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PS2 | Action | Shinobi

Boxart for Shinobi
Shinobi 54 screen shots
  • GRAPHICS: 4.50
  • SOUND: 4.50
  • CONTROL: 4.50
  • FUN FACTOR 4.50
  • AVG USER SCORE 4.4
  • AVG CRITIC SCORE 3.7
Winner of the GamePro Editor's Choice Award

First Look: Shinobi

First Look by STARDINGO | 08/08/2002 | 13:17:29 PM PST

The purpose of the ninja is to flip out and kill people. Sega's bringing the power to the common people this fall.

Do you hear the nervous whispers in the wind? Can you see your shadow shuddering at your feet? A force long dormant?a force known only as the Ninja Game?is stirring once again as the likes of Tenchu, Gaiden, and Shinobi awaken from their slumbers to usher in the Great Ninja Game Revival. Pirates, boss dogs, and super-rich idiots, beware?tomorrow's sunrise marks the dawning of your doom.

At the heart of the Revival will stand Hotsuma, the vengeful leader of the Oboro clan and dark center of Sega's Shinobi for the PS2. Hotsuma will have to make his way through the abandoned shopping malls and ruined skyscrapers of an earthquake-ravaged Tokyo, slaying the demons that hunt him and trying to destroy the evil that's bent on annihilating his clan.

If you doubt his real ultimate power (fool!), consider this and tremble: Hotsuma will have the ability to leave shadowy projections of himself behind to trick his enemies and even assist in combination attacks, and a simple targeting system will enable him to focus his rage with supernatural ease. Chaining together multiple kills will greatly enhance the mystic powers of his sword and will result in an elegantly bloody frozen-time cut-scene as he watches his foes literally fall apart at his feet.

Not yet stricken dumb with awe? You will be when you learn that Hotsuma will also have the ability to run on sheer walls as if they were the solid Earth beneath his feet?a gameplay twist that promises a sort of freedom you've never really seen before in a Ninja Game. Add to these talents an arsenal of foe-freezing shurikens, a new selection of Ninja Magic, and a flowing red scarf that trails behind Hotsuma to grant Ultimate Ninja Style, and you'll have one totally sweet ninja. Now explode from shock.