The best Xbox action game I have played.
I didn’t played the original Ninja Gaiden for xbox, I patiently waited for the Black version to come out, so I cannot compare it with the original one, but I can tell that it is a highly polished game that plays really well and that is quite addictive and enjoyable. It is not a perfect game (minor details such as a camera that not always help in the middle of a fight), but it is pretty close. The control is responsive, the enemies are challenging (yes, even the regular thugs can take you down in a heartbeat if you don’t pay attention, especially in hard mode) and somewhat varied, the puzzles are not in the way of the action (personally, for this type of game I want to focus on the fast-paced action rather than trying to solve a simplistic puzzles).
Some warning: This game is hard to beat! This is an amazing game, but it is not a game targeted for a casual players, you really need to learn how to play if you expect to finish it. The good news: the “ninja dog” mode will help you a lot if you fall in this category! My recommendation for any causal players who have not played it or feel frustrated with the original version because it was too hard: eat your pride, play as “ninja dog” and give it a chance! I know you will enjoy it.
This was my experience in terms of the different difficulty levels of the game:
* ninja dog: I killed myself the first time to play the “ninja dog” mode. If you are an above average player, this may be too easy for you as a challenge, but I admit I really enjoyed it (after all, I am not really hard core). I got killed a few times level (in the first 3 levels while I was learning how to play), but as soon as I get used to the game mechanics, the rest of it was really good and smooth, a lot of close calls and a few (ill-calculated) falls in one particular level (I won’t spoil anything).
* normal: For me it was challenging, a few times (specially a few bosses) the game was really harder and I died a lot more! And even feel frustrated a few times (note: the enemies, especially bosses are really smarter in normal than in ninja dog). Trust me… It was a lot of fun!!!
* hard: still playing it… this is really for hard-core gamers. I don’t know yet if I will finish it.
Besides the regular game when you finish the game, you will unlock the missions. Again, these missions are really, really hard to beat.