Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 2

Format: XBox 360 and PS3 
Availability: Out Now

Naruto Shippuden Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 is the second game in the series to appear on the PS3 and for the first time it is now also available on the Xbox 360. The popular fighting game sequel starts just like the Manga and Anime series with Naruto coming back to the Hidden Leaf village after two and half years of training with Master Jiraiya. Fans of the first game will be happy to know that not much has changed from the first game you still have the standard modes, Ultimate Adventure - where you play the main story of the game and Free Battle - where you can challenge the computer or a friend to a fight or even watch two computers players fight it out if you would like the new addition of the Online Battle mode means you can now test your might against the rest of the world and prove you can be a splendid ninja too.

When you first start playing Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 one of the first things that you will notice is that you can no longer run around the entire leaf village as you could in Ultimate Ninja Storm, instead you go through small sections of the village that have relevance to the story, like the Hokage mansion and Naruto’s favourite restaurant Ichi’raku Ramen. As the game begins, using Naruto, you run into the village meet up with old friends like Sakura and then head straight onto the Hokage mansion to get stuck into your first mission, a battle with Kakashi.

For the most part the game follows the Manga and the Anime very closely, missing out some minor details that only a real hardcore fan would notice; so all the real important parts of the story are unchanged.

Visually the game looks great. The computer animated cartoon style really shows off the landscapes, characters, and special moves that make Naruto what it is. The voice over acting is straight from the anime so all the right voices you expect are there but the lip syncing once again is not very good but if you’re a hardcore fan you can go straight to the options menu and set it to the original Japanese voiceovers and English subtitles.

The battle system of Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 is much the same as the first game so you don’t have to worry about hard multiple button combinations. Quite the opposite, every action has its own button, one to block, attack, jump and to gather energy. To do special moves is simple, you just hold your charge energy button and build up enough power then press it again followed by your attack button and away you go. It’s the same for finishing moves, except your charge gauge has to be full and you need to tap the charge button twice before you attack. When battles begin, like the first game, you pick your main fighter then two assistance team members who can help you in the fight. When playing Ultimate Adventure you can pick the characters from the story at hand. The only main new feature to battles in Ultimate Adventure is at certain points the battle will jump to cut scene animations where you then help the battle along by pressing the buttons that appear on the screen within a small time limit. If done successfully, you see some very nice battle scenes, like watching the anime. Getting these parts right will unlock other items in the game.

There are many more things to do as you play  including side quests that you can receive from the 5th Hokage or from talking to people as you run around the different villages. You can pick up items on the move as well, which you can hand in at shops to get other items needed for the many battles ahead. Buying health items is a good idea as your health does not go back to full after every battle. Before every battle the game gives you the chance to heal and sort out your equipment so you can be fully prepared.

Over all, Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 is a very good fighting adventure game but there are not very many new ground breaking additions that make it stand out over other fighting games. It’s simple and fun but not very challenging so if you’re looking for more of a challenge this is not the game for you but hardcore Naruto fans will love the game from start to finish. I would rate Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 a solid 7 out of 10, a nice looking, fun, action packed game.