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P Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 (Xbox 360)

Joseph Gieske Profile _ Twitter _ E-mail _ Homepage

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 picks up where the first game left off in story, style, and a penchant for epic proportions. It starts at the very beginning of the Shippuden series and runs all the way through the end of the Pain arc. That's 20 volumes of manga -- something like 4,000 pages -- full of drama, destruction, and monumental fights. In other words, this game should be huge. Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 will have some free-roaming adventure, but the demo focuses exclusively on fighting. It depicts a specific scene: Naruto and Sakura revisiting their first test under Kakashi, trying to steal two bells from their sensei's grasp. You control Naruto with Sakura serving as a support character, and the action is essentially divided into 3 segments. The first portion lets you get acclimated to the basic controls. Movement seems limitless as the combatants can run on water and double-jumps have them glide all around the 3-D environment. If you tap out a simple button combo, Naruto and his shadow doppelgangers will fling Kakashi up in the air and punch him back into the ground. Using the chakra button will result in a more powerful attack -- it can be different depending on the combination you use -- but in this case the simplest is the whirlwind of the Rasengan. In a nutshell, it's fluid, one-on-one fighting. Next, there's an interlude of quick-time button events. A special cutscene plays as Kakashi throws a giant fireball in his student's direction, and the game prompts you to press buttons in sequence to have Naruto dodge. These are followed by similar tests with a cinematic feel, shifting to different angles and close-ups as the fireball narrowly singes Naruto's foot. However, I'm most impressed that they mesh so well with normal action; the graphics look as close to the anime as I could ever expect. The final potion samples the type of strategy you can expect in a typical boss battle. The combatants find themselves in the bowl of a watery crater. In addition to throwing fire, Kakashi also begins using his electric Chidori, sometimes sticking his hand in the water in an attempt to shock Naruto. The kid's only safety are slivers of dry land, but Kakashi also summons a giant water dragon that systematically destroys these islands. So you have to avoid all these distractions while searching for an opening to attack; a task made more difficult when the sensei hops to safety at the top of the crater where Naruto can't follow. It's in these instances where you really need to call upon Sakura's support. She'll pop out and punch Kakashi back into range, leaving him stunned and open to Naruto's assault. According to all the trailers, these types of extended battles will be a cornerstone of the game's single-player experience. While Sakura isn't directly playable in the demo, Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 promises that she and Naruto's other friends won't just be relegated to support. Parts of the story mode are supposed to be experienced from the view of Sakura and Sasuke, and most any character will be available in multiplayer, which will feature an online mode. The fighters include all of Naruto's original classmates, his new allies Sai and Yamato, the members of the Akatsuki, plus Sasuke and the ninja he has recruited for his own Team Taka. Over 40 characters will be available for competitive play. There's even this novelty Tekken 6 crossover with Lars Alexandersson. If you still need more excitement, just check out the overwhelming action in this E3 trailer yet again. I played the demo on the Xbox 360. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 will be available on the Xbox 360 and PS3 on October 19.

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