Reviews
With long standing Ninja franchises such as Tenchu growing stale in recent times and the ever so difficult Ninja Gaiden being left to the more hardcore gamer, there is more than enough room for another Ninja game to stake its claim in the genre. From Software (of Tenchu and Armored Core fame) decided to develop a game that has the action, flair and finesse of Ninja Gaiden, all whilst keeping some of Tenchu’s subtleties. To some degree From Software hit their mark creating some exciting gameplay and spectacular FMV that makes for a passable action game. However the game just doesn’t do anything too differentiate itself or stand out from the titles already existing in the market, unless you count Quick Time moments (QTE’s) as stand out gameplay.
Ninja Blade follows the story of a young ninja by the name of Ken Ogawa trying to restore peace to Toyko after an outbreak of catastrophic proportions has caused monsters to appear everywhere with the sole intent of destroying everything. There isn’t much more to the story that this unfortunately but then you could question does there really need to be in a game that is really just about the action. Thankfully the overall lack of a strong tale does not affect this action heavy game that is told predominantly through cut scenes.
When you first begin the game you can choose between Normal and EXTREME difficulty with easy becoming unlocked once you die a few times during a mission. The tutorial and opening level is quite solid as it is set in a skyscraper high above the Tokyo skyline giving the game a promising start. Whilst the opening level looks excellent it benefits from a dark sky that covers graphical flaws. Many of the games textures are blocky and others that look somewhat decent are bland and boring. From Software also opted to reuse much of the scenery and props throughout the entire game which sometimes make you wonder if you are replaying a level you previously completed. This makes for lazy design and is below expectations for a title being released this far into the Xbox 360s lifecycle. To From Softwares benefit the animation of the games characters and enemies actually looks rather fluid and the game does run at a steady framerate for the most part except for moments with many explosions.
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