Let me start by saying this is is hands down the the most fun I have had playing a video game in some time. I will give you a full review and do my best not to glow.
Dawn and I played through this game together. Total playing time 77 hours plus. That’s not a bad bit of entertainment for $60. The game gets it’s roots from the insanely entertaining Ninja Gaiden for the Nintendo Entertainment System circa 1988. I will admit to being a frequent renter of this game back in the day and loved every minute of it.
Fast forward to 2007 and I am equally pleased with the latest incarnation on the PS3. The graphics are second to none. Every scene is immaculately detailed, the animation is fluid and every line is smooth and gorgeous. No pixilated geometry will be found here folks, this is why you bought your Playstation 3. I week and a half ago, I would have easily told you that Resistance Fall of Man is my favorite PS3 game, but the demo itself had me sold on this game. I purchased the full version a few days later and the rest, as they say, is history.
The game itself takes you through 19 challenging chapters, each with at least one boss and usually a few challenges. The challenges usually consist of killing a set number of baddies or surviving the onslaught for a specified amount of time. Yes, this game is a reincarnation of the Xbox version, but it’s no carbon copy. There are new levels, more graphics, and an alternate playable storyline as Rachel.
I won’t tell you this game is easy, but it does seem to have a variable difficulty that adjusts your rating as you finish each level. Overall the play is definitely challenging, but not to the point that you can’t overcome the obstacles. Jeff Canata from the Totally Rad Show expressed his concerns that this game, like the Xbox version, might be too hard… worry not Jeff, this game is just right. Sure, you might find yourself replaying a level a few times, or backtracking through the game a bit to farm for some money to buy potions and weapons upgrades, but that’s to be expected from any challenging game.
Speaking of Weapons, there is no shortage of hardware here. There are a few incarnations of the classic Samurai sword, a set of swords you use together, a monster sword called the dihabalo-malamadingdong (ok, maybe that’s not quite it, but that’s what we called it), a couple different bows with both normal, exploding and high explosive arrows, exploding throwing stars, kama-chucks, a staff, a war hammer, boomarang throwing stars, regular throwing stars….I think that’s most of them. Needless to say you won’t be treading along with the same lame sword. Even your outfit changes as the storyline progresses.
I don’t want to spoil too many surprises for you, let’s just leave it at “This game rocks!” It’s definitely a title that will make you appreciate your new Playstation 3. Once you have beaten the game, you will be allowed to rank yourself, play the newly unlocked mission modes, and replay the game itself on a higher difficulty level.
If you are itching to try it before you plunk down your hard earned duckets, it’s demo is there for you to download in the Playstation store. Get to it…you won’t regret it.
