Title: The DAY of the almighty PREVIEW
Description: Gamespot, IGN, Game Informer, 1UP!
Description: Gamespot, IGN, Game Informer, 1UP!
Dan - July 30, 2005 10:25 PM (GMT)
| QUOTE (GAMESPOT) |
When all is said and done, a great game always has an air of magic to it. While there will always be aspects that can be singled out as exceptional, whether it's control, graphics, audio, or some combination, there is always that unidentifiable something that ties everything together into a grand package that is more than the sum of its parts. This careful alchemy is something that developers always try to re-create in subsequent games. One thing that's rare to see, though, is a developer going back and tweaking an existing hit. Unfortunately, messing with one of the finest Xbox titles ever made has the potential for a debacle of Star Wars: Special Edition proportions. Itagaki flexes his sadistic streak with Ninja Gaiden Black, an update that adds incredibly difficult new modes to the superb action game. However, this doesn't appear to be the case with Ninja Gaiden Black, a director's cut-style follow-up to 2004's reinvention of the classic 2D franchise. The game is both a love letter to hardcore Gaiden fans who have honed their action gaming skills to perfection on the challenging original game, as well as a gentle encouragement to those who were intimidated by the Xbox game's widow-making difficulty. We recently had the opportunity to get our hands on the upcoming game, along with a guided look at it by Team Ninja's head ninja, Tomonobu Itagaki. One of the main reasons Ninja Gaiden Black came about was because of the user feedback that was received from the original Ninja Gaiden. Amid all the critical acclaim and diehard adoration from fans, Team Ninja caught wind of two very distinct schools of thought on the game. The first was a very strong call for more of the game from fans who eagerly tore into the downloadable content that was made available in the months after its release. The second was word of some folks feeling intimidated by the game's level of challenge and being unable to finish it. In order to satisfy diehard fans and help players of all skill levels enjoy its masterpiece, Team Ninja cooked up Ninja Gaiden Black. The game features the original Ninja Gaiden, as well as all the downloadable content found in the various packs that have hit since the game's release. In addition, there will be new difficulty levels and a slew of unlockable content. The new difficulty levels will likely be of the most interest to both casual and hardcore players. You'll now find normal, hard, very hard, and master ninja difficulties. For those keeping score at home, normal will be equivalent to the default difficulty of the original Ninja Gaiden; hard will be as challenging as the harder levels in Gaiden; while very hard and master ninja are taking pain and humiliation to a whole new level with brutal challenges that are exponentially more difficult. Itagaki noted that very few individuals will be able to get through the master ninja difficulty, as it will offer a generally impossible challenge to the average gamer. :shocked: If all of the above difficulties prove too overwhelming for you, Black will also offer a special, easier "ninja dog" difficulty. The mode will be accessible in much the same way that Devil May Cry 3's easier settings are accessible--you'll get the option to select it if you die a certain amount of times on the first stage. Once that happens, you'll be able to opt for ninja dog. The only catch is, since this is a Team Ninja game, the difficulty isn't quite the free ride you might think. A mildly humiliating cinematic with Ayane dissing on you is followed up with a running gag in this mode. Easier difficulty modes will be available, but you'll suffer some serious humiliation for them. Once you return to the game after the cinematic, you'll gain an accessory, the band of power, which you'll be able to equip. The good news is that the wristband will enhance your melee attacks. However, the bad news is that it's an oh-so-cute shade of bright purple and looks more than a little out of place on a badass ninja. As you progress, you'll gain other bands, which sound as though they'll run through a rainbow of humiliating colors (which seems like a more than ample excuse to grow a pair and get better at the game). From the sound of it, the enemy artificial intelligence hasn't been tuned down in the ninja dog mode. Hayabusa is just a little more powerful, so you're still going to have to do some work. As far as the unlockable content in the game goes, Ninja Gaiden Black offers deep, layered experiences of onionlike proportions. You'll be able to unlock Ryu's assorted costumes, a movie theater that lets you view all the cinematics from Ninja Gaiden, and a coming-attractions option that houses the E3 Dead or Alive 4 trailer. The biggest chunk of unlockable content comes in the form of a mission mode and the arcade version of Ninja Gaiden. The mission mode is a massive, and potentially soul-crushing, collection of challenges that have sprung from the minds of Itagaki and Team Ninja. When you initially unlock the mode you'll have access to two levels: Path of the Master Ninja and Descent of the Fiends. Each level will have one mission for you to play. As you clear the missions, you'll open others, which will equal a total of five missions for each level. Once you've cleared those, you'll open new levels with such charming monikers as Fateful Confrontation, Military Destruction, Battlefield of the Abyss, and Legend.   All told, you'll find 10 levels in mission mode. The first nine will each feature five missions for you to clear, while the final one, Legend, will require you to play through all the content from the Hurricane Pack 2 download, an epic two-hour-plus experience, which will basically bring the mission count to roughly 50. The mode will let you earn karma points, as well as the ability to track them as you complete the various missions. You'll be able to upload your karma scores to an online leaderboard to see how you stack up against the masses, which will either be an exhilarating recognition of your mad skills or a humbling experience. The missions will offer brutal challenges that will require you to be in full ninja form to make it through. :) Some were actually pretty fun and displayed Team Ninja's sly sense of humor. :shocked: . The new mission mode will offer a boatload of new content, with around 50 missions in all. Case in point: One of the missions in the Captivating Goddess level requires you to save Rachel, the buxom blonde hottie who aids Hayabusa. The curvy lass is in quite the tough spot when the mission starts, as she's chained atop a pyramid and being fired on by bow- wielding demons. Your goal is to stop them before her health dwindles to nothing. You're hampered by the hated ghost fish that stop you in your tracks for a few seconds by latching on to you--but the challenge seems, for the most part, to be doable. Of out the demons and fending off the ghostly critters, course, just as you get the knack of multitasking by taking the level changes things up and throws large club-wielding behemoths at you. Then, just as you've sorted out the best way to deal with the giants while still taking out the arrow-shooting demons, those demons are replaced by rocket launcher-wielding military personnel who cause buckets more damage to poor Rachel. If you want an example of how painful things can get, we'll offer up any of the missions on the Fateful Confrontation level, which pit you against not one but two versions of Hayabusa, who come packing an arsenal of weapons and the skills to use them. Just about any of these missions guarantee a stomping of Godzilla-like proportions and are sure to humble many a player. The control in Black incorporates the various enhancements added by the second Hurricane Pack download. So you can plan on performing the mighty intercept move and Ryu's ultimate attack with impunity. Mastering both of these moves, as well as his new staff, Lunar, is vital to your success. Thankfully, if you need to build up the old self-esteem, the unlockable arcade version of Ninja Gaiden is on hand. For those who might have missed it back in the day, the game was a 2D side-scrolling beat-'em-up in the Double Dragon, Final Fight vein whose most significant feature was Ryu's ability to grab nearby poles and hang from them so he could kick oncoming enemies. The visuals in Ninja Gaiden Black are outstanding and sport the various improvements introduced in the last Hurricane Pack download. The most significant of these is the new camera system, which you can use to adjust your view on the fly. Despite the years that have passed, the game still stands as one of the most impressive-looking Xbox games around, especially when played in 480p. The new stages and foes seen in the mission mode all feature fresh designs that are in line with its predecessor's high standards. Some of the visual elements have been polished up some, such as special effects, but the game maintains its solid frame rate. Black's audio remains basically unchanged and features a visceral mix of audio samples, weapon fire, and music that all suits the action. There have been a few tweaks over the original game's sound that we saw, namely the addition of speech. Ayame is the most significant addition to the mix we've seen so far, as she narrates the shuriken-delivered tips you'll come across as you play. :shocked: You'll even get the old classic Ninja Gaiden arcade game in the already extensive Black package (but this isn't it). Based on what we've played, Ninja Gaiden Black appears to be treading the fine line between appealing to two distinct audiences quite deftly. Hardcore fans will dig opening up the wealth of missions and extras in the game, while newcomers will be able to ease into the challenge and even improve their gaming skills after putting in some time. If you own an Xbox and haven't gotten around to getting Ninja Gaiden, Ninja Gaiden Black will help you rectify that horrible omission in your software library, and then some. At the same time, if you're a hardcore Gaiden and think highly of your skills, prepare to rethink your strategies and work even harder, as Black's higher level difficulties are tough as nails. All told, the game is a great value for new players, as well as for Xbox owners who are starting to worry that, with the Xbox 360 on the horizon, their platform of choice is being left out in the cold.   |
| QUOTE (GAME INFORMER) |
 ame Informer Online’s Japan Experience 2005 version 1.0 rolls on as we got the unique experience to visit Team Ninja’s Japanese headquarters to get a glimpse at Tecmo’s pseudo follow up to Ninja Gaiden, Ninja Gaiden Black. The game will feature the entire Ninja Gaiden game with both Hurricane packs and a truckload of new content. While I’m no Master Ninja, and couldn’t get past the original game’s normal mode, Tomonobu Itagaki added one new mode which we got a chance to play today that will allow those without l33t skills to enjoy the entire game – Ninja Dog Mode, or as I call it, Billy mode.I’ll come right out and say it now. I sucked at Ninja Gaiden. While I only knew one person that beat the game on both the normal and hard modes of the game, it took me months to get past the first boss on Normal Mode, and I never beat the second boss. No matter how many times I played through the first two levels, I just couldn’t do it. Since then, sadly, the game sat on the shelf collecting dust. Now I’m not a crappy gamer, and play more games in one week than most people play all year, but that game kicked my angry beaver all over the place. Not only did it shatter my pride, but it broke my heart because I wanted so damn badly to be a ninja too. While Itagaki-san told people he wouldn’t put an easy mode in the game previously, he did in a sense stick to his word.  Translation: Our games will kick your angry beaver :rofl: When you boot up Ninja Gaiden Black for the first time, the menu has a few new options. There’s an all new mission mode that is basically an all new game, the Arcade Ninja Gaiden mode which is the original arcade version of Ninja Gaiden, a movie theater, and coming attractions. When you start a new mission, the only mission available will be normal mode. Once you beat normal mode you get hard mode, very hard, and then master ninja mode. Ninja dog mode is not listed in the menu. You basically unlock Ninja Dog mode, by well…loads of sucking. Itagaki-san realized that there were tens of thousands of gamers out there who couldn’t even get past the first level, and he wanted gamers to enjoy his creation. But the opportunity will come at a price to the player who plays Ninja Dog mode. Itagaki stated, “I don’t want to spoil the game that all of the hardcore gamers in North America and the world have supported. But I know there’s a lot of people who love Ninja Gaiden and say, ‘why can’t I beat the first level – why can’t I beat the second level.’ And I want to give them a helping hand. So I’ve made it a little bit easier. But since the basic concept and the fun of Ninja Gaiden lies in defeating difficult enemies, making it easier also means its making it a little less fun. I don’t want it so people that are constantly reminded or constantly ashamed that they can only play it on easy mode. So that’s why instead of simply calling it ‘easy mode’ I called in Ninja Dog mode. Any of the fun that might be slightly reduced by the fact that the enemies are easier will be replaced with new specific touches that are unique to Ninja Dog mode.” Those touches, my friends, are what make Ninja Dog mode a real treat for gamers like myself who have been literally dying to play Ninja Gaiden.  "This is where Danny's mode would be" Beginning the game in Normal mode, if you die, you’ll get the option to restart. If you die a few times, you’ll then get a new option, which says, “Do you choose to abandon the way of the Ninja?” If you choose yes it asks you, “Are you sure?” To demean you even more, it asks you one more time, “Are you really sure?” It hurts to admit it, but it’s time to succumb to the powers that be. :rofl: You are then shown a cutscene where you are lying dead on the ground and Ayane is above you, and calls you a Young Ninja – not master Ninja – and that she seemed to greatly over estimated you, and that she’ll support you however she can. She then throws a kunai at the ground next to your corpse and walks away from you more or less in disgust. You are instructed to save, and then you officially begin Ninja Dog mode. When the game resumes, Ayane gives you a gift, and instructs you to wear it at all times. It’s a light purple arm band, and it’ll serve as a reminder that you’re not working with Ayane like you were before, but you’re working for her. You’re her man servant, or better yet, her hello kitty. Lovely. :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: While all of this is degrading it, feels more like a slap in the face than a kick in the crotch. It’s really done tongue in cheek, and it’s quite humorous, especially to someone like me who had tried time and time again to get through the second level without success. Since I forced myself to die in the first level to open up Ninja Dog mode, it started me about halfway through the first level, and I could play as I would regularly play through the game. While the enemies were easier, it was only slightly. It feels as if Team Ninja got the balance right. Kunai’s now have complete voiceovers from Ayane, and each of them give you health items from her. Plus once you begin Ninja Dog mode you automatically get one freebee Talisman which revives you once you die. But once you use that up, you’re back to being at the game’s mercy – albeit only slightly easier. My goal for today was to make it one step further than I had before – which would prove Team Ninja’s purpose for making Ninja Dog mode. I had to complete the second level of the game. Trust me, the game is still challenging on Ninja Dog mode, and the first boss did take out my Talisman before I passed him. The true test was to kill the second level boss. While I didn’t purchase any support items in the second level, I breezed through the area to return to the area which caused me many blisters and headaches before – the second stage boss. The boss battle consists of two fireball throwing Ninjas who disappear once in a while, and a badass ninja soldier on a horse that will spear you with his weapon and slam you to the ground, all the while as you are taking a sick amount of damage. While I only died once, I did finally pull off what I had never done before. I progressed past the second stage, and Itagaki-san said “Good job” and congratulated and clapped after I finished it. Sadly, I still realized I had work to do, and I was still a lowly Ninja Dog.  Itagaki and anonymous translator Ninja Dog mode is not an easy mode, but it’s more or less a solution to giving players who have trouble with the regular mode a chance to play through the game. The enemies are not easy per se, and are still quite challenging. But they’re just easy enough so I can progress. Itagaki-san didn’t want to insult the players who had the mad skills to beat the game on normal modes and higher, and personally, I respect that. It made me feel better that I could continue further than I ever had previously, but it wasn’t completely satisfying since it wasn’t the actual normal mode of the game. The game will remind you of that because after finishing the first stage of the game I only received “Ninja Dog” ranking, and with the second level I received “lesser ninja” status. The better you do will still net you a better ranking, but you’re still not among the master ninjas until you beat it on the harder difficulty ratings. I was told that I had only seen 10% of the additional content that Ninja Gaiden Black has to offer gamers, which should make both Master Ninjas and Ninja Dogs quite happy. However, after my short play through I am really looking forward to when Ninja Gaiden Black hits stores in September. Now I can finally resume my Ninja training, even if I am only a Ninja Dog. |
| QUOTE (IGN) |
| July 29, 2005 - Team Ninja's Xbox swan song, Ninja Gaiden Black, combines the best of both worlds, providing a new experience for those who mastered the original Xbox Ninja Gaiden, and also giving more casual players who love the game's visuals, character designs and gameplay of the title a better chance at seeing the ending. IGN got a chance to try out the update at Team Ninja's offices in Tokyo, with producer Tomonobu Itagaki watching us attempt to show off our ninja skill. Ninja Gaiden Black, in case you haven't heard by now, combines the original Ninja Gaiden release with the two Hurricane Pack updates that were made available as Xbox Live downloads. You get everything featured in the updates, including the camera system from the first Hurricane Pack and all the costumes. The game also adds subtle gameplay and visual tweaking.On top of all this is some completely new content that's sure to turn heads of the ninja elite and the ninja wannabes. First, the elite. If you manage to clear story mode on normal mode (if you cleared it in the original, make sure you have your save file on your Xbox, as the game will recognize it), you gain access to a new Mission Mode. This mode places Ryu in enclosed arenas for a fight to the death with some tough opponents. The Mission Mode includes 50 stages, split into 10 themes, each freely accessible and replayable. Whereas the story mode of Ninja Gaiden places limitations on the designers in terms of enemy combinations, there's no such limit on Mission Mode thanks to the enclosed areas. The result is that you'll end up fighting some previously impossible enemy combinations. One stage pits Ryu against the game's first boss, only this time he has a bunch of henchmen at his side. Another stage has Ryu face off against two bosses at once! The toughest that we saw was Ryu versus two of his mirror images. If you think you've mastered Ninja Gaiden, this mode will put you in your place. Team Ninja is including an Online ranking for Mission Mode. Passing each mission gives you "Karma" points based on your performance and the difficulty of the mission. Your karma total can be uploaded via Live to show others how badass you are. But if you're really badass, you'll want to show your skills outside of Mission Mode. Ninja Gaiden Black also includes a new level of difficulty, Master Ninja mode. This fourth difficulty level (on top of normal, hard and very hard) is so tough that Itagaki shared with IGN that he believes only five people in all of Tokyo will be able to pass it. Only one tester at Tecmo was able to clear the mode (which makes us wonder... how in the world did they test the game?). :shocked: :shocked:  Master Ninja mode, and all the different levels of play, feature remixed enemy types and enemy positions. This is best illustrated (because it's as far as we were able to get in the top two difficulty modes) by Ryu's first two enemy encounters, prior to his entry into the fortress of the first stage. In Master Ninja mode, these two are called fire ninjas because when they slash Ryu, he gets set on fire. In Very Hard mode, the two are replaced by slightly easier versions who wield boomerangs. In either case, IGN's representative (our Swag Hunter from IGN Insider, who managed to get to level 7 of Very Hard mode in the original) died at most a minute after encountering these foes. We know what you're thinking... so what, Ninja Gaiden got harder... big news. Well, it hasn't just gotten harder. Accessible as a secret mode of sorts is an easier level of play, the now infamous Ninja Dog mode. Team Ninja did some research and determined that most players die ten times before clearing the first stage of Ninja Gaiden. In Ninja Gaiden Black, once you've died three times while working your way through the first stage of normal difficulty, instead of being taken to the continue screen, you're asked to denounce all your honor and can play in Ninja Dog mode. Ninja Dog mode changes the game around a bit. Instead of being a powerful ninja, you becomes Ayane's "man servant," (as a designer on the game so eloquently put it yesterday). Instead of Ayane serving as merely a support character, she tells you what to do, and asks that you follow like a good servant. It's important to note that Team Ninja didn't just make the enemies easier in Ninja Dog mode. The fun of Ninja Gaiden, Itagaki reveals, comes from its difficulty and from the satisfaction of defeating tough enemies. Sampling Ninja Dog mode through the first boss, we noticed a slightly easier experience, but with enemies that were definitely still a handful. Where Ninja Dog mode sets itself apart is in the support that Ayane throws your way -- literally! Ayane tosses you support items, including rice balls, which heal your energy. She also tosses you accessories, which raise your parameters... at a cost. When these support items are equipped, they appear on Ryu as a colorful ribbon hanging from his shoulder, a constant reminder that he's Ayane's play thing now.  With these updates, players who worked through, successfully or unsuccessfully, the original Ninja Gaiden may want to take a look at Ninja Gaiden Black. It should be Team Ninja's last Xbox title, and if you pass it, you're a true ninja, or maybe a Ninja Dog. |
| QUOTE (1UP!) |
| Amidst the sweltering heat of a brutal Tokyo summer, we made our way to Tecmo's headquarters in Japan to get our hands on the equally brutal Ninja Gaiden Black. It's brutal in a good way though, as it brings under one roof all of the things that broadband-deficient Xbox owners (read: the ones that that don't have Xbox Live) might have missed out on, as well as a lot of new content sure to please fans of the original. Scheduled to release this September at a relatively low price point (price hasn't been confirmed yet, but we're told it'll hover around the $30 mark), Ninja Gaiden Black, among other things, weaves the contents of the various Hurricane Packs into the game's various modes and difficulties. If you beat the game on normal, and unlock the hard difficulty, playing through on that level integrates the challenges found in Hurricane Pack 1, for example. Another place in which Hurricane Pack contents can be found is the Missions mode, which features 10 seriously ball-busting tiers of challenges designed to molest even the hardiest Ninja Gaiden veteran. Here is a listing of most of the mission mode names, which often indicate what sort of challenges can be found in each selection: Path of the Master Ninja Descent of the Fiends Abysmal Lair Military Destruction Fateful Confrontation Captivating Goddesses Giants of the Underworld Battlefield of the Abyss Legend (which contains the entirety of Hurricane Pack 2) Among the big variety of options available are New Game, Continue Game (naturally), Arcade Ninja Gaiden (which is unlocked, allowing gamers to play the original Ninja Gaiden action-oriented arcade game, developed by the "Strong Team," in 1988), Movie Theater option (which lets you view movies from Ninja Gaiden) and Coming Attractions (where you can view trailers of upcoming Team Ninja games). One of the biggest additions, however, is the addition of Dog mode and Master Ninja mode in the difficulty options. Master Ninja mode is unlocked only by beating the hard, and then very hard difficulty settings. Let it be known that you can basically not get hit in Master Ninja mode. At the very start you're assaulted by red ninjas, who throw explosive shurikens at you and can kill you in three simple hits -- which means you need to collect EVERY health elixir you find, use them all, and block like a maniac. While we haven't gotten as far as the bosses in this mode yet (even the first boss, Murai), it wouldn't be too crazy to think that they could one-shot-kill you. Team Ninja director Tomonobu Itagaki reckons that no more than a "couple hundred people will ever beat this mode." Thankfully, Team Ninja recognizes the fact that this mode is nearly unbeatable, and has implemented more frequent checkpoints for players who subject themselves to this. And while we can't give away the surprise yet, there is an interesting "bonus" at the end of the game, particularly for people who did well in the actual Master Ninja tournaments. Of course, if you beat Master Ninja mode, you'll be able to upload your ranking to an online scoreboard on Xbox Live and show the world you kicked the game's angry beaver. Perhaps even more interesting is the Dog mode, which is Ninja Gaiden Black's equivalent of an "easy" difficulty setting. Let's be clear that this mode isn't particularly easy, but it does assist you in certain ways, like giving you extra health items in the form of "Ayane's rations," which Dead or Alive fan-favorite Ayane leaves behind for Ryu to find. Unlocking Dog mode is handled in an interesting way. By Itagaki's estimation, most players, on their first play through of the game "die ten times on normal mode by the time they even meet Murai," which, if true, will reveal how many times one needs to fail before they are given the option to "abandon the way of the ninja." If you choose "yes," you will be asked for confirmation a few more times as if to drive the point home. Having agreed to this debasement, you'll be treated to a rather humiliating cutscene in which you are forevermore labeled a "ninja dog" for the entirety of your current play through of the game. Your reward for playing on Ninja Dog difficulty is that no matter how well you do, your end of level ranking will always be "ninja dog," and everywhere you go, you'll be wearing a bright purple ribbon on your wrist, indicating your failure as a true ninja. Other adjustments among the various difficulty settings are enemy combinations, enemy placement, better enemy A.I., item placement and other such tweaking. After extensive hands-on time with Ninja Gaiden Black, we can definitely say that even seasoned veterans will have their butts handed back to them multiple times before seeing everything this director's cut has to offer (new cut-scenes and dialogue have been implemented into the game as well), and that anyone who missed out the first time around has even more reason to check out 2004's action game of the year. As it stands, Team Ninja is currently knitting things up in time for the game's September 13th release date, so check back soon for the full review. In the meanwhile, peruse the latest media and get ready for a second look at the game that redefined "challenging." |
1 word: HOLY SHIZNUTS
This game is going to rock!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :dancebaby: :dancebaby:
Serenity Now - July 31, 2005 05:34 AM (GMT)
It already does rock. I've had it for over a year. This is just an expansion. Not even, really.
Thanks for the info though. :).
Thanks for the info though. :).
JWBB - July 31, 2005 03:00 PM (GMT)
I can't wait to get it, even though I know it will not hit the UK in September, only months later. I'm still stuck on Chapter 10! Help!
One other thing, is it possible to get the Hurricane Packs somewhere other than Live?
One other thing, is it possible to get the Hurricane Packs somewhere other than Live?
Dan - July 31, 2005 07:54 PM (GMT)
Yes, Ninja Gaiden: Black.