Ninja stars beat star ships

Ninja Gaiden
Rating: MA15+

http://www.xbox.com/ assets/en-us/Flash/games/ninjagaiden/index.html

This game was announced a couple of years ago and is based around Ryu Hyabusa (from the Dead or Alive fighting game) who seeks revenge after his clan is massacred by the Vigoor Empire.

Taking full advantage of threedimensional space, you advance through the story with only your wits, your ninja skills and your deadly sword, cutting down opponents as you attempt to beat the Holy Emperor and reclaim the magic sword “Ryuken”.

Having always been fascinated with the martial arts, this game engrossed me immediately.

I was taught how to play the game from the start (a feature I really like) and before I knew it I was running up walls, throwing shiruken (ninja stars) and slashing multiple opponents in some of the most merciless ways.

The graphics are close to photo quality with particle effects that totally immerse you in the game’s version of reality. Sparks fly, shadows flicker, and blood spatters as you battle the rival ninjas and terrifying demon monsters that oppose you.

As I suggested before, Ryu is capable of truly amazing feats, which he can use to explore his environment and
wipe out the bad guys, but the controls are remarkably simple.

Running up walls is a breeze, along them is not a problem, rebound from side to side to ascend steep shafts and vertical tunnels, and combine” jumps and melee attacks to take out multiple enemies in the same combo.

My favourite feature is that combining attacks and pulling off spectacular kills will earn you style points, which are useful for unlocking weapons and other hidden secrets between stages.

The ninja-style weapons are a treat to use and each one feels different and produces different effects.

There are more than a dozen weapons in all, including nunchaku, more swords, and even a bow and arrow. The replay value of Ninja Gaiden goes up with each weapon you unlock, as you’ll definitely want to compare the combat (as well as visual bonuses) of using each.

Ryu can also choose from several schools of magical combat and call upon the powers of fire, ice, and storm to fight his enemies.

Being able to just put the game in and start hacking at your enemies within minutes is an appealing part of the game, but be warned, it is not like Tenchu, which relies on stealth and tactics.

Stealth is required at times, but generally running in and having a swing is a valid tactic and results is some of the best style points.

Star Trek – Shattered Universe
Rating: 12+

I can honestly say I’ve never been a “Trekkie”, but despite that I gave this title a good 35 minutes of my time and I want a refund.

It is without a doubt the worst game I’ve played on XBox.

You play as a nameless member of the crew of the USS Excelsior, commanded by George Takei’s Captain Sulu in 19 missions. Each mission is prefaced by a somewhat drawn-out, perplexingly, uninformative, and uninspiring briefing from Captain Sulu.

If he was the man was following into cosmic battle, I’d hightail it to the nearest alien planet for an “examination” – it would be far more entertaining than listening to him dribble.

Missions primarily have you flying around in one of the game’s several small fighter ships – which include a couple of Federation-brand fighters, a Klingon Bird of Prey and a Romulan Shrike – blasting other fighters, collecting random items, and occasionally engaging star ships.

The problem with the game’s missions is that they never really feel like they have much purpose, nor are they particularly well paced.

These problems might be forgivable if Shattered Universe’s combat was well designed, but it isn’t.

As far as the presentation aspects go, you can’t help but think that the developers really didn’t put much effort into it. The game’s graphics definitely aren’t anything special.

Ship designs lack much in the way of detail and the various effects used for phaser fire, explosions, and the like all look extremely low-rent.

The same can be said for the multitude of different space environments in the game. Shattered Universe’s sound design is as equally unimpressive as the game’s visuals. In our world, Shattered Universe’s dull, unimaginative game play, redundant mission structure, and highly unimpressive production values make for a pretty lousy game all around.

As an attempt at Star Trek, it wastes every opportunity given to it to do something even mildly interesting or entertaining and it certainly won’t please any fan of the franchise.

As for its place among space combat games, is completely unimpressive in every imaginable way and is easily shown up by practically every game currently available in the genre today.

There’s just nothing about Shattered Universe worth recommending to Star Trek fans or space shooter fans, and if you fall into either category, you’re definitely better off looking elsewhere.

Please Scotty, beam this title into another dimension.

 

Competition

The Gamesman has a copy of Ninja Gaiden and Star Trek: Shattered Universe (both XBox) to give away.

E-mail your entry, one only, to ADFgamesmen@telstra.com with the name of the game you would like to win in the subject line.

Please include your full name and mailing address in the e-mail.

Congratulations to the following competition winners:

Rise of Nations (PC) – FLTLT William Hambly-Clark

SEGA GT Online (XBox) –SGT Paul Townsend

Red Dead Revolver (XBox) –LTCOL Daniel Fortune

V8 Supercars 2 (XBox) – Michael Phillips

Tenchu (XBox) – Janis Darshini.