Ninja Gaiden II

Should you buy Ninja Gaiden II? If you loved the first one, yes…but make sure you do so for the right reasons, namely the weapons and new additions to the system.

So those of us who aren't down with the difficulty level are going to want to play a game that utilizes the Xbox 360's potential with a balanced difficulty level that compliments the solid gameplay - and thereby restore self esteem - leaving Itagaki's insatiable bloodlust to the hardcore crowd that loves it so.

There's a difference between kicking your arse until you learn from it, and kicking your arse until you get lucky, and Ninja Gaiden 2 fails that crucial test all too often.

Ninja Gaiden is back, bloodier and more brutal than ever before. With flawless controls and a superb fighting system this is truly a fantastic action game, just like its predecessors. Unfortunately some awkward camera angles punishes the player far too often and the overall design fails to impress. The lack of innovation and some annoying flaws makes this title a lesser game than its predecessors.

Things haven't progressed enough and, it has to be said, "DMC4" is the better game. [July 2008, p.114]

Beyond being easier and ‘more accessible’ Ninja Gaiden hasn’t really evolved these last few years. Not the game we had hoped for. [Issue#34]

An exhilarating but fatally flawed action game that falls short of the brilliant original. [Aug 2008, p.67]

All these years later, I always figured if Ryu Hayabusa died, it would be at the hands of a truly evil foe or rival ninja. I never thought he'd meet his end at the hands of a broken camera and an inefficient, amateurish and lazy programming team. For shame.

This is a game for Ninja Gaiden fans, who will play it on the toughest difficulties and upload their best playthrough videos online. For those purposes, it excels; for less devoted action-adventure fans, it's more of a violent curiosity than something to get invested in.

The combat is too beautiful not to appreciate, but players will find the camera a far tougher opponent than Ryu's enemies. The rush is diminished.

Ultimately Ninja Gaiden II retains everything from the original, for better or for worse, and makes a few small but very noticeable improvements.

Ultimately, the gameplay is a vast improvement over its predecessor, but the game is in most other respects dwarfed by more recent innovations in the genre.