Anyone play Shinobi yet?
 

I've been looking forward to this one for a bit. If anyone has played it what are your impressions of it?

:whofart:

I played it for a few hours last night and so far I'm loving it. The action is fast and furious and a blast, but what I really like is that the game perfectly emulates the cool platform-jumping aspects of the Genesis Shinobis (in particular Shinobi 3). Being able to run on certain walls adds a whole new strategy when you're trying to find your way through the maze of buildings. Combine that with the shadow-dash and the double-jump (including the classic Shuriken double-jump) and it really is old-school platforming at its finest. And I was also surprised at how well it all works in 3D. The camera works really well (except for the finishing moves) and makes zipping through the levels a real rush.

Oh, and the CG cinemas are too cool. The story is your typical ninja revenge yarn, but the choreography for the fight scenes is fantastic and makes the between-level cinemas something you actually look forward to.

One other thing I like: The first chapter of the game already has two pretty exciting boss fights instead of the typical 3 or 4 bosses per game.

Highly recommended. I'll have a review up as soon as I finish it.

Larry
www.AssortedRamblings.com

I was interested in this, but I think I'm going to pass. The reviews have been mediocre (7.0, 7.5 range in EGM) and the main complaints have been that it's overly difficult to the point of being frustrating.

I play games to have fun, not get pissed and throw my controller through the wall, so I'll avoid this one.

2 words: Ninja Gaiden

(sorry)

:crap:

Yeah it was pretty good on the Sega Master System... ;)

Well Josh, I wouldn't say a 7 and a 7.5 are mediocre. EGM rates games with 5 as an average (a system I agree with), so a 7 would be in the above-average to very good range. Not to mention EGM are usually much more strict and punishing with their scores than anyone else, so a 7 is certainly nothing to scoff at.

But nevertheless, yes, it's a hard game. But so were the original Shinobis, and the challenge is part of the charm for me. If you've played and enjoyed Devil May Cry or Maximo (two recent very frustrating games with similar play styles which I plowed through to the end), than Shinobi shouldn't get you too pissed. Then again, I've never felt the urge to chuck my controller in anger either... :)

Larry
www.AssortedRamblings.com

Mediocre was probably a bit harsh. But with my extremely limited amount of gaming time with grad school and work (5 hours a week tops) I try to not bother with anything but AAA games.

If it's as hard as Maximo it's definitely not my cup of tea.

I just got this game from a friend a Blockbuster, I'll post my impressions in a little while after some play.

I rented this game this weekend, and I am having a blast with it! This game puts the badass back in ninja, Hotsuma ROCKS! The english voice acting is pretty bad, but thankfully there's an option for japanese dialogue. So far its been challenging, but to answer your question josh, not maximo-like challenging (at least the first 3 levels i have played). The gameplay is pretty tight, it was a little hard at first to do the combos and lock on's at first because the action is much faster than other games, but after a little practice it became second nature, and it looks damn sweet! Its neat because the game rewards you for this by making your sword attack stronger for each continuous hit, in fact there is a boss i just got to built around this very concept. In the reviews I read, i haven't seen any serious problems that they ragged on (other than the difficulty). The only problem is probably the timing of the game, that it had to come out during an explosion of top notch games. But still, I reccomend you at least rent it, it makes a good stress relief game hacking up evil demons, dashing around them in a blur and hitting them in 4 different directions at the same time that they never knew what hit them, did I mention that it kicks ass? :). Highly reccommended!

I'm liking the game so far as well, the action is just fun - never get sick of running on walls and seeing 5 people slash in half at the same time.

Graphics aren't anything special, but it's definitly worth checking out.

off topic:

Ever since this game has come out, I can't get that Wu-Tang Clan lyric out of my head.

"Behold the bold soldier, control the globe slowly /
Proceeds to blow swingin swords like Shinobi"

Looks like this game is faring better than the initial reviews. If my video store ever gets a copy I'll be able to let you all know how I like it.

:whofart:

So far I'm enjoying the game. The graphics are fairly nice and run smooth, never a drop in frame rate. I love running on walls, flipping out and killing people. :) I haven't found it to be difficult at all, but I am just now starting Stage 2-A. My only complaint so far is that the camera is loose - in essence, when moving it around with the R stick, you have to lightly move in the direction you want to look; if you push too far on the stick, the camera goes flying off in that direction. It hasn't affected anything in battle though, I only need to use it when looking for hidden items.

Yeah i don't use the right analogue too much because of that, instead push the L1 button to center the view in the direction your character is facing, thats what I do as it comes in handy in stages where you hae to jump up platforms and turn around.

This game is just getting better and better, as more and more enemies are surrounding me as I go on, getting tougher as well. I'm on Stage 3-A right now, and the dogs with swords in their mouths(saying that makes me think of Homer Simpson) are tough, because they're so fast and I can't hit them with shurikens. This game moves really fast, no time for a break from the enemies in an area. The Shadow Dash is awesome, as it (usually) allows you to get out of trouble if you're surrounded, or need a quick escape from an attack. This game is better than reviews led me to believe.

Most critics expect vast open-ended gaming anymore. Shinobi's level based setup is more of a rarity than I thought (with all the open ended and boring platformers out there, Shinobi is definitly a little different). Definitly worth checking out.

As of right now - the TechTV/Extended Play review seems to be the most accurate (the 5/5, their love for the gameplay shines through), though the other reviews weren't exactly "bad" as many people seem to think.