Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)Ninja Blade is a ridiculously Over The Top action game that's about 7 or 8 hours of fun. While games like Ninja Gaiden are smooth, difficult, and epic, Ninja Blade feels more like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles vs. Godzilla.
Story: 4/10
Alpha Worms infest the human population, turning them into violent and deadly mutants. The Worms can also create giant Godzilla sized monsters for epic boss battles. You play an American Ninja who's father was Japanese, but was created in a lab, and there's some mention of your mother... Umm... you're basically a video game character designed to kill monsters! That's pretty much all you need to know. The story doesn't make much sense and the dialogue is more befitting of a surfer movie than an epic action film.
Gameplay: 8/10
There are 3 types of gameplay in Ninja Blade and all are fun.
1. Hack and Slash Sword Fighting and Ninja Magic vs. Zombies and Bosses
This is the core of the game. There are 3 weapon types (katana, massive heavy sword, and fast twin blades) and they all have their own strengths and weaknesses. There are a fair amount of combos for each weapon and the combat is fluid and complete with finishing moves. You also get elemental Ninja Magic for fighting enemies and using the environment to your advantage. All of your weapons and magic can be upgraded by collecting orbs found in the environments or by killing enemies.
2. Quicktime Events
Reminiscent of Dragon's Lair, a crazy action scene plays and you press the right button at the right time to keep the sequence going. If you mess up, it's ok, the scene rewinds a few seconds and you can keep trying until you get it right. These action scenes are so over the top... It's like watching a Popeye cartoon if Popeye had 10 cans of Spinach... It's like a Jason Statham Movie x 100... We're talking Superman on meth! They're so ridiculous, you can't take them seriously; but they still manage to be fun. (Mostly because the game doesn't overpunish you by killing you if you make a mistake.) Also, if you have having trouble with these, you can adust the Quicktime Difficulty on the Options Menu!
3. Rail Shooter
There are some scenes in the game where you're on a helicopter or vehicle, firing a .50 cal machine gun or rocket launcher. These scenes are very exciting and pretty easy. Simply put... FUN.
The game mixes all 3 types of gameplay fairly often and it keeps the game from feeling stale. If you die, Checkpoints are fairly generous and you can continue at the last one. At the end of each of the 9 Missions, you get a score based on how well that you did. THIS IS THE ONLY TIME THE GAME SAVES. Unfortunately, you can't save during a Mission. (Each Mission is about 60-30 minutes.)
Sound/Music: 6/10
The explosions and roars of the giant mosters are LOUD, and the sound contributes to the action, but the soundtrack is pretty weak. It's almost as if the team was finishing the game and somebody said, "Hey, we should put some music in here." The background music is just there. Some tracks are exciting and others are bad. One of them sounds like a guy with a saxophone is in an electric chair. (If you played the game, you know what I'm talking about.)
Art: 8/10
The art is pretty good overall. From the visual effects, to the character designs, to the Tokyo Skyline, the graphics and animations are all very good.
Overall: 7/10
The game is fun and it doesn't try to be anything else.
Ninja Blade is Rated M for Violence and Gore.
If you're looking for a fun action game that's not too hard, this is it. With a Shadow of the Colossus Soundtrack, a Real Story, and Less Silly Action Scenes, this could have been in the same league as God of War. Unfortunately, the game is more 'action cartoon comedy' than epic masterpiece. Because the game is fairly short, the hero is completely forgettable, and replay value is limited, this makes a great rental.
Avoid this one if you hate Quicktime Events, Ridiculously Unrealistic Fight Scenes, or Bad Dialogue.
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NINJA BLADE (M) NLA
