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Naruto: The Broken Bond

• By Tracy Erickson
• July 28, 2008 16:12 PM PST
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Ubisoft's second Xbox 360-exclusive Naruto game does more to break expectations than bonds.

BASIC INFO: NARUTO: The Broken Bond is an action-adventure game that picks up where Rise of a Ninja left off. The game throws Naruto and 25 other characters in playable adventures from the series, complete with voice acting from the original cast. The Broken Bond is an Xbox 360 exclusive and will be on store shelves November 7th, 2008.

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Following Naruto's ascent in last year's acclaimed Rise of a Ninja, The Broken Bond picks up his story at the height of peace in Konoha. Naruto has gained the respect of his fellow villagers except for his close friend Sasuke. Envious of Naruto's power, Sasuke leaves to join forces with Orochimaru. As a legion of sand ninjas lay waste to Konoha, Naruto is left to reconstruct the ruined town and seek out his forsaken friend.

The game chronicles episodes 81 through 135 of the animated series, picking up right where Rise of a Ninja left off. In fact, The Broken Bond picks up more than the storyline from that game. Core gameplay elements return, albeit with tweaks and additions intended to address the complaints lodged against the first game. You still explore Konoha, taking on various side quests and story-related missions. Confronting Naruto's enemies involves 3D brawls similar to what you'd expect from a dedicated fighting game.

Ubisoft Montreal has smartly kept the fundamentals intact, opting to introduce a handful of new elements to polish the experience. A tag team feature now allows you to control two additional characters during battles. By default, you direct Naruto in combat; however, tapping either left or right bumpers calls in one of his pals for support. Neji and Shikamaru lent a helping hand during our effort to save a small village on the outskirts of Konoha. Once you've summoned a sidekick, there's a recharge time necessary before you're able to use them again.

Before we could even start bringing in Naruto's friends for support, we had to reach the outlying village first. A broken bridge put a damper on the tour, although a little Jutsu proved useful in moving forward. Shadow Jutsu allowed us to call forth a flurry of clones that locked arms and legs together to form a makeshift bridge. Using Naruto--literally--we were able to cross the river despite the bridge being out.

Once on the other side, the mission took a turn for the worse. Kabuto had set the village to flames and was itching for a fight. Lucky for him, we were more than willing to oblige. Along with the new tag team feature, Naruto still has access to a wide range of Jutsu that can be executed mid-battle. Each is tied to an activation mini-game that determines the success of the attack. One Jutsu had us adjusting the left thumbstick to keep a small circle inside a larger one situated in the center of the screen.

All of the Jutsu will be available for use in online battles, which Ubisoft promises will be a significant improvement over last year's game. In addition to the returning head-to-head bouts, two-on-two matches are also in the works. It's worth noting that when The Broken Bond ships in November, it'll be the only Naruto console title to include online gameplay. Whether it proves better than Rise of a Ninja is something we gotta see before we can believe.

Sweet Features:

• 25 playable characters from the series
• An all-new team/battle system
• Real-time jutsus
• More interactive levels

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