I had only been on staff here at Dtoid for two days when the inimitable Nick Chester unshackled me from the hazing pole and aimed the full force of his piercing, lazy-eyed glare in my direction, grinning with the sadistic glee that can only come from giving a green editor his first assignment. “Look kid, we need someone to go to Microsoft to watch a Ninja Gaiden 2 demo and report on it. Normally we don’t send people into the field before implanting their remote-triggered nano explosives but you’re the only one available. You mess this up and you’ll be breathing through a tube by days end or my name isn’t Nick ‘Anger Society’ Chester.”
Great, not even 48 hours in and already my life had been threatened and I was expected to deliver a comprehensive impression of a game demo for which the expectant hype is rivaled only by the second coming of Christ as chauffered by Santa Claus. The knowledge that I was doing this for you, the people starved of ninja tidbits and bloody brawls, was the only thing fending off a torrent of terror based pants soiling. With that knowledge stiffening my weakling spine I sallied forth, determined to soak up as many blood-soaked tidbits as possible, and it was glorious as few things can be.
So by now you’ve likely seen the various screens and game play footage of Ninja Gaiden 2 floating around the tubes. You’re familiar with the epic blood spray, the dismemberment mechanics followed by suicide bombings, and the completely gorgeous manner in which the aforementioned carnage is rendered. What you haven’t seen is the game itself, in all it’s gory glory, and that my friends makes all the difference.
There is a distinct difference between watching a compressed, embedded video of Ryu Hayabusa cutting off the arms and legs of a nameless enemy doing everything in their power to eviscerate him and watching the gore unfold in high definition right before your eyes. Remember that scene in 2001: A Space Odyssey when Dave enters the stargate and remarks “My God, it’s full of stars.”? Ninja Gaiden 2 (or at least what I’ve seen of it so far) is like that, except with blood and a lot of really pissed off ninjas.
However it’s not the wanton violence and ensuing plasma shower that is immediately striking when watching the game but how incredibly gorgeous everything in the game is. It’s obvious that as much attention was paid to rendering scenery as was paid to action, which considering the self-aggrandized (and often accurate) reputation of Team Ninja is hardly surprising.
Ryu’s dual wielded katana (an unlockable weapon) are utilized to great effect, cutting a viciously swift swath through groups of enemies as they barrel toward him intent on filling you with a howling rage at having to see the “Game Over” screen for the 15th time today. Which isn’t to say Ninja Gaiden 2 is as controller-clenchingly difficult as its predecessor thanks to the introduction of a renewable health system. Portions of health are regained as you progress, however a portion of the damage you’ve taken remains with you, making the game slightly more accessible to those that haven’t spent years under the tutelage of Himalayan gaming monks but still providing refreshingly challenging game play.
The new dismemberment mechanic, which causes enemies that have lost limbs at the expert touch of your sword to crawl toward you with a grenade in a last desperate act of vengeance, provides a new challenge in lieu of non-renewable health. While that’s a pretty nifty and innovative game mechanic, its main appeal lies in the fact that watching your limbless foes awkwardly wriggle and flop their way toward you is absolutely hilarious. It’s funny in the same way proud parents displaying an unredeemably ugly newborn is funny — you know they know it’s hopeless, and you know you shouldn’t laugh, but sometimes it just can’t be helped.
The most exciting prospect of the whole game isn’t the smooth, well rendered play or a new mechanic that has enemies going all kamikaze, but the new ninpo being introduced. One of Ryu’s new abilities is a whirlwind style attack that mulches enemies in the immediate vicinity and rains their viscera down on your head after the attack has been completed. Enemies further from you also take damage from this attack, although to a lesser extent, losing a leg or arm as opposed to being dismantled entirely — which for the poor bastards sent to kill you is just another day at the office.
Ninja Gaiden 2 seems to live up to the expectations everyone has for it, with retooled game play, stunning graphics, and an abundance of new attacks and weapons with which to make mincemeat of any that stand in your way. Ninja Gaiden 2 is expected for release some time this Spring, until then the ninja shaped hole in my heart remains.
