Solid gameplay, perfect combat system, and lots of replay value. Read the review for more info....
The combat system is perfect, not a single flaw. Every weapon has it's own moves and certain situations call for a different style of weapon. Each style offers a couple different weapons, heavy, medium, fast, they all have a few different weapons to chose from. Lots of combos adds tons of variety and are necessary to learn how to use them if you want to successfully make it through a situation alive. It's not too complicated so that you struggle trying to memorize all the moves, but it's in no way a button mashing game that takes no thought. This game rewards skillful play, as stated in the gamespot review. The wall moves, jumping moves, magic, ultimate techniques, weapon combos, and defensive maneuvers all come into play in almost every fight, and every player will be able to fight in their own style. It doesn't subject you to a certain way of fighting, and offers soo much versatility. Perfect combat system.
Some try to compare this to the Prince of Persia series, and if your wondering, I'll just say they are 2 different games. The environmental puzzles in Ninja Gaiden Black arn't all that puzzling. You can take your time if you get confused or lost, most of them are pretty straightforward though. They really add a nice touch to the game, and don't bring down the pace of the game at all. I wouldn't say that there's a balance between combat and puzzles, because the combat in NGB is spectacular, and the puzzles just add to the depth of the game. Whereas the combat in PoP is a little scratchy, and the puzzles of PoP contain the true qualities of the series.
The gameplay rocks. It keeps throwing new and exciting things at you throughout the entire game, and the harder modes arn't just "harder," they have totally new enemies and situations to encounter, so your not just playing the same game over and over. It really makes unlocking everything something to look forward to. The missions mode is also an awesome experience, and you can start doing the 50 missions as soon as you beat the game once. Very impressive how deep the game is, with only 2 modes of play (story and missons). Some games include 5-6 game modes, and you still feel like something is missing. Ninja Gaiden Black nails the perfect game with only 2 modes, and countless hours to invest. The cutscenes are also not too long, like you find in many action-adventure games. The story mode isn't lame either, they just don't spend forever telling it and let you get back into the awesome action. Extremely well paced, and offers tons to every player, even when you think your done. I've got 35 hours into the game now, and I can gaurantee that I'll have over 200, even 300 hours before I need to find a new game. Team ninja nailed this one, and I highly recommend it to any gamer, whether your a casual or hardcore gamer.