Ninja Gaiden

At an E3 press conference held earlier today, Tecmo officially confirmed Ninja Gaiden was coming and showed editors and attendees a video of it. The video was three minutes long and featured dramatic footage, which showed off the in-game graphics. The audience was stunned with its impressive crystal-clear graphics, and brilliant detail, giving it a convincing realistic appearance.

One of gaming’s most esteemed franchises is given new life by the power of Xbox! Ninja Gaiden is a cutting-edge action game that lets you take the role of a powerful ninja, Ryo Hayabusa, as he seeks to take revenge for his family’s death. Taking full advantage of three-dimensional space, you follow the story with only your wits, your ninja skills, and your deadly sword, cutting down opponents in the Vigor Empire as you attempt to beat the Holy Emperor and reclaim the magic sword "Ryuken". Realistic battle actions and acrobatic ninja actions add another dimension to the game, restoring Ninja Gaiden to its rightful place in the gaming pantheon.

Features:

Increasing skills and new weapons. As you progress through the game your skills will be rewarded with new weapons to fight your opponents and the better you beat your enemies the better you will become, unlocking new combinations and skills. Wit and skill are also rewarded as the way you play and decisions you make affect the weapons and skills you can acquire.

Amazing next-generation visual effects. Gamers witness an amazing level of detail as they take on their opponents in a variety of environments. You’ll hear the swords slicing the air and jump as gouts of blood pulse out from vanquished enemies. Beautifully rendered graphics, amazing effects and realistic combat bring Ninja Gaiden to life.

Multiple modes. In addition to the main Story Mode, gamers can enjoy a series of mini-games, which can be completed in a shorter time. Gamers that clear Ninja Gaiden’s Story Mode will unlock a hidden mode

Twenty challenging levels to complete. Your ninja skills will be put to the ultimate test as you battle through twenty levels in your mission to avenge your family.

Continual gameplay. Once you embark on your role as a ninja hero you never have to stop - the Xbox allows you to quit the game at any time and re-start at the very same point.

Anyone who has played Dead or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball for any length of time will have seen Ninja Gaiden in motion. (It’s contained in one of the presents.) On the surface, it does look pretty slick but some of the moves are reminiscent of Shinobi’s abilities (i.e. sprinting on walls). Since the video clip is quick snippets of action it’s really hard to judge what the gameplay will boil down to. There seems to be enough hacking and slashing to satiate everyone’s need to hack and slash undead/alien things. This could mean repetitious action – hack, slash, jump – but with increasing abilities and better weapons as the game progresses it looks like Tecmo may be able to dodge the curse of repetition (like a ninja dodging bullets).

Something that I’m curious about is if Ninja Gaiden will have any affect on Tecmo’s other Xbox games. Like maybe add a character to Dead or Alive 3 or more costumes? I’m actually surprised that DOA3 and DOA: Xtreme Beach Volley ball don’t have more cross-compatibility with each other (aside from some minor alterations). Why can’t the swimsuits in Xtreme Beach Volleyball be exported to DOA3?

It’ll no doubt be good-looking and in demand, but we’ll find out how it plays when it ships (hopefully) Spring 2003.

- Omni