Customer Reviews:
 Might as well be a remake... June 7, 2008
Blackadder
9 out of 16 found this review helpful
First of all, please don't dismiss this review as the rantings of someone who couldn't play the game, or think I'm merely knocking it because it's popular. The first Ninja Gaiden was my favourite game of all time. I finished it on the hardest difficulty, did it in one sitting on one occasion, and in total, finished it five times. Ninja Gaiden 2 is ridiculously easy compared to the oringinal. When you first play, there are two difficulties available. I picked the harder of the two, I'm seven chapters in and I have yet to see the "Game Over" screen! Your health replenishes after you've cleared the screen of enemies... it's that ludicrious.
The graphics in the original were amazing, and the cutscenes have visuals that have yet to be beaten on the next-gen consoles. NG2 has very average graphics, barely as good as the first Ninja Gaiden. Apart from a few new weapons and moves, the gameplay is identical. Even the levels of NG2 echoe the oringinal. There is still an underground cemetary-like place, still an aqueduct and still an airship. Even the fortress in chapter 6 is very like the monestary in NG.
The storyline is crazy. A rival Ninja clan has joined forces with the fiends and threatens the human race... when compared to the moving vengeful storyline of the original, it is quite pathetic.
As you may have heard, the game has serious framerate issues. Whenever there is a lot going on on the screen (and sometimes when there isn't), the games basically for all intents and purposes goes in slow motion.
An example of how ridiculous the game is is this: After escaping the airship, Ryu lands on a snowy mountain. For absouloutely no reason whatsoever, a giant creature attacks. The creature is what I can only describe as a giant, fire armidillo. What's more, wouldn't a massive ball of fire melt the snow on the mountain??? The game has a number of inexplicable occurances.
My final complaint are the boss fights. In the oringinal, each boss was a unique challenge, requiring a specific strategy. You could only hurt them at certain moments etc. In NG2, you just run up to them, and hammer the attack button. It's about as difficult as putting on a hat.
For those of you unfamiliar with Ninja Gaiden, the gameplay is a hack and slash combat system. However, it requires skill, timing and pateience to fight. One must block and one must know the combos - mindless button mashing will only take you so far. As a Ninja, the player has various acrobatic techniques at there disposable to help them fght and also to help reach otherwise unreachable areas. It's lightning fast, and ultimately a lot of fun. Players will feel powerful as they guide Ryu along a bloody and gory path.
Ultinmately, the game is the same as the original with a few extra bits, and a couple of tweaks. However, a lot more has been lost than has been added. it would appear that Team Ninja only made a sequel to make more money. I find ir hard to believe that the team who brought us the best action game of all time came out with NG2 after applying any real effort. Only get this if you're a NG fan. If you want a cool action game, or a challenge, then get the oringinal Ninja Gaiden. This sequel is really only for fans.
 Skilled Action Non Stop ! June 14, 2008
Tec-know (UK)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Bloody, violent, fast, gory...Ninja martial arts game at lighting speed.
Be Warned! Skill is required for this game. You can set the game to an easier setting but you will not get the rewards given with skill and timing set on normal & above level - and the satisfaction received for using the skill gained when played on normal/above level.
Graphics are good to very good to excellent...Though some backgrounds can be a bit bland there still decent for a next gen system. While the background graphics may not be the best for the 360 it does have great-cool particle effects: splashes of enemy blood, lighting, magic..etc!, all at a smooth 60fps. Amazing to watch with plenty of characters onscreen & effects being thrown around during fights eg: enemy body parts flying off, magic effects, fighting weapon particle effects, splatters of blood that remain on walls, ceiling and floor as do enemy limbs - it can be quiet amazing to watch the game in action.
If you want a game thats tense action all the way, that also requires skill - this will be for you!...But remember it's very bloody and gory!!!, so not for the faint hearted.
Much better then Devil May Cry 4.
Great game. but seriously hard June 7, 2008
R. A. Fernando
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
i got this game on the release date and found myself just playing it for hours. its so fun and the choice of weapons and combos to use is massive. i played ninja gaiden on the xbox and loved it and also managed to complete it seeing as it was so damn hard. that said Ninja Gaiden 2 is in a next level difficulty wise theres are stages in the game where you just want to throw the controller at the screen specially at some of the boss battles. Overall this game is worth getting, DMC 4 doesn't even come close to Ninja gaiden 2
 Expensive Thrills and Cheap Tricks July 2, 2008
Mr. H. C. Orr (Littlehampton, England)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
"Ninja Gaiden 2" probably will not be remembered very fondly. A game blighted by terrible camera, cheap difficulty-raising tricks, and a game engine generally hailing from the previous generation of consoles, NG2 nevertheless has enough of the magic dust of its XBOX predecessor to make it a fully worthwhile purchase.
Everything about "Ninja Gaiden 2" is intimidating. From the sturm und drang Tecmo video intro sequence to the final boss fight, the game retains the fearsome seriousness and difficulty of 2004's "Ninja Gaiden". That game was possibly the greatest action adventure of the 3D era. To attain success, "Ninja Gaiden 2" has to follow that and add the requisite gloss of current-gen gaming, whilst fixing the original's annoying camera and tweaking the controller-damaging difficulty level. In this regard, NG2 is a failure: the graphics are often bland and barren, the camera sits too close to the player character, and the admittedly lessened difficulty is soured in many places by cheap hikes in difficulty which the player cannot possibly avoid.
However, there is a big "but". The gameplay is as thrilling as NG, as beautifully detailed and rewarding as the rest of the game elements are shoddy and perplexing. While the sequel incorporates close-up Obliteration moves to kill wounded enemies and a regenerating health-bar (a nod to making the game more accessible), it is still fundamentally the same game engine as the original...but more. More blood, more fighting, more all-round violence.
The point is that the wonderfully fluid and responsive controls actually make the gamer feel in control of a master ninja. It makes you feel proud to have accomplished a tough boss fight or to have countered an enemy attack. This element alone makes this charismatic game worth paying serious attention to. And, having played such cutscene-heavy games as Metal Gear Solid 4 recently, NG2's non-stop action shines particularly brightly for me; the game represents a big gold star in favour of action gaming. Perhaps having realised this, Tecmo have gutted out the often tedious and obtuse puzzles from Ninja Gaiden in favour of added enemies.
To be clear, Ninja Gaiden 2 is a deeply flawed videogame. There are plenty of elements to the game which are not really good enough. In keeping with Team NINJA's Mount Fuji logo, the game is either peaks or troughs.. The peaks are fantastic, and the troughs are "fantastic", too. The camera, it must be stressed, is awful, locking up terribly especially in tight corridors and on flights of stairs. Graphically, the game has bland backgrounds, although the detailed character animations make up for this in large part. The story is the usual tosh about armageddon that game developers so love, with demons and devils spewing terrible dialogue -just ignore them. But Ninja Gaiden 2 has the magical charisma of a game which just knows it is special, that can treat you badly because it knows you will come crawling back.
Just what I wanted! June 13, 2008
C. Rabe (Twickenham United Kingdom)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I only got my first console earlier this year. An Xbox 360. I have played catch up on some of the original Xbox games, one of which was the original Ninja Gaiden.
The original has been one of the most enoyable, yet frustrating, games I have every played. Even the slightly dated graphics could not detract from the absolutely brilliant fighting mechanics, which are unrivalled by any other game I have played.
When Ninja Gaiden 2 came out, I got it on release day, which is a first for me. From the time the disc went in, I could not stop playing it. luckily I was off work from having an opertation, so got to devote many, many hours to it. Its no let down after the first, though there are some points where its and improvement, and some where it falls a little short.
Firstly, the in-depth fighting mechanics are very much the same, which is a good thing. Controlling Ryu is usually a dream. I say usually, because it is let down sometimes by the camera position.
While the camera is for the larger part at a good angle and and distance, sometimes when engaged in a boss fight, you might not be able to make out clearly where you or the boss are. Other times you may get sliced up when you run around a corner into an enemy, and the camera has not yet followed you around. Having said that, it's not often that this is a problem.
The plot is thin, which is a slight let-down, though no surprise after the first. The game is more about exciting and challening gameplay than story.
The biggest problem I had with the first NJ was that it was insanely hard at times, even on the easiest setting. This time around, the difficulty seems a lot more balanced. The first play through I had a went through on its easiest setting, and while it was still challening, it was not so frustrating that I wanted to throw the controller across the room.
Also gone are the constantly re-spawning enemies. I think overall this is a good thing, however, on the first game, I used this as a means of building up essence to afford elixirs and such.
There do seem to be a few bugs/glitches present in the game, which only once ended in me having to reload a save point. Thankfully though, most ar e minor, and do not detract too much from the game.
I am not the sort of person who usually plays through a game more than once, or who bothers trying to fulfill the achievements, but as soon as I had finished this on easy, I started it again on the next hardest setting, and am trying to achieve some of the challenges set. I am enjoying it even more the second time through, and am really concentrating on improving my "skill" in combat.
I can't recommend the game enough. Its more an evolution than revolution from the first, but better for that in my opinion. Its good fun, a good challenge, and worth every penny bought new.
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