Toronto Thumbs

OVERVIEW: Ninja Gaiden Black is Back

By Shaun Hatton - March 16th, 2008

Developed by Team Ninja and published by Tecmo for Xbox 360.

While the wait for the super bloody Ninja Gaiden II is still a long one, 360 owners can take solace in the fact that Ninja Gaiden Black is now available for download as an Xbox Originals title from the LIVE Marketplace. And though the game is two and a half years old at this point, it still looks and plays quite well.

As master ninja Ryu Hayabusa, players can use a wide assortment of ninja weaponry and techniques to dispatch enemies. The game is not for everyone, however. It’s extremely difficult once the enemies start showing up in droves, and the boss fights are full of white-knuckled action. Black has a great combo system and the controls are, for the most part, very responsive. When you’re hacking and slashing with your sword, you really feel the weight of the swings and the resistance given when attacks are parried.

For fans of ninja (and really, who isn’t?) this game is a definite steal at its purchase price of 1200 Microsoft Points. The only drawback, if it could be called that, is at just under six gigs, the game will take quite a while to finish downloading. Still, you’ll be able to play it a lot sooner than Ninja Gaiden II.

Posted in Download Updates, LIVE, Ninja, Overviews, Reviews, Xbox 360 |