Blood and Guts

First off I have to send out a hearty thank you to neverbesocial, for surprising me today with Ninja Gaiden II for the ol b-day.  I just turned off my XBOX so I could get some dinner, and watch the Mets game, but depending on how quickly the Mets blow this game, I will definitely be heading back for some more blood shed.  As you can tell from the pic above, the violence and sheer carnage in this game has been ratcheted way up.  Now if you want a game review you should probably go somewhere else, but if you want to hear my impressions on the game stick around.

The formula in this game is pretty much the same as in the first game.  It’s a hack and slash that requires you to have some manual dexterity with your hands.  So what works?  Well the blood and guts are terrific.  So far I am through the first two levels, and I have not even gotten close to getting tired of it.  It never gets old to see Ryu kick some  one-legged ninja into an upright position and then decapitate or eviscerate him.  Speaking of one-legged ninjas, just because you cut off a limb or two or three, doesn’t stop them from trying to kill you.  It’s a quick lesson learned when you see a leave a ninja alone because he is missing a couple legs, and turn your attention somewhere else.  More than likely he will crawl to you and blow himself up, giving Ryu a huge hit on life.  The newest weapon addition are the Falcon’s Talons.  WOW.  Let me say this is by far the coolest weapon, I’ve seen in a long time in games.  Not only does he have long, Wolverine style claws on his hands, but he also has some boots with talons on them.  You can literally tear a group of ninjas to shreds within seconds, and it makes you feel like the Iron Chef chopping up some veal.  It is quite the spectacle.  The graphics have also been amped up on the 360.  The particle effects, liquids, blood, and backgrounds all, so far, look great.  Even though the camera is a bit wonky at times, it works well enough, and if you played the first one, you will be fine.  What I’ve noticed so far, is that there are more enemies so far than in the first one, which means that ninpo, counter-attacks, and blocking are much more important than the first go around.  In the first game I rarely ever used ninpo, this time around I’ve noticed I’ve been using it much more.  You have to when you are being attacked by 10-20 enemies at a time.  The blocks, counter-attacks, and the dashes are so important, you have to perfect those–which is something I haven’t done yet.  Regardless, though this games has so far been a blast, and I’m looking forward to putting some more time into it.  *Update Can’t believe I forgot this the first time, but the new obliteration techniques are so sick.  They are also helpful in quickly dispatching enemies that are already missing limbs, and by dispatching I mean turn into sushi.  They are fantastic.

What doesn’t work?  So far I don’t have any idea what is happening in the story.  All I know is that Sonia, from the first game, you know, the big-tittied chic, is working with the CIA.  Then there is some uber ninja that is trying to raise the fiends back from hell, and he is working with some chic that doesn’t wear a bra, but instead wears some crazy metal thingy.  You know typical Japanese, anime characters, and honestly I could really careless.  The game is all about action, blood, mayhem, carnage, and fun, and in those areas, it completely delivers.  Once again there is no multi-player, not that I expected it, but some form of multi-player would have been nice.  Other than that, and the fact that my hand will look like a claw in a couple days, this is a must have addition to your 360 game library.  Here are some more pics to whet your appetite.

Love the carnage.

~ by Perpetual Memory Loss on July 2, 2008.