
	Platform Playstation Portable Genre Fighting Publisher Namco Bandai Developer Namco Bandai ESRB T (Teen) Released March 22, 2011

- Many characters - Nice graphics and sound - The ability to play multiplayer

- Not likely to find multiple people that own the game - Fighting feels very cramped - Not very fun to play - Story feels like filler

Review: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: The Phantom Fortress (PSP) Review: Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 (Wii) Review: Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 (360)
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Naruto Shippuden: Kizuna Drive

Score: 5.5 / 10

Surprise, another Naruto game! They just don't seem to end and Kizuna Drive is the latest instalment. Join Naruto and his friends (again) for an anime-related adventure.

Most of these Naruto games are very similar in gameplay but what makes this one stand out is its focus on teamwork. You can run in all directions kind of like Ultimate Ninja Storm, but it does feel more restricted. You can do one basic combo by

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- Fighting Game Reviews
- Games Published by Namco Bandai

tapping circle, but you can also push triangle in between the combo to determine how Naruto (or whoever you're playing as) will finish it. During the course of the game you will unlock new abilities and power-ups and you will not only be able to customize one character, but your whole four-man party. Everybody has their own unique set of moves, but like all the other Naruto games I've played,

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everybody plays a bit too similar.

If you have any friends with a PSP and you like Naruto, you might be able to convince them to buy the game and instead of having AI assisting, you can have your friends by your side instead. I could never in a million years convince anybody I know to buy anything Naruto or anime related, so I'm out of luck here and will have to just rely on AI assistance... or so I thought. Turns out one of my brother's buddies was actually a big enough fan to buy it and we tried the multiplayer. It's unfortunate you can't play the main campaign with friends, only some free missions. It does make the game a bit more fun, but it's still not worth your money. Just don't expect to find 3 other people for multiplayer. Most people will probably have to rely on AI assistants.

The story might be the only factor that might draw in some Naruto fans that aren't diehards of the series because it's an original story. Then again, the filler arcs in the animes don't always get the best reception. I don't know how this stands up compared to the other fillers, but it's nothing special. A village gets destroyed and The Hidden Leaf village is held responsible and bad blood ensues. Of course it is up to Naruto to discover the truth about the destroyed village and put an end to any unnecessary bloodshed. Naruto fans might get a kick out of it, but there’s nothing to attract casual gamers who don't really watch the show.

The visuals and audio effects are nice. The character models and stages are still impressive, but the stages don't allow a whole wide range of space to roam around. The music is what you would expect from Naruto and fanatics have the option to change the voices to Japanese.

Hardcore Naruto fanatics will buy this, but I would advise casual fans to save their money for something else. Even with multiplayer, Kizuna Drive just didn't deliver.

- J'Tonello

(May 30, 2011)