Ninja Gaiden is finally here after months of delays and a lot of speculation and anticipating for this long awaited next gen version of the arcade classic of the same name. With versions being released on the Nes and Snes gamers have waited years for this moment. Exclusive to Xbox Team Ninja who also developed the famous Dead or Alive games have brought to life the exploits of Ryu Hayabusa in this 3D action adventure beat em up.

Gameplay:
Ninja gaiden tells the story of Ryu as he seeks revenge on those who attacked and destroyed his clan. A ruthless empire headed by equally ruthless leaders seek to claim an evil sword for themselves and unleash its power. Your job is to stop this evil plot whilst avenging the deaths of your clan members. The story is pretty standard ninja stuff featuring all of the ideas and situations you would expect from a ninja story line. So although it wont leave you scratching your head through not understanding an intense and twisted plot. It will appear familiar and easy to digest so that you the player can concentrate on the many aspects of the gameplay. The gameplay in Ninja Gaiden comes in three very distinct forms. These are basic fighting, puzzle solving and finally boss battles. Lets begin with the fighting. Fighting as with all fighting games can be played on two levels here. As a player you might be more comfortable using similar simple moves to get you through. Or you may decide to learn a few moves and eventually utilize the whole set.This sets the game on two levels whereby the player chooses which method is best for them. Either way both means are successful ways to play. Ryu comes equipped with a number of different melee weapons and projectiles such as swords, bows, throwing stars, numchakas, flail and explosive darts plus some more that the player will have to earn or find. Each weapon can be upgraded and has its own list of moves.More moves becoming available when the weapon is upgraded. There are quite a number of moves for those willing to learn (a moves list for each one is provided). The combat itself is extremely fluid and intense. Ryu will often have to face a number of enemies at once. These enemies gang up on you and dodge/move around the screen as fast as you can.Luckily with the moves available such as wall to ground attacks or counters the player learns to deal with these. For those who are a little more hardcore can begin to develop their playstyle and effectiveness of certain moves as well as adding their own individual flair to killing the enemies most efficiently as possible (which the game rewards you for). Ninja Gaiden is set in a modern Japan whereby the game begins in Ryu's village which seems devoid of any technology. As the story progresses you begin to explore larger areas which all come with their own enemies. There is a lot of exploration and minor puzzle solving to be done here, although the games levels are rather linear as far as completing objectives. Ryu has a wide number of jumping moves available which enable him to reach areas that normal people couldn't. The exploration is great here and at times has almost a Tomb Raider feel about it. Not incredibly taxing as objectives seem pretty straight forward but very engaging especially as the fighting is thrown in at every turn. Lastly we have the awesome Boss and Sub Boss battles. These at times are huge epic battles against equally huge foes. It seems that at every step of the way there is some boss waiting to tear you up. These range from very difficult at first type encounters to damn right tough opponents who could still rip apart experienced players who get careless. However with all bosses they have patterns and weaknesses which the player can learn to exploit by dying a number of times and trying again.These battles are numerous and frustrating yet highly entertaining. The satisfaction from beating a boss is heightened in this game due to its difficulty. Although as with all games, once the player has learnt how to master the game then even the toughest of bosses seem like a walk in the park. Many people since the release of the demo a few months ago complained about the camera in this game. Well there are two schools of thought here. Early in the game it tells you that the key to a ninjas success is in understanding and using the environment as effectively as possible. The opening stage effectively being a training ground for this. it is through this first stage that the player is taught how to use the camera. Due to the cinematic and free nature of the fighting the camera does not auto pan behind your character. This is manually done by simply pressing the R trigger on the controller. Now if the character is moving in a confined area at speed then as part of the overall movement process the player should position the camera. Although its quite possible to ignore this. However at times ignoring this will lead to some obscure angles that can throw the player and result in an untimely demise from an off screen opponent. The camera is integral to the fighting yet its down to the player to utilize it. The other way of thinking here is that perhaps a free roaming camera or at least an auto pan would have resolved some of the camera issue for those who havent mastered the manual pan. The reasoning that the players should be fighting the enemies and not the camera. Personally I found the camera to be dynamic yet cumbersome at times.More so for the platform orientated sections rather than combat.Using the manual pan wasnt always on my agenda whilst I was hacking someones head off but mostly I completed the game with no real problems.

Graphics:
Graphically Ninja Gaiden looks very crisp and moves with great fluidity. The character models are excellent as are the varied locations throughout the game. There were no slowdown moments when things got busy on screen and the overall presentation is of top quality all round. I guess you wouldnt expect anything less from Team Ninja who seem to have a good grasp of the hardware and programming for it.

Sound:
Sound is quite minimalist here with the usual clang of metal on metal and the odd grunt. The music ranges from mystic melodies to full on battle techno music. Either way the sound complements the on screen action but is more functional than anything else. The cut scenes dialogue can be heard in either Japanese or English which is great for those who prefer the original voice overs. I would go as far as saying that the sound is a weaker part of the overall game but with the rest being so good doesn't matter.

Longevity:
Ninja Gaiden is not the longest of games to tear through levels to complete it. However mastery of the game is something that will take a lot longer. With lots of secrets to unlock including the SNES trilogy versions of Ninja Gaiden 1 2 and 3. Plus extra costumes there is definitely enough incentive to play through again, even upping the difficulty from normal to very Hard for extra challenge. The games difficulty on normal setting has proved to be difficult for some but this is due to players simply not investing the time to fully understand the games combat system. I would say the difficulty is just right and should hopefully force those players used to games being too easy to rethink their gaming skills. The Xbox Live aspect of the game is still a little cloudy at the moment as no one really knows whats in store. There will be a tournament in May held but how this will work I am not sure. Downloadable content will also be available and some new exclusive trials and scoreboards for the Live tournament. Sadly there isnt a multiplayer deathmatch for live or even co-op so this is strictly a single player experience.

Round Up:
Ninja Gaiden is an excellent game where the player becomes the ninja. With its deep fighting system which can be played on many levels to its impressive graphics this game should be played by all fans of this style of game. The few camera issues that you may have are merely teething troubles and will soon make way to pure unadulterated ninja killing with style and flair. This game has Xbox classic written all over it and although many may be overwhelmed by its seeming simplicity and difficulty what we have here is a game that does everything it sets out to do and then some. The wait was definitely worth it.

Pros:

• Lots of fighting
  
• Unlock Snes versions
  
• Excellent Bosses
  
• Great Looking
  
• Polished Gameplay
  
  

  Cons:
  

  • Steep learning curve
    
  • Some may have issues with camera
    
  • Some may find too difficult