Ninja Gaiden

THE BAD:
Extremely high difficulty level. Horrible controls.

SUMMARY:
The first Ninja Gaiden game to hit the next-gen systems, this version again continues the journey of super-ninja Ryu Hayabusa, but takes his path in a different direction than the NES originals. This time it's a different quest for vengenance with new allies, new enemies, and even a familiar face or two from a certain other Tecmo/Team Ninja franchise...

The graphics are incredibly good. Everything shows an impressive level of detail, the frame rate never slows down during the action, and the cutscenes are gorgeously rendered. Sounds generally are just as impressive but do have a few stumbling points. The voice acting is solid and on target, but there's not a lot of variety in the effects, especially during battle scenes, and while the music is OK there still isn't very much. But what effects are there are dead-on, especially the sounds of the swords and ninja stars, very authentic. Controls are what really brings this game down a lot: Not only do the basic controls border on unresponsive at times, but they make performing what should be simple moves, including the more advanced tricks, seem impossible at times. The camera controls make it even worse-not only does it like to act on its own, even though it can be controlled with the right thumbstick, but when you zoom in trying to zoom back out and retake control of your character takes way too much effort. When you're trying to maneuver through tight spaces and make precise jumps it also sticks itself at ridiculous angles that only make it tougher to execute these moves. Gameplay is primarily standard ninja-style action-you'll sneak around, use the weapons of the ninja, and occasionally do some basic puzzle solving with a big boss battle here and there. Along the way some of the characters you meet add intrigue to the storyline, including interactions with at least one character from the "Dead Or Alive" franchise. Unfortunately you really don't take control of them much if at all, too bad especially with your sidekick Rachel-but then again you'll likely be too busy staring at her. Some of Ryu's classic attacks from the NES original make the jump to this version too, like his signature "Fire Wheel" attacks, as well as the usual ninja stars and other tricks. If you live long enough to use them-even on the lowest setting the game's difficulty level borders on extremely hard, even for veterans of the franchise. Part of this is the control and camera issues but the CPU AI is remarkably high as well-they're smart, aggressive, and will use very cheap gang-attack tactics to keep you from proceeding. The game features limited Xbox Live compatibility, mostly consisting of some content downloads and a special tournament option. Also among the hidden unlockables are the original NES versions of the game-not just the first NG, but the two sequels as well, which add a nice touch of retro value to the game.

On the surface this looks like a great update of the franchise, but the controls and difficult gameplay make this one unplayable for all but experts, devoted fans of the franchise, and those who don't mind an extremely challenging experience. If this sounds like too much for you, pass on this and get Ninja Gaiden Black instead, which fixes most of this version's issues. Even the inclusion of the original classics doesn't make this game worth much more than perhaps a rental.

THE BAD:
.The camera angle
.Sometimes to hard

SUMMARY:
This was the first x-box game I ever played and the first thing that came to my mind was wow! The graphics are amazing and the tricks you can do is very addicting. Once you pick it up you will want to keep playing since it is so addicting by the difficulty. You can buy new weapons and equipment which is a good idea and you can also some sort of magic. The only bad point is that the camera angle is extremely frustraitng. It is hard to see where the enemy's are at certain points. Otherwise it is good except sometimes you will want to cry because it is to hard. This game is a must to any xbox owner.

THE BAD:
1. Camera takes a little getting used to

SUMMARY:
Ninja Gaiden by Tecmo is one of those games where you just cant stop playing. This game takes you through the story of Ryu Hayabusa, and you are in a ninja clan. You meet many different enemies and bosses along the way. There are a ton of weapons and many combos with each. The game difficulty is pretty hard. The lowest difficulty setting is normal, and that can be very frustrating. This game is for the hardcore gamer who wont quit after they die three times. It is not like the other hack and slash ninja games, where you can just do one combo the whole way through. This game takes a lot of patience if you want to complete it. There are many rewards for beating this game, like different suits. You can also unlock the old Ninja Gaiden games so there is replay value.

I recommend Ninja Gaiden to mainly the hardcore gamers who will play for hours at a time.

THE BAD:
-Hard, cuz this can be good or bad depending on who you are.
-Story isn't too great.
-Camera issues
-Certain jumping sequences can be a major pain
-Running out of items and finding the closest vendor can also be a pain sometimes

SUMMARY:
This game is not for a casual gamer. This game is for a hardcore gamer. Its hard. But its a beautiful game and a awesome challenge for anyone who wants it. The graphics and cinemas are well done, the graphics especially, being some of the best on the Xbox. The real focus of this game is the combat. If you can't master the combat you will not have fun in this game. You need to learn some combos, and learn who or what and when you can use them. The enemies take no prisoners and are merciless. If you don't know their weaknesses and which moves to use you will not make it thru this game just hack n' slashing.
The magic and essence absorbing system are also well done. The other ranged attacks are alright, throwing weapons are great, however the bow is not. Its hard to aim and not quick enough to take on most enemies. The boss battles are clever and hard, and unique. Overall this game is a great play for anyone willing to take on the challenge. And thats the main focus, the challenge thru mastery of combat. If you can take it this will be great, if you can't you'll constantly be frustrated after repeating a boss battle or level a few times. Also you can unlock the old NES Ninja Gaiden games.

THE BAD:
Difficulty Level

SUMMARY:
Ninja Gaiden Hurricane pack 2(HP2) is downloadable content from the xbox live service and is a free download for xbox live subscibers who currently own Tecmos Ninja Gaiden Title. HP2 is a Phase by Phase battle in which the main character Ryu Hayabusa battles it out with some of the original bosses and and powerful enemies from Ninja Gaiden. The idea is that this version was actually designed for use in the Master Ninja tournament held in tokyo for the worlds best "Master Ninjas". Several players from around the world were invited to challenge. To maximise your score in HP2 Ryu must get through every Phase with maximum kills and combos in a given time frame giving the player high "karma" which in other words is the score tally. The level design is a round arena with a force type barrier enclosing it where enemys spawn and where th fighting takes place. Its a floating platform in the fiend realm dimension.in total there are 5 phases.Before ryu can get to the first phase he has to climb The "core" which is from the original game where he climbs a tower to get to the final bosses.Once ryu has taken down a few enemies and reached the top he can access a portal that transports him to the first battle in the fiend realm. The first thing that takes place is a battle with the boss from the hayabusa village and one of his cronies. The best way to kill this guy is by equipping the lunar weapon and performing combos whist blocking/bulding up and striking with essence attack(ultimate technique).Once he is defeated the first save point and phase is over.You can buy upgraded weapons/elixers if need be. The next phase consists of a battle with the military soldiers from NG and there are sets of rocket launching Vigoor Guards to take care of as well. The can be taken care of with a few well placed flying swallow attacks. The boss here to face is Machine head from the airship level in NG, Hes very easy to defeat. By staying clear of his swipe move and rolling at the right time he leaves himself open to attack. Once hes destroyed we can move on.Save point here so dont forget to save!
Next up is 3 dino fiends and a few waves of monsters. The best way to get through this section is to have "Art of Inazuma" equipped and when the enemies swarm you unleash the ninpo and it will be good night to them. The boss here is a tentacle fiend followed by a few minions and another boss straight after with no break.The tentacle fiend is a basic boss, where as all thats required is, chop his arms off and ultimate technique when its vunerable straight after both arms are chopped off. The next boss is a large ice monster. He can be a bit tricky if you manage to be in front of him right before he attacks.By rolling and jumping he can be attacked from above and hit severly when hes just finished an attack.Now that you have the true dragon sword we can move on.Save your game at the save point! Now this is where is gets hard, phase 4 throws the games most deadliest enemies at you. Here we have to fight 3 rounds of fiends followed by Gigantic Ogre fiends and Two very powerful bosses Doku and The Fiend King. The trick here is to use the ultimate technique and ninpo and you will clear that with out to much problems.The boss doku is easy if you watch his movements he leaves himself open to attack straight after every super he does.Attacking from above does plenty of damage also.The fiend king can be hard if you dont have any elixers left and low energy.He can be beaten, by air attacks and ground combos.He does a spinning attack, a shoulder charge, and throws fire balls around.He leaves himself open to attack when he does the spinning drop down move.Be careful though if you attack him for too long while hes vunerable he grabs ryu and dumps him on the ground dealing about 3/4 damage. We can use the save point after this and move on to phase 5.There are 3 battles here. The first consists of 4 armour fiends. They do charge attacks and sword combos with can pulverise ryu. To finsh them easily. Equip the dark dragon blade and wall attack one until u break his shell. 2 more hits in their purple form and its dead. Use the blue essence it leaves behing and UT the next one that drop down and repeat this for the other2.The next boss is dark alma. Shes a real bitch.The technique here is:ninpo attacks and flying swallow. the ninpo will bring he to the ground and so will the flying swallow. when shes on the ground X,Y,X,X,X,X Thats the best combo here.You just have to roll and jump to avoid her projectiles and be careful of her forcefield lift. The final boss is the toughest of the all. She can kill ryu in a very short space of time. Here how i did it. stay close to her and roll from her whip.U can get away with a quick X,X,Y combo. she will also charge attack and she can be hit then as well. The best most damaging attack ryu can kill her with is an ultimate technique. She will swing around the arena during the battle, and whilst shes swinging ryu can hold down and UT. If your timing is right when she lands she will recieve the full hit of the UT.The only weapons i would reccomend to fight her with would be The lunar and the true dragon sword. When its time to use the UT use the Lunar because it covers more space. There is a short ending sequence , where ryu rescues rachel the fiend hunter. From then we can upload our score to the Live NG leader boards.

THE BAD:
the camera......................yup thats about it.

SUMMARY:
Ninja Gaiden...........................................
I havent played a game this addictive since Devil May Cry.Well this game stars Ryu Hayabusa of the Hayabusa ninja clan.........but who cares!The story isnt the strong point here,its the crap in your pants,awesome gameplay.In the gameyou start out preety small,I mean your health is insignificant.But as you play through the game youl get stronger and stronger,attain new weapons,get magic etc.In the begging of the game the amount of moves you can use with your sword is not very much and preety simple,but as you level up your weapons,that allows you to use more moves and before you know it,youl have so many moves you wont know what to do with them!Seriously!Oh heres a warning:***********NOT FOR CASUAL GAMERS!************
what a casual gamer is someone who plays easy and simnple games,this game will bite you in the friggin ass if you dont bite its first,and thats on frikkin normal!I tried on very hard and I barely got past lvl 2!lol.Well this game is a must have for all who have an xbox,heck for anyone that friggin exists at all should not live without this game!

THE BAD:
The only comment i have on the downside is that some gamers may find Ninja Gaiden frustrating if not unbearable at times due to the high difficulty setting. at first glance it looks like a straight hack n slash but it really takes skill and patience to finish this game.

SUMMARY:
After seeing the Ninja Gaiden preview more than a year ago i had no doubt in my mind that this was a title worth my attention. The graphics looked amazing and the bosses looked even better. As soon as the game was released i was straight down to eb to purchase a copy. What was waiting for me was the best action/adventure game i have ever played. The first couple of levels lets you get to grip of the style of defence and attack you will be using throughout the games massive 15 levels. The main weapon Ryu uses is the dragon sword which starts off as a basic straight slashing sword,but as Ryu progresses through the game upgrades are available increasing its strength four fold. There are other weapons that can be accumulated such as the Diablaro,vigorian flails,nunchaku,kietsu, and war hammer.Each has its own strengths/weakneses that can be used effectively against certain enemies. The enemies you encounter are ferocious. Not only are your basic enemies tough u will have to face gigantic bosses throughout the game also. There are also other types of attacks that come in the form of ninja magic, referred to as "ninpo" there is 4 types, the art of fire wheels, the art of inferno, the art of inazuma and the art of ice storm which can be used to your advantage in certain situations. On the graphics side of things they are nothing short of incredible. Ninja Gaiden is a visual treat, the in game graphics are beautiful with well executed lighting , particle effects and excellent detail. In between levels there are CG cutscenes that look very realistic, in one one particular cutscene Ryu is on top of a locomotive and tecmo shows off the power of the xbox with a close up of ryus eyes which has to be seen. Ninja gaiden has another suprise in store for gamers such as the inclusion of the 3 ninja gaiden games that came out on Nintendos N.E.S bundled in, which is a bit of nostalgic fun and well placed. Overall Ninja Gaiden is had a lot of hard work and effort put into it which
deserves the tag "must Buy" for any action/adventure enthusiast.What are you doing reading on! go out and get a copy now!

THE BAD:
- Mean, ugly camera could be confusing at times
- Lack of save points can be frustrating
- Extremely hard

SUMMARY:
Ninjas used to be hardcore. They were the top criminals of ancient Japan, expertly trained killers who studied a dangerous, mysterious art. They were feared by lord and samurai alike, acrobatic assassins with little regard for honor or fair play. They’d run around on rooftops under the cover of darkness, often carrying all kinds of nasty poisons and flash bombs in their pockets.

For me one of tecmos GREATEST creations ever other den dead or alive whole series . This game has the whole ninja attitude and it rocks.From the shurikens ,swords , wall climbing ,rooftop running,the intensity,the characters . All in one single game !!!

Very addictive could kept u going for months .

I completed the game 3 times on every diffficulty mode but be warned hard mode is a pain in the ass though .

No Regrets !!!

THE BAD:
Camera Randomly gets annoying in certaint boss fights. Some boss fights are very easy while others are down right hard!

SUMMARY:
You are Ryu Hayabusa; your village has just been destroyed and all your commrades and fellow family members have been slain by lord Doku of the greater feinds who wields the dark dragon blade which your village has been protecting and kept away from evils harm for many years. The dark dragon blade posess great power and it feeds off death and destruction to make itself stronger. You are now out for revenge and put an end to who ever commited the crimes against you and your clan and to get back or destroy the dark dragon blade.

Game Play 5: The game is pretty straight forward in most areas and sometimes you might get a random puzzle or two. The weapons and skills you aquire are soo much fun that you have to try them all. You are given great talents and can learn even greater ones to destroy your foes. Weapons and magic can be upgraded via souls which can either heal your nimpo (magic) give you a form of currency, and also heal your health. Things kinda get expensive but thats the point of killing lots of enemies and getting what you want!

Graphics 5: The game creators decided to use the dead or alive 3 game engine and polish it to a point of where it looks absolutely perfect and beatiful. The details of Ryu himself are great and same with the environments and enemies themselves. The aa in this game is something that shouldnt be over looked as the creators took time to really polish this game up to make it look as smooth as posible without any slow down.

Controls 5: The default button layout is just perfect for anyone so there isnt any super hard hand cramps or anything. The game controls become much more fluid over time.

OverAll 5: This game is hard to put down before you finish it. Some of the boss fights get very hard and frustrating while others are just a breeze. The fmv scenes look great and keep you wanting more. This game is worth the $50 (or less depending on your area) to release the inner ninja inside of you.