I grew up with Ninja Gaiden. Those games where impossible, but I couldn't tell you how many times I rented the Ninja Gaiden Trilogy for the SNES even though I could never manage my way past the first few levels in each game. That said, first of all, I don't know why this new game isn't called Ninja Gaiden 5. I was trying to relate to a co-worker about playing the original game, but clearly we where talking about two completely different games. I was referring to the NES original and he was referring to the Xbox game. Anyway, naming aside, I think Ninja Gaiden II could have probably been an excellent game. Why isn't it, then?
First off, it has the worst camera I've experienced in any game that I've ever played. That is not hyperbole. The right button tries to be a quick fix for this (I guess it's quite telling when the creators felt that is was their obligation to make a "fix me" button), but it doesn't work well at all. You will get stuck in corners unable to see anything but walls and you will be spinning the camera around and around as you battle through narrow corridors. (The oft-maligned Kingdom Hearts camera is perfectly pleasant in comparison.)
Secondly, look at those breasts. How can I take a game seriously when it's only purpose for including a female is to show off some tits and some silly physics engine that makes them jiggle? Thirdly (and this is related to the second point), the art style is terrible. The 1UP crew has likened Ninja Gaiden's art style to Power Rangers (the same can be said of the voice acting). It's immature and laughable besides being just plain garish. Again, how can I take it seriously? That and all of Team Ninja's females look like they have brain tumors. Look at Dead or Alive. I would include a picture as example, but let me save you some pain by saying "Don't Google it!" You'll only come across a lot of disgusting fan art and hentai. It's fitting I suppose.
Ninja Gaiden does do one thing right though: It makes you feel like a badass. The weapons all feel very different and somehow manage to make you feel the inertia that each possesses. It's quite a thing to see your bladed shoe get stuck in an enemy head, then you jerk about a few times before eviscerating the poor fellow. It's also very satisfying to kill an enemy in one slice every so often. The controls feel precise, and if the camera is actually in the right place, you'll feel like you're doing some amazing acrobatic moves in response to the enemies around you.
Now, I hear that the new Ninja Gaidens are extremely difficult and require strategy, patience and an intimate knowledge of the controls, and I can certainly see that. I imagine the demo's difficulty is very low so that it's more accessable. On this more "dumbed down" level, I felt pretty comfortable. I don't really have a desire to develop a greater sense of the minutae behind the game's mechanics, however. As such, high level Ninja Gaiden play doesn't really interest me. I don't think I'd be willing to put in the time or effort to do more than play the first hour or so. I don't know. It's just not as appealing as actually getting better at playing Street Fighter or something like that. For some it may be, but for me the camera is just such a turn off and also a hindrance to becoming better in the first place. That, and I get the feeling that the game could get to feeling repetitive with just wave after wave of enemies.
So that's that. Ninja Gaiden II just isn't a compelling game to me. Not even for a rental. I might have come to the same conclusion with God of War had there been a demo of it. My take on on God of War was essentially "Good for the first hour, then it's the same crap over and over." At least God of War had a fixed camera though.
First off, it has the worst camera I've experienced in any game that I've ever played. That is not hyperbole. The right button tries to be a quick fix for this (I guess it's quite telling when the creators felt that is was their obligation to make a "fix me" button), but it doesn't work well at all. You will get stuck in corners unable to see anything but walls and you will be spinning the camera around and around as you battle through narrow corridors. (The oft-maligned Kingdom Hearts camera is perfectly pleasant in comparison.)
Secondly, look at those breasts. How can I take a game seriously when it's only purpose for including a female is to show off some tits and some silly physics engine that makes them jiggle? Thirdly (and this is related to the second point), the art style is terrible. The 1UP crew has likened Ninja Gaiden's art style to Power Rangers (the same can be said of the voice acting). It's immature and laughable besides being just plain garish. Again, how can I take it seriously? That and all of Team Ninja's females look like they have brain tumors. Look at Dead or Alive. I would include a picture as example, but let me save you some pain by saying "Don't Google it!" You'll only come across a lot of disgusting fan art and hentai. It's fitting I suppose.
Ninja Gaiden does do one thing right though: It makes you feel like a badass. The weapons all feel very different and somehow manage to make you feel the inertia that each possesses. It's quite a thing to see your bladed shoe get stuck in an enemy head, then you jerk about a few times before eviscerating the poor fellow. It's also very satisfying to kill an enemy in one slice every so often. The controls feel precise, and if the camera is actually in the right place, you'll feel like you're doing some amazing acrobatic moves in response to the enemies around you.
Now, I hear that the new Ninja Gaidens are extremely difficult and require strategy, patience and an intimate knowledge of the controls, and I can certainly see that. I imagine the demo's difficulty is very low so that it's more accessable. On this more "dumbed down" level, I felt pretty comfortable. I don't really have a desire to develop a greater sense of the minutae behind the game's mechanics, however. As such, high level Ninja Gaiden play doesn't really interest me. I don't think I'd be willing to put in the time or effort to do more than play the first hour or so. I don't know. It's just not as appealing as actually getting better at playing Street Fighter or something like that. For some it may be, but for me the camera is just such a turn off and also a hindrance to becoming better in the first place. That, and I get the feeling that the game could get to feeling repetitive with just wave after wave of enemies.
So that's that. Ninja Gaiden II just isn't a compelling game to me. Not even for a rental. I might have come to the same conclusion with God of War had there been a demo of it. My take on on God of War was essentially "Good for the first hour, then it's the same crap over and over." At least God of War had a fixed camera though.
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