Ninja Blade Review

I wonder who else gets the joke? 

Played on Xbox 360 

By Coxster

While it’s true that the latest Xbox 360 exclusive, Ninja Blade, is a poor man’s God of War with more than a few borrowed elements from Ninja Gaiden, there is a sense of fun that only Japanese developers can seem to get away with these days. While Ninja Blade takes itself seriously, there is a real tongue in cheek homage to games like Ninja Gaiden and monster movies that still seem popular in the land of the rising sun. This is definitely a Japanese game through and through and although the inspirational elements it borrows from are implemented with enough care so as not to break the game, the sum of it’s parts doesn’t come close to achieving the epic adventure we were all hoping for.    

For those that can’t stand quick-time events (also known as interactive cut-scenes) stop reading because Ninja Blade uses more QTEs than any game I can remember playing. I don’t have a fondness for QTEs but I don’t particularly hate them either, when they are used properly (see God of War) they can add to the experience but since there are so many in Ninja Blade, even I was starting to get a little frustrated by the end. The best thing is that if you miss an input, the game rewinds a few seconds and allows you to try and try again, and trust me, you’ll be doing it a lot. While they certainly make the game more cinematic, they constantly distract you and after a while start to bore you. The best parts are definitely the special moves which are over the top and look freakin awesome. I’m definitely of the opinion that the developers, From Software, should’ve given us more hack n slash and less QTE, saving them only for the awesome and totally rewarding killing move that ends each level. 

Weapons, such as swords, are all upgradeable, there are plenty of moves to learn but the fighting mechanics feel a little woolly and the zombies that attack you follow repetitive and frequent attack patterns which at least compensate for the imprecise slashing.  It’s not broken but it’s not the best example the genre has to offer.  

  Well I'm hardly going to kiss the man-bat-thingy Mr Ninja Guy

The bosses are supremely cool and rival those found in Lost Planet in terms of size, but bringing them down is far too easy.  You find out the pattern they follow, take down there health for a little bit, cue Quick Time Event, execution, next level.  Very little strategy is ever required and they also don’t react to your attacks (which is left up to the diminishing boss health bar to let you know that you’re actually hitting it).  

There are also a handful of parkour/ninja wall running sections but once again the controls feel a little off.  One level has you running towards the camera with the boss hot on you heels, while it looks cool it doesn’t play the same as you can’t see the sections where you have to leap over gaps or run against walls.  It requires that you memorize the level rather than rely on your skill.  

There are also some on-rail moments that have you killing all types of slimy things from a helicopter as you zip around town.  Once again it looks awesome but doesn’t play the same.  

Ninja Blade isn’t a broken game, it just feels like it’s trying to be a jack of all trades and be a master of none.  There are some great graphics that need to be seen to be believed and the Japanese melodramatics are always entertaining, plus some of the set pieces look absolutely fantastic.  

These days, rats and roaches are pest controlled by Ninjas

There is a ton of unlockable content, plenty of extras to find scattered about the levels and tons of levelling up your weaponry which is always fun.  There are also leaderboards for Xbox Live gamers and those that love speed runs but even with all the extra content, Ninja Blade feels a little bit rough around the edges.   

There are plenty of fun moments and brining down huge bosses never gets old, and some of the graphics are lovely to look at, but since it’s a game that has varying levels of consistency this game should only be played after you’ve well and truly finished with Ninja Gaiden 2. At its core, Ninja Blade wants to entertain you, to a certain degree it succeeds, but only barely.  It's got spunk, doesn't take itself too seriously and offers plenty of melodrama, just a shame that some of the game design is so flawed.