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01-28-2008, 05:42 PM
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#1 (permalink)
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Ninja Gaiden II: More Chocolatey Goodness
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Ninja Gaiden: There Will Be Blood
Itagaki gives us new info, screens, and a gory new movie.
by David
January 28, 2008 - On a recent trip to Seattle we had the distinct pleasure of seeing a new area of Ninja Gaiden 2, a game that lands firmly on every one of our "most anticipated" lists for 2008. Tomonobu Itagaki was on-hand to give us a demo of the game and answer some of the questions that we've been dying to ask since the game was last put on display.
The short game demo took place at what was presumably the very beginning of the game. Ryu found himself in a familiar setting: on the balconies of a building in Sky City Tokyo. Aside from Sky City, Team Ninja has yet to announce any other definite locations but Itagaki stated that the series is making a return to its roots with a slew of real world locations building to a final showdown in an underworld filled with demons. In the demo, a detailed metropolis loomed in the background as Ryu immediately met with waves of Black Spider Ninja Clan. The metal claws, scythe, and Dragon Sword we saw in previous demos were back on display along with the bow, which is featured prominently in our new gameplay movie.
As with previous viewings we were floored with how completely Ryu decimates his enemies. His ballet of violence is now fully accompanied by spraying blood and flying limbs. And best of all, the aftermath of these encounters is more permanent now that Ninja's bodies remain in the environments after Ryu dispatches their souls. Itagaki commented on the level of violence:
"The important thing to stress is that we're following the rules. The ESRB has rules, we're following them, we're in contact with them, they know what the game is about. If people are following the rules I feel like I've done my job. I haven't talked much about the story but one thing that's very important as a theme in this game is the life and death of a Ninja and how they treat that. Even a simple battle here is a life and death struggle and I hope people are able to feel how brutal that struggle can be."
We noticed that the bow now seems far easier to use and it can now be charged by collecting essence drops just like the melee weapons. Ryu can fire off an arrow in the direction he's facing with the tap of a button, or for more accurate attacks the camera quickly moves in to an over the shoulder view. Holding down the attack with the bow powers up a charged arrow that turns unlucky enemies into a fountain of limbs and blood. Itagaki stated that adding this feature was part of their overall design approach. Instead of adding too many new weapons, they wanted to make each weapon deep with extensive move sets.
New comers to the series will be happy to learn that Team Ninja is taking a number of steps to make Ninja Gaiden 2 a far more approachable game than its predecessor.
New techniques are once again taught through scrolls that players pick up as they advance through the level but this time around Team Ninja gives you a hand with the learning process. Now when Ryu learns a new move a tutorial screen pops and displays a looping video of the move along with the controls. When the player replicates this action they are given a small achievement as a reward. This is a great way to ease new players into a game with such an extensive move set.
Ryu sheds some blood among the weeping cherry blossoms.
At the save points, which are once again represented by dragon statues, it is possible to tap the right bumper and quickly replace your existing save and then continue with the action. These points also fully regenerate your health. Another method to saving is the auto-save setting that creates a new checkpoint at every statue, or if you prefer micromanaging your files players can always enter the menu system and create a new save manually. This is just a small example of the many customization options available to players. The pause screen showed a bevy of customizable sliders and switches including audio options for voice, music and effects, and camera inversion for horizontal and vertical movement.
One of the most important areas of customization are the planned four modes of difficulty. This not only affects the combat, but how easily Ryu recovers using the regenerative health system we've described in previous previews. It also determines the difficulty of enemy AI which Itagaki claims is one of the main focuses of the sequel. We were shown how enemy Ninjas relentlessly pursued Ryu from room to room as he tried to escape. On the higher difficulties backing out of a combat zone is no longer a safe way to delay confrontation; you must finish enemies off with so-called obliteration techniques that leave your foes in pieces. Itagaki stated of the health system:
"The key is how you do between each save point because you can heal at each save point. Let's say there are five squads in between each point, because you are getting some damage permanently removed the better you do early on, the easier it is to get through. The percentage of damage that's permanent and can be regenerated will be different on each difficulty. The hardcore gamers want that fluctuation, they don't want that situation where every enemy encounter they'll be at full health because then there's no risk."
Another area that has been paid special attention in the sequel is the camera. Itagaki stated that the main way to guarantee better camera angles is to keep the camera flat and horizontal so that it shows a single plane. They've also implemented multiple cameras for better angles so when there's a change of elevation or geography another camera picks up the action behind Ryu. We saw this in action as Ryu bounded over rooftops to track down a collectible skull.
While the story in Ninja Gaiden is notoriously nonsensical we still had to ask what Ryu's motivation is for the sequel. It can't be easy coming up with challenges to the ultimate ninja, but Itagaki assured us that there is a character in this story that has made it his life's mission to stop Ryu Hayabusa. He also inferred that when designing games, he's more likely to interject his personality into the rival enemy character than the protagonist. "Since this is a game, I have to die for the game to be complete." Does this mean that Ryu's greatest enemy will be Itagaki himself? We're dying to find out.
Team Ninja: "This is a finishing slash for the enemy Ninja whose fate did not allow prompt death and forced him to crawl against Ryu even after losing legs and deadly bleeding. Ryu Hayabusa cut off his head to release him to death. This is a Ninja's pity on enemy, so called "the Obliteration Technique."
With Devil May Cry 4 on the horizon we felt it was timely to ask about the combo system of Ninja Gaiden. Fans of the first game will remember that the nunchucks made near endless combos possible, but will the mechanic be as important now that opponents are cut to ribbons with each attack? Itagaki described the importance of balancing combos with dismemberment.
"What defines a combo? As you probably noticed we can put more enemies on the screen at once in this game. As we tweak where the game recognizes when the combo ends, you might finish of one enemy quickly but you can continue the combo with enemies around you. Personally speaking I think it's more stylish and cooler to finish an enemy off with the blade than to keep pounding on them with the multiple part combo. It's better to put them out of their misery. But I do watch YouTube and other gaming video sites and I see the expert players and how they aim for ridiculously long combos and I think that's really cool, so I would like to leave the ability to continue those kind of challenges."
As far as other games go, Itagaki stated that he spent a lot of time with Earth Defense Force and Ace Combat Six in the past year and he sat down with God of War for a chapter to see what it was all about.
Team Ninja: "Ryu Hayabusa is cutting down a swarm of dual Katana enemy Ninjas within Sky City Tokyo."
How does Ninja Gaiden look? In a word it looks fantastic. There are no prerendered cut scenes this time around and they would hardly be necessary. Ryu looks more detailed in battle than he did in the movies that introduced the first game. In game cut scenes also means that every time Ryu changes into one of his excellent alternate costumes it will be reflected in every scene. Itagaki assured us that he avidly reads the fan sites and feels confident that Team Ninja is addressing wants and concerns.
While the release date remains "TBA 2008" Itagaki told us that the game is around 60% complete. We can only hope to get our hands on the final version of the game in due time. We'll have lots more information on Ninja Gaiden 2 soon, so keep your eyes open.
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I wants it! Needs it!
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I'm personally expecting this game to get 9.2+.
