An excellent game for gamers that can't seem to find a challenge anymore, and a decent game for the average gamer
That being said, Ninja Gaiden 2 is a very solid game that suffers from many issues, and is severly overrated by fanboys of the genre in my opinion. Judging from the topics I've read in the forums, I assumed that Ninja Gaiden 2 was going to kill Devil May Cry 4 in terms of gameplay at least. I really don't see where people get that idea. It is certainly more difficult than Devil May Cry 4, but I really don't find the combat system to be superiour. They are two different games. Devil May Cry 4 is about killing with style, and Ninja Gaiden 2 is about killing efficiently.
There are alot of things to like about Ninja Gaiden 2. The gameplay is fun, but very unforgiving for a casual gamer. I've been playing games for years, so I actually got pretty decent at the game, although I'm no where near great. Most of the level designs are rather good, as are most of the enemy and boss designs. The gore is a huge positive in my opinion. There aren't alot of hack n' slash games that really push the envelope in terms of blood and gore. In Ninja Gaiden 2, limbs get cut off in every direction, and the blood flows like water. The gore makes killing the various difficult enemies all that much more rewarding.
Although the enviornments are large, and filled with a pretty good amount of enemies, the technical graphics are nothing to brag about. The framerate drops quite often when facing multiple enemies, and in comparison to the scale of each level, there doesn't seem to be enough enemies. Most of the levels feel huge, and empty, devoid of any life. The New York City level is the best example. The texturing is last gen in my opinion. The levels, and enemies look like they were in development for the Xbox 1.5. The game just isn't that pretty. Where the game does shine, though, is in Ryu's animations. He looks amazing weilding any weapon in the game. I don't think the same can be said for the enemies, but I'm sure many will disagree. I felt the enemy animation was average.
Before I ramble on forever, I will say this; the acolyte difficulty will be difficult to any casual gamer. Any difficulty level above that will be infuriating. I don't suggest picking this game up unless you like a challenge. Challenge is an understatement. You've been warned.