Before I get started with the actual review let me get something out of the way... The toning down of the blood was very, very stupid. It's like playing a God of War game without being able to ripoff some poor fool's arm and shove it up his unfortunate ass, it is just plain wrong period. With that out of the way on to the review itself.
For those of you who have not heard of Ninja Gaiden you are badass ninja Ryu Hyabusa. You kill hordes of evil ninja and monsters known as Fiends. (Yes that really is all there is to it.) In this version of the game there are three extra levels featuring characters from Team Ninja's other game franchise Dead or Alive which apparently exists in the same universe as Ninja Gaiden (Kasumi has several cameo appearances, and Ayane is playable.), the previous Ninja Gaiden (Rachel.), and Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword.(Momiji.) These levels are a bit too short in my opinion and while each of the three playable guest characters control very well I wish that there was more time to get to know their mechanics. They are very, very different from Ryu which adds some variety to the game.
Once you beat the game you unlock a mode called chapter challenge where you can select a level and play it with all your weapons etc. You can save a recording of the action which you can then upload if you wish. There is also an online co-op mode where you and a friend can slice through waves of enemies for points. I have not really played around with the online portion, in my opinion it is best to beat the game first and unlock all of the weapons and some extra costumes for use in co-op. Apparently Team Ninja forgot to account for the possibility that both players would pick the same character and did not provide a real way to differentiate between player characters. Seeing two Ryu's is confusing if both are wearing the same color suit to say the least.
The controls are very tight and responsive and very rarely do things you don't want. Sounds good so far right? Well there are some not so great aspects too.
First off the way the shop is handled is just stupid. Being unable to upgrade weapons to level 3 until chapter ten is annoying even if upgrades are free. Only being able to upgrade one weapon per level is also not cool at all either. I also miss the Test of Valor from the original version of the game. I also do not get why Lives of The Thousand Gods is automatically used now.
There is also this strange oversight that will cause you to be kicked out of an offline game if you get signed out of PSN. After having beaten the game on Path of the Warrior (Normal) I have to say that it would have been wise to have Path of the Mentor (Hard) available from the outset. I think I might be too good for normal having already been halfway through POTW in the original version when I heard this game was coming out for the PS3. It felt a tad too easy for me and it would have been nice to be able to pick a slightly higher difficulty right out of the gate for the Ninja Gaiden veterans who will be playing this game.
Bottom line if you like hack and slash games give this one a try. If you are new to the franchise do not be afraid to use a guide when they become available and wet your feet with Path of the Acolyte. (Easy.)
For those of you who have not heard of Ninja Gaiden you are badass ninja Ryu Hyabusa. You kill hordes of evil ninja and monsters known as Fiends. (Yes that really is all there is to it.) In this version of the game there are three extra levels featuring characters from Team Ninja's other game franchise Dead or Alive which apparently exists in the same universe as Ninja Gaiden (Kasumi has several cameo appearances, and Ayane is playable.), the previous Ninja Gaiden (Rachel.), and Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword.(Momiji.) These levels are a bit too short in my opinion and while each of the three playable guest characters control very well I wish that there was more time to get to know their mechanics. They are very, very different from Ryu which adds some variety to the game.
Once you beat the game you unlock a mode called chapter challenge where you can select a level and play it with all your weapons etc. You can save a recording of the action which you can then upload if you wish. There is also an online co-op mode where you and a friend can slice through waves of enemies for points. I have not really played around with the online portion, in my opinion it is best to beat the game first and unlock all of the weapons and some extra costumes for use in co-op. Apparently Team Ninja forgot to account for the possibility that both players would pick the same character and did not provide a real way to differentiate between player characters. Seeing two Ryu's is confusing if both are wearing the same color suit to say the least.
The controls are very tight and responsive and very rarely do things you don't want. Sounds good so far right? Well there are some not so great aspects too.
First off the way the shop is handled is just stupid. Being unable to upgrade weapons to level 3 until chapter ten is annoying even if upgrades are free. Only being able to upgrade one weapon per level is also not cool at all either. I also miss the Test of Valor from the original version of the game. I also do not get why Lives of The Thousand Gods is automatically used now.
There is also this strange oversight that will cause you to be kicked out of an offline game if you get signed out of PSN. After having beaten the game on Path of the Warrior (Normal) I have to say that it would have been wise to have Path of the Mentor (Hard) available from the outset. I think I might be too good for normal having already been halfway through POTW in the original version when I heard this game was coming out for the PS3. It felt a tad too easy for me and it would have been nice to be able to pick a slightly higher difficulty right out of the gate for the Ninja Gaiden veterans who will be playing this game.
Bottom line if you like hack and slash games give this one a try. If you are new to the franchise do not be afraid to use a guide when they become available and wet your feet with Path of the Acolyte. (Easy.)