It's Official!!

[The Buzz]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AT LAST TECMO ANNOUNCES SHIP DATE FOR NINJA GAIDEN
The highly anticipated title, shipping in early March, is expected to set a new standard in the action genre.

TORRANCE, Calif., February 24, 2004—Tecmo® officially announced today that the ship date for its eagerly anticipated new action title, Ninja Gaiden®, for the Xbox® video game system from Microsoft will be Tuesday, March 2, 2004. Gaining an incredible amount of buzz since it was first shown on the E3 floor in 2002, the powerhouse title will ship out to retailers across the country in mass quantities, arriving on store shelves throughout the first week of March.

"Tecmo’s focus while developing Ninja Gaiden was to create the best action game ever and with the game only a week away from launch I am proud to say that we have succeeded in this goal," John Inada, Tecmo’s General Marketing Manager, said. "Ninja Gaiden will set a new standard in the action genre and we guarantee it was well worth the wait."

Boasting 100% action, Ninja Gaiden will allow the player to unleash their inner ninja with smooth game play, speedy battle sequences, and a variety of advanced acrobatic ninja moves from running and flipping off walls to hanging and swinging on rails. The player will also have a variety of primary and secondary weapons at their disposal that when used in a combination, create advanced weapon attacks such as damaging wall-based assaults and all-powerful ultimate attacks. Xbox™ Live Compatibility, a host of challenging levels and visually exquisite environments are just a few more reasons why Ninja Gaiden plans to raise the bar in the action gaming genre.

Looks like the delays are OVAH! Right Ken?

[Nissian X]

It's about time someone stopped screwing around and did something, though this is very good news for us Xbox owners. This means NG will hit stores about the middle of next week. Now if all the companies would follow Tecmo and release thier games already, things would be better. Can't wait to get my hands on NG though.

[Glockstar]

Oh... shoot!
That's this paycheck! Zowie. Doesn't that change things?!?

That may have been a blessing then... that my reserved copy of the Steel Battalion bundle did not come in today. Hmmm... I may have to rethink this...

Well... at least this will help ease the pain of me NOT GETTING THE DEMO DISK WITH MY LATEST ISSUE OF THE OXM!!! :mad: Oh man, I've been seething over here reading you and GTR go on and on about how great the game is playing! Dadgummit! I've kind of been wanting to say something, but everytime I thought about it, I'd just get livid! You bastiches! I stinking open up the stinking mailbox only to pull out a ravaged and tattered and torn copy of the latest stinking issue! No bag... NO DEMO! Just a magazine that looks like it's been chewed on... by a pack of crazy-hungry dogs! S's.o.b's! Papa says! Damn but that really pisses me off. When I read your first impressions of the demo a couple of days ago, I was like, 'Hey... where'd he get the demo?!?' Then it slowly dawned on me... :mad: Mucking mailman. I'll bet it was the mucking mailman! Dirty, rotten, filthy worm! Always coveting my OXM!

You know I put in a complaint along with a request for a replacement disk right away. But there's no way it'll get here anytime soon - I know that. But now... I guess it doesn't matter so much. The full live version will be here... NEXT WEEK! YYY-YEAH!

[Twelve]

Alright! Well let's see what this bad boy can do.


12

["The Game"Evolution]

Alright! Well let's see what this bad boy can do.


12

Action/adventure game of the year catagory for 2004 is going to be very interesting.So far looks like Ninja Gaiden will be the first inductee into the best action/adventure title for 2004.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

That's definitely good news. I'm piking up my reserve as early as possible.

If nothing else, this release and last year's "before the Holidays" game releases (Wind Waker & KOTOR) should let other publishers know that a potential action/adventure game of the year (or even a possible GOTY contender) doesn't have to be released during the Holidays.


All stores should have the game by next Thursday, except for sorry a*# Blockbusters.

[Twelve]

Action/adventure game of the year catagory for 2004 is going to be very interesting.So far looks like Ninja Gaiden will be the first inductee into the best action/adventure title for 2004.

Well, it already got a 9/10 from one site...forget which, but a respectable one. I can't imagine buying an Xbox for an action game(for an RPG like Fable,yeah), but I'll wait and see if this revolutionizes anything, or if it's just a pretty DMC.


12

[Glockstar]

I can't imagine buying an Xbox for an action game(for an RPG like Fable,yeah), but I'll wait and see if this revolutionizes anything, or if it's just a pretty DMC.


The things you say! :eek:

You kill me Twelve. I've seen the games that you like. And though I'm not about to pick on your tastes, I do want to say that your excuses for not being interested in this game do not follow, logically.

First off, let me get this out of the way... NG is so much more than "a pretty DMC". I finally got to play the demo, today at GameStop, and though it is reminiscent of that game, it also reminds me of a "prettier" Prince of Persia, and Buffy. Only faster, and more action-packed. And... with a combat mech. that is much, much deeper than all of those three - combined! There's actually a strong hint of "fighter", in this action game; learning to block is key. Hey, it is Team Ninja after all - what'd you expect?!? Anyhow, I have all three of those NG "like" games - yet I am so looking forward to THIS game! Strange that, huh?

But I'd think you, of all people, would be able to understand why. After all, I've seen you talk about all of the similar J-RPG games that you've bought and played. Can't I get a little empathy, around here?


A few more impressions:
The game is not perfect - I can tell you that already (camera - imagine that, huh?). But I can also say, already, and with much confidence, that it's already my favorite action game of all time!

And I'm thinking that it's just as challenging as the most challenging. The A.I. is really quite impressive. The badguys in this game aren't like the punching bags in the movies - where they just stand around and wait for their turn to get beat down. No, where there's more than one badguy onscreen, they will actually reposition themselves, in a rather strategic manner, while you're whooping on one of their number. Especially, if you get too caught up in your combo-scoring-string. Which are sooo killer!!! Hmmm... it just occured to me though... I didn't "juggle" anybody... ? But I did notice a huge difference between the three weapons that I employed - and I'm not just talking about how they looked! Pulling off cool moves and attacks with them is EASY. But maintaining control, and being smart about it, is quite a bit harder. This is NOT a button-masher.

Ah, I gotta ease on out of here now... but before I go... I want to leave you all with this...

Online Ninja Gaiden tournament unmasked

The Xbox Live "Master Ninja Tournament" will feature a worldwide championship at next year's X04.

Late today, Tecmo unveiled a new Xbox Live component of its upcoming action game, Ninja Gaiden.

Any Xbox Live user who completes Ninja Gaiden will be eligible to register for The Master Ninja Tournament, a worldwide online championship that will kick off at this year's E3 in May. Practice missions will be offered to entrants starting one month before the three-round competition begins. Competitors will first fight other players in their areas, with rankings posted on an Xbox Live leader board. Winners will be determined by the top rankings in each round.

The Master Ninja Tournament will culminate in a World Master Ninja Finals held in September at X04 in Europe, where international players with the best scores from all three levels will be flown. More information on the Master Ninja Tournament will be revealed in the upcoming weeks. Check back tomorrow for GameSpot's full review of Ninja Gaiden.

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpot [POSTED: 02/26/04 07:24 PM]

http://www.gamespot.com/xbox/action/ninjagaiden/news_6090179.html

You all catch that last line? :D
(Those grouchy bastiches... I can't wait to read what they have to say about it.)

[Twelve]

The things you say! :eek:

You kill me Twelve. I've seen the games that you like. And though I'm not about to pick on your tastes, I do want to say that your excuses for not being interested in this game do not follow, logically.



Oh, no, it's very logical if you read everything I said. Never did I say that I would not have interest in this game...the fact that I'm even talking about an Xbox game should tell you that anyways. I LOVE games like this, but you have to understand that the king of them all is DMC, and I'm not going to buy ANOTHER CONSOLE for something that's not as good as that. And I care very little for shiny graphics, so that isn't even a factor.

From what I've read so far, including from you, the game isn't all that. Sure, you claim it to be your favorite action game ever, but considering the fact you just started playing the game, I'll wait to hear what you have to say about it in 2 months. Other folks that I've spoken to are impressed, but...

See, I'm not about to buy another console for simply an impressive game. For a revolutionary game, OFF THE BAT. (Like Fable should be). But there are plenty of impressive games on the PS2 to keep me busy.


12

[Twelve]

After searching the web, it looks like I'm about to eat my own words:

Ninja Gaiden is simply the most polished and responsive action game we have seen so far this generation, and it's my belief it will likely remain so till the end. It fulfills the half-forgotten promise of the Xbox: to provide a gaming experience you can't get anywhere else. Sure, there are some games that you can point at and say, "That wouldn't be easy to do on PS2," but Ninja Gaiden is something the PS2 never even dreamt of. It would be coughing up blood trying to run a game with graphics this good, that moves this fast, at a constant 60 frames per second. And the gameplay backs that promise up, too; rarely have I felt so deeply engaged by an action game, no matter how much I'd been enjoying it. Castlevania had atmosphere, Rygar had level design, and Devil May Cry had cool. Only Ninja Gaiden has the whole package.

AND I heard that the game is very difficult, which I love.

*sigh*

I may have to get this.

12

[Deathstroke]

Heh, this post is going to be completely system wars material:

Ninja Gaiden got a 9.4 at IGN.
Viewtiful Joe got a 9.5.
And the daddy of them all, Devil May Cry got a 9.6.

Mwahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously though, I'm now curious about Onimusha 3. I read impressions of it from a guy that imported the game from Japan on the Magicbox and it is sounding fairly interesting. Jean Reno has whip mechanics like Ivy's from Soul Calibur 2.

Oh and yeah, Glockstar, do you know how many levels of difficulty Ninja Gaiden has? Is it as tough as Viewtiful Joe on Ultra V-rated?

["The Game"Evolution]

Heh, this post is going to be completely system wars material:

Ninja Gaiden got a 9.4 at IGN.
Viewtiful Joe got a 9.5.
And the daddy of them all, Devil May Cry got a 9.6.

Mwahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously though, I'm now curious about Onimusha 3. I read impressions of it from a guy that imported the game from Japan on the Magicbox and it is sounding fairly interesting. Jean Reno has whip mechanics like Ivy's from Soul Calibur 2.

Oh and yeah, Glockstar, do you know how many levels of difficulty Ninja Gaiden has? Is it as tough as Viewtiful Joe on Ultra V-rated?

It wasnt even a mention on anybody's list either.MWAHAHAHAH!!! Take that Xbox hater.

Yes The original Devil May Cry indeed got a 9.6.And it deserved it.It was a great game.But how did the 2nd Devil May Cry do? Horrible(I see you forgot to mention the reviews on that game didnt you? MWAHAHAHA!).

So now the first big title for the Xbox in 2004 has emerged with kick ass reviews thus far.Get over it.Plus Ninja Gaiden has tons of replay value.(Ninja Gaiden 1,2,and 3 from the NES) I mean four games in one? It gets no better than that.Not many games on the PS2 or the GC for that matter offers packages like this.

Because there is going to be alot more where that came from.Ninja Gaiden indeed will be one of the main contenders for action/adventure game of the year for 2004.The only game that I see that'll give this game some serious competition is Metal Gear Solid 3:Snake-Eater.MGS:Twin Snakes wont come close.Onimusha 3 wont come close either.But MGS:TS will get better reviews than Onimusha 3 will.Thats for certain.

[Rogue Bounty Hunter]

After searching the web, it looks like I'm about to eat my own words:

Ninja Gaiden is simply the most polished and responsive action game we have seen so far this generation, and it's my belief it will likely remain so till the end. It fulfills the half-forgotten promise of the Xbox: to provide a gaming experience you can't get anywhere else. Sure, there are some games that you can point at and say, "That wouldn't be easy to do on PS2," but Ninja Gaiden is something the PS2 never even dreamt of. It would be coughing up blood trying to run a game with graphics this good, that moves this fast, at a constant 60 frames per second. And the gameplay backs that promise up, too; rarely have I felt so deeply engaged by an action game, no matter how much I'd been enjoying it. Castlevania had atmosphere, Rygar had level design, and Devil May Cry had cool. Only Ninja Gaiden has the whole package.

AND I heard that the game is very difficult, which I love.

*sigh*

I may have to get this.

12

Now you have two Xbox games to look forward to: Ninja Gaiden and Fable. Welcome to the dark side. :D

[Glockstar]

Heh, this post is going to be completely system wars material:

Ninja Gaiden got a 9.4 at IGN.
Viewtiful Joe got a 9.5.
And the daddy of them all, Devil May Cry got a 9.6.

Mwahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Oh and yeah, Glockstar, do you know how many levels of difficulty Ninja Gaiden has? Is it as tough as Viewtiful Joe on Ultra V-rated?

To be frank about it, I don't know.

There are two difficulty levels on the demo, normal and "something harder" (or something like that :p ). I only played the normal mode, and didn't think to check to see if the other one was even playable. It may or may not have been (you know how some of these demos are) but somebody else, that has the demo, is going to have to answer that.

How many levels the final, real, game will have... well I don't know that either. Obviously there's at least two. But my hunch is... that is it.

Though I don't know this for sure, I'd bet anything that the reviews coming in by xbots and professional pundits alike are based on play on the normal difficulty mode. Which, as you can tell by reading, is quite challenging! That said, I don't think the hardest difficutly level will be on par with VJ's UVR mode or DMC's DMD mode. I'd guess that it comes in at just a step below them; but I could be wrong. I could be way wrong.

Thing is, I'm not likely to ever find out. And explaining this will explain why I think NG's difficulty levels won't be as numerous, or go as high as they did in those other two games.

First I have to say, that I find all three games to be quite a difficult challenge - on normal. The super-duper hard levels are just be a futile waste of time for me, if not an exercise in utter frustration. So with NG, once I'm finished with the game on normal, I'm probably just going to move on... to the unlocked original NES versions and to the online modes. :D

Which leads me to the biggest reason why I don't think NG will have a "Ryu Must Ultra-Die" mode: it doesn't need it. Hey nothing against those other games, alright - you know I have 'em, and you know I like 'em - but they do need all those extra difficulty levels. That's where those games get their replay-ability from. They don't have any other complete games as unlockables; they don't have a multi-player mode; and they don't have an online competition. They just have more costumes, more playable characters, and more difficulty levels. The motivations to play on are quite different.

That's my thinking anyway.

At this point I'm done reading about NG. Having played the demo... I know that I'm getting it. And I can't wait until I do! The camera bothers me a little (but then again, what 3D game doesn't have camera issues?), there are some collision detection issues (mostly with the inanimate surroundings), the backgrounds are (a little dissapointingly) static, and I don't think the graphics are as good as they look in the pics... but everything else is better than I'd hoped! It's a pick up and play game, that is very challenging and adrenalizing. The action is sooo fast! You can jump up, run across a wall, and unleash a fury of shurikens, all in the blink of an eye! And almost without you even knowing that you did anything! So pulling off combos, and strings of, is easy as pie! But it is in no way a button masher, or hack-n-slasher. It is partularly less so than DMC or VJ, in any case. Because of the A.I. So yeah... pulling off a high-scoring combo is easy ... but it is also a good way to get yourself killed, and get a "game over" message to come up on your television screen!

The weapons are cool and the combos are way cool, but I think you'll like the fighting elements as much as anything. And forget about the graphics - they're an afterthought!

One thing I try hard to stay away from in my reviews and in my impressions, is telling people what they have to do with their money. I try to put it into perspective and give sound advice on the issue, but that's it; I will never tell anyone, "go buy this game today!" That said, you have got to find a way to play this game. Hopefully over at your friends. Or at least, at the vg retailer where they'll hopefully have a demo running. But if you can't make those things happen... then I do believe that (for fans of this type of game) this game is a bona fide System Renter - if not a System Seller.