Wednesday, March 21, 2012

How Do You Feel About Ninja Gaiden 3 | PS3, Xbox 360

Ryu Hayabusa returns with a hack and slash right but fails to excel in anything. In 2004 the controversial Tomonobu Itagaki resurrected a classic NES series taking it very accurately in three dimensions with Ninja Gaiden, for the first on Xbox, a game that had given his success after multiple conversions, most recently just a month ago for the new Sony PlayStation Vita, titled Ninja Gaiden Sigma Plus. In 2008 and already a new generation of consoles then came the first 360 and a year later for the PlayStation 3 with the tagline Sigma. Involved in all games of Team Ninja, basically the sagas Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden in 2008 and after 16 years Tomonobu Itagaki left his lifelong company, Tecmo, and not very friendly to say, with demands for medium. Since then the Team Ninja developed Metroid: Other M for Wii in 2010, Dead or Alive Dimensions for Nintendo 3DS, and a couple of versions of Ninja Gaiden, but at this 2012 when it returned with renewed vigor with Ninja Gaiden 3 and Dead or Alive 5, due out next September. And we will not be us who say that the departure of Itagaki noted, is difficult to estimate how large a project as a single person can be so decisive, however powerful and creative it is, and if the progress of a as charismatic leader in a study can affect both. But what is clear is that Ninja Gaiden 3 is not a very inspired title, no doubt the weakest of the trilogy, is lacking and has eliminated elements gameplay inexplicably, making a game too simple and repetitive, but do not let to be a good hack and slash, but far from the brilliance that came to have the series in their previous two games.



The story begins in the streets of London with a terrorist attack with an uncertain end, although aimed at the bottom to attract the legendary ninja Ryu Hayabusa, for a reason and it would reveal too much of the argument. After our first fights for the English city, just fighting the mysterious Regent of the Mask, an alchemist who has just hidden a terrible spell condemning: Ryu arm absorbs the Dragon Sword, and with it all the suffering and deaths has been caused over the years.

In a feeble attempt to humanize the character and make a more emotional story in a much more cinematic and classical will visit various locations throughout the world, from an abandoned city in the desert, an island paradise, laboratories, Antarctica, or even Ryu hometown. A forgettable story, with all the stories topics Japanese, with many cut scenes that attempt to develop a rotation script and "surprising", but at the end of the day used to take us from place to place killing all kinds of enemies, and do not usually ask the hack and slash with an elaborate story.

The development of the adventure is produced by linear scenarios, collection or character progression, giving priority action above all, continued fighting against dozens of enemies, bosses entertained, and expendable QTE-scenes with quick time events-and a hint of platforms, a bit clumsy. The control is very simple since we only have two attack buttons: strong and fast. Jump, throw shuriken, something that has little value-and with more R2/L2 LB/L1 shoot the bow with automatic pointing, quite important to some distant or flying enemies. With block and dodge LT/L2 a primary action and should dominate, because together the two types of attack, will be what we use all the time.


Something that eventually ends up playing very much against is that there is no progression. We do not learn new combos or moves, or acquire skills or magic, we can do at the beginning of the game, we'll do the same thing to the end, without joining any new mechanics, and this ends up doing too monotonous development. We only have one weapon throughout the adventure, we'd better get three types of swords on the grounds of argument, but for practical purposes is the same, we will play with a sword all the time. After each battle the entire life regenerates, and we have no item or inventory, since we never collect anything. In each level you are joining a couple of new types of enemies, but ultimately these are just doing repetitive and not very bright are designed to say, except the heads, with his grace.

Along with the dynamics of combining the lock button, the jump and the two attacks, to get all kinds of combos, there are two special attacks. Below the life bar Ryu, we have one of Ki. When this is filled by pressing two buttons can perform a Ninpo. Ryu turns into a dragon of fire, killing all the enemies of the stage, and it regains its vitality, so you can imagine the importance of this attack, that will save his skin in more than one occasion. The other special attack takes place when we see the arm "infected" by Ryu shine, after killing a few enemies. Leaving the strong attack down a couple of seconds, Ryu spades bundled with rivals to their environment, going from one to another automatically, and ending with spades them.

On the controversial difficulty many feared it would have been lowered, it has, but with nuances. We have three levels of difficulty: Hero, Normal and Hard. Hero is the simplest, a walk that we do not recommend to any player. Normal is rather easier than the average level of previous Ninja Gaiden, but in later stages is a significant challenge, as a follower of the series and the genre in general, we recommend you start playing on Hard. There are numerous checkpoints, and we can save game from time to time a hawk that comes to meet us.


Besides all this, there are little moments adventurers or platforms, running through a wall, clinging to a bar to jump, a tad rude but not very difficult, and worst indeed is climbing Kunai. Throughout the adventure we will have to climb many walls with a sort of minigame where tight by both triggers, dropping alternatively, go up. The first time we encounter this situation it makes us grace, the second begins to tire, but it turns out that someone at Tecmo have thought that these moments are hilarious, and there are too many throughout the game, and quite tedious.

Then on the QTE-quick-time events, or key buttons in cutscenes, at this point of generation, having spent twelve years since Shenmue the term became fashionable, or include them with some grace and originality, or requiring at least a little skill and timing. Here a very poor implementation of the QTE, pounding buttons, pressing one in particular with time to spare, and really add nothing to the gameplay. Although ironically, in a game that eliminates a lot of things from their predecessors, the QTE end up being one of the few developments that could have saved it.

Once the adventure, with a duration varies depending on the difficulty chosen, but as we're in Normal we lasted about eight hours, we have multiplayer modes, which in this title, as it is fashionable, they point to go online to be played. This section of the game titled Shadows in the world, we have a cooperative and a competitive mode. In tests ninja can play alone or with someone else, in ten different scenarios drawn from the campaign with your partner to see who gets more points.


And at the Battle of clan up to eight players can participate in team matches, all against all, and whose rules may change in the middle of the games. In addition, each player has a personal goal, the contract in the shade, you can even become a member betray your own team. In both modes improve the character leveling up, and we unlock extras to customize your look. The gun, the color of the skin, eyes, voice, color of the costume, or clothing of the head and armor, besides being able to put a kanji on his back. A multiplayer mode curious that deserves to be tested, and has not been seen rarely in a hack and slash, but imagine it will end up becoming habitual.

His greatest technical achievement is to move very smoothly at 60 frames per second with no slowdown, because otherwise noted something very difficult. A modeled very austere, somewhat outdated, inexpresiones facial, sawtooth, poor texture, which at times seem of another generation, and gameplay very soulless and empty, without any element that interact as well as being very narrow. The camera continues to play its tricks, but does not damage the gameplay too, and there is no graphical effect that gets attention, graphics that seem more typical of the beginning of generation, and it is clear how the Team Ninja does not get you out any party to Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, after the beasts graphics we've seen for both consoles last year.

A discrete game is not only technically but also artistically quite poor, with a generally uninspired designs and overall look a bit ugly, dark and off. A controversial issue has been the removal of the gore, not blood. There is no dismemberment of any kind and the second part, although there are still plenty of blood splatter, but nothing can shock us. And about the sound but not as annoying, or do anything particularly well, with good music that repeat throughout the game, and sound effects acceptable. Voices can be selected in English and Japanese and have subtitles in multiple languages.


This is a product that perfectly exemplifies the future of the Japanese developers in the current generation of consoles, which never have come to take the point with a few exceptions, and already with a generational change on the horizon, not seems that they are going to get. Neither in the early Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, and now in full 2012, Japanese studies have been able to live up to Western art projects, and also playable can be said to have contributed something in the last five years, giving clubs the dark.

Ninja Gaiden 3 is a true reflection of all this, a technical and playable game that is outdated, who can not provide new to the genre of hack and slash or attempted, and removes over important elements of their predecessors, and includes tedious QTE as one of his little new addition to the multiplayer. We do not know if Itagaki progress will have had something to do, it's possible, but we are facing the worst Ninja Gaiden since its release in three dimensions, a good action title that is sure to entertain fans of the genre, but far of that game that shone with great intensity in 2004 for the first Xbox. If you guessed the second between a step back for some, the third does not improve things at all, and Tecmo should be raised very well what to do with this legendary saga. In fact it sounds a bit cruel, this third installment is going to get us to look more favorably to the second.

There is no type of character progression, or new skills, or get weapons as we go, and the same set of combos and moves that we have five minutes into the game, will accompany us to the end, what you end up doing tedious and repetitive. His grace lies in the difficulty-if we choose the difficult level-a challenge for more experienced players, and its combat system is not bad, but it is questionable who have not bothered to include anything new along the development, and end up being clumsy touches plataformer and coarse, and QTE uninspired. If you love the series, we are sure to be disappointed, but paradoxically it is possible that whoever else would enjoy, as some remains of their ancestors. In short, a proper action game with swords, but fails to live up to its name.

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