Ninja Blade

Since I first saw the trailer for Ninja Blade, I was immediately intrigued. The smooth, stylish cinematics and epic creatures alone were enough to make me squeal like a school girl. To my delight, the game was everything I was expecting and then some. With each level, I became more and more hooked on this epic, action filled slice of ninja pie.

THE VERDICT by Tae K. Kim Tae K. Kim's Avatar I'm a skeptical person by nature and when Heather came to me demanding that I give Ninja Blade our June print issue's Game of the Month award, I nearly pulled a stomach muscle laughing. Then she forced me to sit and watch her play the game and suddenly, I wasn't laughing anymore-I was too busy uttering things like "Oh snap!" and "Holy bejeezus!" every five minutes. Ninja Blade is like a big budget action movie full of monsters and ninjas. The cinematics are slick, the action is ridiculous and the graphics are mind-blowing. So you win, Heather. Good for you. Now give up the damn controller and let me have a turn, you game hog.

Ninja Medley

The year is 2015 and an infection is sweeping through the streets of Tokyo. Carried by insidious creatures known as Alpha Worms, the infestation is threatening to overtake the city's inhabitants, transforming everything from helicopters to humans into grotesque abominations. Members of the elite ninja task force GUIDE (it stands for Global United Infestation Detection Elimination) are sent in to deal with the mess. You step into the silent but deadly shoes of operative Ken Ogawa, a badass GUIDE assassin with powers galore as he hacks and slashes his way through the monsters running wild in the streets. Along the way, you'll battle some ridiculous bosses, acquire some insane powers and get served a delicious stew of betrayal and intrigue.

Gameplay-wise, Ninja Blade combines the best elements of every action game you've ever loved into one homogeneous blend of deliciousness. The parasitic infestation storyline was obviously "inspired" by Resident Evil, the fighting system pays "homage" to Devil May Cry, and the sheer size of the bosses evokes thoughts of Shadow of the Colossus. The interactive cut-scenes with their quick-time events also bring to mind God of War. Yes, it's not exactly original but rather than slap together a piss-poor imitation, the developers took these already established concepts and did them justice.

Ninja Blade

Know Thy Enemy

The action in Ninja Blade literally bursts at you from all angles, brought to you by a horde of memorable enemy types. Most of them have insect-like features and shamble along like disheveled, sloppy zombies. The low-level zombies are split into three types and range from heavily armored tanks to mutated beasts that spit out explosives from their arm. However, it's the boss battles that really put this game on the map. There is a wide selection of bosses and they're all the size of small skyscrapers; these immense beasts are ridiculously fun to battle even though they can be quite frustrating at times. There are organically shaped bosses like a Hydra, Stalker Larva, and explosive Blast Mites but the devious Alpha Worms aren't above taking over mechanical objects like trains and choppers.

To deal with all the assorted creeps, you're given a slick variety of weapons to use. Now, in most games, you find the one weapon that kicks the most ass and you stick with it. In God of War, for instance, I mostly used the chain whips even though there were other weapons lying around. Well, Ninja Blade forces you to use every single item in your arsenal-that's a good thing, trust me. You have three blades: the Stonerender, Oni-Slayer, and the Twin Blades. The Stonerender, a personal favorite, is a heavy blade that breaks walls and heavy armor. The Twin Blades which double as grappling wires are good for taking care of pesky fliers such as bats and bees. The third blade is the Oni-Slayer which is a happy medium and the key to nearing the end of the infestation.

Ninja Blade

Comments [34]

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StormKing

Different strokes for different folks....some people will like Ninja Blade and some folks won't. Rent the game and try it for yourself, don't just take the reviewers word for it.

kalell

I thought the demo was freakin' awesome! I was afraid the entire game wouldn't be able to keep up the adrenalin rush I had while I was playing the demo, but it sounds like does.

UGKFAN2681

StormKing wrote:

Different strokes for different folks....some people will like Ninja Blade and some folks won't. Rent the game and try it for yourself, don't just take the reviewers word for it.

exactly.

teh2Dgamer

StormKing wrote:

Different strokes for different folks....some people will like Ninja Blade and some folks won't. Rent the game and try it for yourself, don't just take the reviewers word for it.

QFT

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