Ninja Blade (PC Review)

So how exactly does one pull of a good ninja game in a modern day setting? The guys at ND Games sure know how to.

 

Graphics: 8/10

This might not be its best selling point, but the game really does look good. Sure, it's not to compare to next-gen standards, but they don't look too bad either. The visual effects of the game also play a big part in making you feel all cool while you go shinobi on some poor bloke's body. The game does have a tendency to lag quite a bit at some times, but it's neglectable.

 

Gameplay: 10/10

Now, this is why you came to play this game, isn't it? You're a ninja, you got all these cool moves, so you're going to put them to good use. It's all your usual hack-and-slash fare, with each weapon having its own combos to pull off, and with varying powers and attack speed, making them fairly well-balanced. The shurikens are also a nice touch in combat, having area of effects, including on some bosses, where you have to use the shurikens to disable their invulnerabilities. Killing blow combos are fairly straightforward, only one or two per weapon, but always look incredible when done right. For ranged opponents, you can use your weapon and hit back projectiles at the enemy, a nice change from standing, blocking, and then running while they reload.

 

In Ninja Blade, you have 3 different weapons to choose from: the Oni-Slayer Blade, the Stonereaver Sword, and the Dual Falcon Blades. The Oni-Slayer is your all-around weapon which balances speed and attack, and when later upgraded has deadly launch-into-air combos and charge attacks. The Stonereaver sword is used to knock down weak walls (identified by your eyes or Ninja Vision), and also smashes the shields of armored opponents. It's slow, but does the most damage, and later upgrades allow for abilities like whirlwind and charging smash. The Dual Falcon Blades do the least damage, but are the fastest. It's mostly used to reflect projectiles, attack air opponents, and act as a defensive shield due to its long range abilities and speed.

 

The QTEs (Quick-Time Events) are a direct spinoff of interactive cinematics from RE4 and 5, and they seem to have gotten it down just right, though the game is a bit lenient, allowing you to start off from a certain point in the QTE should you fail, instead of the beginning. For each boss battle, there is a "Todome", a QTE which usually involves killing the boss in a spectacular fashion (my personal favorite is the Thunder Hydra, where you just take dual blades and rip its mouth a new one). They're fun to play and not too entirely annoying unless you fail over a hundred times.

Speaking of boss battles, the game has a fairly fun amount of them. In later levels, you'll even encounter bosses that you've fought before in the beginning of the game (though easily made short work of now that you have much more powerful weapons). Again, not too easy, but not too hard either.

 

Sound: 9/10

The weapon and music in the game are quite superb, from the music that plays in between missions, to the satisfying chime of completing a killing combo. I was actually quite surprised myself to find that the voice acting in Ninja Blade is very good, almost rivaling high-budget titles that you'd see today. I did have a problem with my version in which the longer I played,  the more that only the voices appeared, or no sound appeared at all. It's a minor bug, but doesn't deter much from the experience.

 

Story: 8/10

The story is something more unconventional. Instead of usual zombie/demons/crazy villain plots, Ninja Blade instead chose to make a parasite the enemy. Your character, Ken Ogawa, and others in his specially trained squad are the only ones immune (unless they willing accept it, as you later find out) to the parasite. It's unexpected and... weird. You either like it, or you don't. I won't reveal anymore, but there is an interesting twist in the beginning.

 

Verdict: 8.7/10

 

tl;dr: If you've played Ninja Gaiden or Devil May Cry, give this game a shot; you just might like it. For those who haven't, this game is a great way to get into the vibe and get the hang of how such games work, and move onto NG/DMC (arguably, the hard ones). If you like ninjas: Buy. This. Game.

 

Disclaimer: Apologies if the review sounded too lenient. I've always wanted a NG-like game, but never really had the time or resources to puchase a 360/PS3, so when I heard something like this came out for PC, I just needed to try it out.