- TBA
8.2
