Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja
Storm Revolution Review
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Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution is quite a mouthful, and is the newest title in a series of games that have been on the scene since 2003. In fact CyberConnect2 have made somewhat of a very successful franchise out of it all, with none of the previous releases achieving disappointing scores. Apart from a few niggling points, they have all been up to a relatively high standard, but this may also set them up for major ridicule if the series was to produce one lemon. Is Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution going to be that lemon? Well the short answer is no. This release in the series sees a few changes that may or may not sit well with the fan base. Among them are various changes to the combat system itself, making combo breaking teleports far less available to the player. It has over one hundred characters to unlock and choose from, a new version of the story mode, and what quite possibly is the biggest change, a completely new mode called Ninja world Tournament which has so much to offer on it’s own, it’s practically a game in it’s own right.
Ninja World Tournament mode for me is what makes this release. Choosing your favourite challenger sees you explore a sprawling island packed with activities for you to do and discover. You can shop for battle aids, chat to fellow ninjas and form alliances, not to mention the endless battles, challenges and jobs for you to take on. It puts you in mind of a large open world story mode, where battling not one but three other ninjas in order to gain the most orbs is the objective. These orbs fall from your opponents as you readily kick, punch and slap them. If you thought that the action in the Naruto Shippuden series was already hectic enough with two players on the screen, well you have to witness the pure adrenaline of this four player action. This all seems to work extremely well, until you are being kicked in the head from all sides. The battles are fluid and engaging, with the main difference being that this time round you have to be extremely aware of your surroundings, but with no health bars you can just go all out with the attacks, and be prepared to take as good as you are giving. Progressing up through the ranks is the objective here, with more of the huge character roster, items, alliances and parts of the island unlocking as you progress. This is definitely a mode for the grinders out there, and is a bit of a slog, so don’t expect to get everything in the first few hours of gameplay.
This brings me on to the Ninja Escapades, which is this releases answer to the highly popular story mode. Some fans may not like this version as we have definitely been spoilt in the past with Naruto Shippuden’s lavish animated story. This mode sports a collection of stories that are exclusive to the Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution title, and may not make entire sense to those of you that don’t follow the source material, but die hard fans will probably get all hot around the collar. Most of the time doing these escapades is taken up with the animated cut scenes, which are incredibly interesting to watch, followed by battles, each one will probably take you about 40 minutes to complete. Following on from this is the online modes, which can provide a welcome break from the hard slog of the island. I found making a clone of my favourite character and sending him out to do battles on the island quite interesting, as he soon returns with items for you to use. The other online mode is your standard PvP. The standard online matches can be very imbalanced, mainly due to some combat elements, and with players picking the same few powerful characters all the time, it seems that the extensive roster has done nothing to alleviate the problems that still plague the series in this particular mode. However, these battles with your friends or strangers online can produce some incredible visual spectacles. Be warned, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution will not reward you for simple button mashing as you might do in other titles, instead it’s a thinking man’s game, rewarding the player for patience and split second timing to unleash a barrage of spectacular moves that will leave your opponent in a state of shock.
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution also looks gloriouswith CyberConnect2 paying great attention to detail throughout the game, it’s a shame that the imbalances of the combat soured my experience with the title. It seems that they put a lot of creative thought into this release, making big changes, and welcome ones if I may add, only to be let down by some past demons. Yes you can play alone if you’d rather not do the online thing, but these days every player wants online functionality and in the past we have seen games being slated for not having them. This is a game that will give you weeks, if not months ,of play as you explore the island, but if you don’t like games that require you to work for your rewards it may not be the best for you. The new Ninja Escapades will not please everyone, especially hard core fans, but I found it a welcome break from the online slaughter fest. I found it the most improved game of the series with changes all round that try to please everyone. Some attention is definitely needed in the area of the combat, but with each title improving I hope the next instalment will iron these annoying problems out. I also hope that the next one reaches the newer generation of consoles, as I would love to see what CyberConnect2 could achieve with the extra power. Either way miss this one at your peril.
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