Ninja Gaiden II IGN review

F

faberpach

Member
The Review from IGN for Ninja Gaiden II is up..

link: http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/876/876569p1.html


8.0 Presentation
Ninja Gaiden II reeks of style while the story just reeks.

9.0 Graphics
It has to be seen in motion to be truly appreciated… as long as the framerate holds up.

8.0 Sound
The soundtrack matches the feeling of the game and the effects get the job done. The Japanese audio track is a nice bonus.

9.0 Gameplay
If only the camera worked a little better. This is one deep, challenging and rewarding game.

8.0 Lasting Appeal
This is a game that is worth replaying on the harder difficulties.

Overall 8.7


Seems some people are claiming some of the issues encountered are only found in the review copies of the game, keep it polite.
 
Gameplay 9.0

only score that matters anyway! 8.7 is, as we know, remarkably far of a fall from 9.0.

Well that and graphics, which also has a 9.0!
 
Once more, Team Ninja has opted for a viewing angle that seems better equipped to show off the action stylishly than to give the player the whole picture. You can re-center the camera with the pull of a trigger or manually move it with an analog stick, but in the heat of the battle these options are not the easiest to take advantage of. If you're prepared to face the challenge of Ninja Gaiden II, be ready to battle the camera as enemies attack you from off-screen…or worse. At times the camera can lose a worthwhile view entirely, leaving you effectively blind.
Click to expand...

FFFFFuuucccckkkk. Seems that the camera is still shit. Maybe they'll get it fixed in time for NG2B/S. More blind flying swallows FTL :(
 
IGN said:
9.0 Graphics
It has to be seen in motion to be truly appreciated… as long as the framerate holds up.
Click to expand...


Well one would think after playing and reviewing they would know if the frame rate holds up right? That sentence seems like something you would see in a preview, not a review.
 
Was hoping they'd be able to do a better narrative for NG2, but I didn't really mind the almost non-existent story in the first one. I'm really bummed out that I'm gonna miss this games launch.
 
voltron said:
Well one would think after playing and reviewing they would know if the frame rate holds up right? That sentence seems like something you would see in a preview, not a review.
Click to expand...

I think it's poor phrasing. They mean "The graphics look good most of the time, except when the framerate drops"
 
great score, I'll be buying this.

a Master Ninja, where's the official thread? I'm going to make one and the OP is just going to have a 2500x1600 image of a man's hairy ass.
 
Sucks about the camera but I got used to the one in the first one eventually so as long as it isn't any worse I will be ok. Definately going to pick this up as soon as I am done with MGS4.
 
hmm 8.7 from IGN doesn't sound like such a great score considering the first ninja gaiden ranking, fortunately gameplay and graphics are really good but the unfixed camera problem are somewhat scandalous imo
 
The camera won't be fixed. We're on the 4th iteration (6th if you count the hurricane pack expansions), the camera is the same.

Re-center button---learn it, love it, live it, curse it when it doesn't work.


on topic-- sad to hear about framerate problems.
 
Camera problems still? Damn, the main reason why Ninja Gaiden games were hard was because of the camera.. still, this does look like a pretty good game and 8.7 is a great score still.
 
But Ninja Gaiden 2 strays from the path. Perhaps mindful of the series' reputation for difficulty, Team Ninja ramped up the difficulty level once again - and torn by the conflicting need to provide accessibility for less dedicated players, it's seriously messed up the balance. NG2 regularly stops being challenging and becomes impossible.
Click to expand...

omg oh shit :lol This will be fun.
 
http://computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=189652

C&VG gave it 8.0

Gameplay is plagued by the same rubbish camera of the other three games in the series. How many more attempts are needed before something is done about it? You'll often lose sight of Ryu and his opponents thanks to a camera that's incapable of focussing on its subject - especially indoors. For what's being billed as a true next-gen action game this is now unacceptable. As it the occasional mid-combat loading. It's like having pause button pressed mid-fight and no one likes that.

The sequel packs the same punch as the original but it's just not different enough. We've all seen in and done what NGII dishes up in the other three games of the series. There's no real evolution and after four versions of almost the same game, it's not hard to see why Itagaki has decided to hang up the nunchucks for good.
Click to expand...

Mid-combat loading?:| Seriously?
 
decon said:
http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=143163

Eurogamer; 7/10
Click to expand...


It throws exploding kunai at you the second you walk through a door, from enemies you can't even see yet. It tantalises with the possibility of clever solutions or stealth (you are a bloody ninja, after all),
Click to expand...

this is where I stopped reading.

Love how the guy spends a whole page ranting about difficulty. Learn how to write, less is more, a paragraph with a few examples would've been fine, go back to college, etc.


Yoboman said:
http://computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=189652

C&VG gave it 8.0



Mid-combat loading?:| Seriously?
Click to expand...

wow, wtf Team Ninja. That shit was awful in Ninja Gaiden Sigma. I hate to say it, but they got fucking lazy this gen. Their Xbox games were always major technical achievements, even if you didn't like the gameplay. Each game this gen has had some seriously weird issues.
 
The camera issues probably wouldn't bother me, but the frame rate problems are very disappointing.
 
faberpach said:
A 7 from Eurogamer is quite low...

and from the text he just seems frustrated with the difficulty i don't understand why the score isn't better...
Click to expand...

Camera and difficulty it seems, also he says the enemies can be very cheap with artifical difficulty. Only the last one really bothers me.
 
FFChris said:
Can't believe that, it's terrible.

Don't care about the camera, but mid-combat loading? No thanks.
Click to expand...
That's the issue from the review build that's said to be fixed in the retail one. There is NO WAY this can be in the final game.
 
Blimblim said:
That's the issue from the review build that's said to be fixed in the retail one. There is NO WAY this can be in the final game.
Click to expand...
Keep us updated blim. CURSE OF HAYASHI
 
Blimblim said:
That's the issue from the review build that's said to be fixed in the retail one. There is NO WAY this can be in the final game.
Click to expand...

I hope so.

DarkJediKnight said:
I'll wait for the eventual PS3 version with all the fixes.

*dissapointed*
Click to expand...

Like they did with Sigma, right?
 
So he bashes NGS for not advancing the action genre yet in NG2 it seems the camera is still crap and now there is mid-battle loading? Jeez...the pot calling the kettle NGBlack

DarkJediKnight said:
I'll wait for the eventual PS3 version with all the fixes.

*dissapointed*
Click to expand...

Don't see it happening as MS is the publisher this time, not Tecmo. Crazier things have happened, though.
 
voltron said:
Well one would think after playing and reviewing they would know if the frame rate holds up right? That sentence seems like something you would see in a preview, not a review.
Click to expand...

Yeah, but Microsoft pulled a whole "gold disk" issue thing.

Basically, it's causing a lot of headaches for everyone trying to review the game in a timely fashion. Microsoft claims the gold disks it sent out may have framerate dips that will not appear in the final version. So reviewers can either issue the caveat and be timely, or review the production copies when they come out, or review the game now and revisit the title.
 
Blimblim said:
That's the issue from the review build that's said to be fixed in the retail one. There is NO WAY this can be in the final game.
Click to expand...
Eurogamer said the European press are reviewing retail copies
 
Reviewers should not ever take a publisher's "word for it." I'd rather them review it now and give the caveat along with Microsoft's promise.
 
still gonna keep my pre-order as i think it looks great. not suprised about camera as Edge mentioned it recently.

strange that Eurogamer sez the A.I. can be cheap while IGN say it isnt.
 
Amir0x said:
Gameplay 9.0

only score that matters anyway! 8.7 is, as we know, remarkably far of a fall from 9.0.

Well that and graphics, which also has a 9.0!
Click to expand...
The soundtrack, 8.0, is the weakest part of the game which also the most easily replaceable part of the game.

Custom soundtracks are my best friend.
 
with all this framerrate issues that are plagging this generation it just seem like the software technology is there but the hardware just can't keep up...
 
Blueblur1 said:
The soundtrack, 8.0, is the weakest part of the game which also the most easily replaceable part of the game.

Custom soundtracks are my best friend.
Click to expand...

Odd, all the tracks I've heard have been excellent.
 
Y2Kev said:
Reviewers should not ever take a publisher's "word for it." I'd rather them review it now and give the caveat along with Microsoft's promise.
Click to expand...

So true.

I seem to remember everyone ripping a certain magazine for their review of Sonic where they took the publishers word regarding long load times reduced to short load times.
 
So basically most of the technical issues which plagued NG Sigma are in NG2? You'd think that by now TN would have had these issues sorted out on their preferred console at least.
 
Once more, Team Ninja has opted for a viewing angle that seems better equipped to show off the action stylishly than to give the player the whole picture. You can re-center the camera with the pull of a trigger or manually move it with an analog stick, but in the heat of the battle these options are not the easiest to take advantage of. If you're prepared to face the challenge of Ninja Gaiden II, be ready to battle the camera as enemies attack you from off-screen…or worse. At times the camera can lose a worthwhile view entirely, leaving you effectively blind.
Click to expand...

Itagaki might fault Kamiya for having "shalow" gameplay in his titles, but at least Kamiya knows how to design a half-decent camera.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Ninja Gaiden 2 Black | Review Thread
News Hype  2
56
3K
Bert Big Balls replied
A Ninja Gaiden II Black question almost no one else may be asking
20
3K
MMaRsu replied
Ninja Gaiden 4 Team Ninja Fiend Discussion both Dragon & Shadow Clans
43
3K
NeverYouMind replied
Ninja Gaiden 2 (Xbox 360 Original) vs. Ninja Gaiden 2 Black (Series X/PS5 Remake) | Side by Side
Analysis Trailer  2
66
9K
Timberwolf25 replied
Trails through Daybreak II | Review Thread
News Review 
45
2K
Thief1987 replied
Top Bottom