Ninja Gaiden

Tecmo once again shows mastery over Xbox hardware in this epic fighting adventure.

Of course, what ninja would be complete without the acrobatic moves that they are known for? This ninja isn't lacking those moves at all and they are pulled off marvellously whether it is during battle or trying to make your way through any one of the various locales you visit. Wall running has become popular in certain games as of late like Prince of Persia, but Ninja Gaiden takes it to another level where now you can run along a wall and jump to another wall and you will get higher each time you land on a new wall. Other moves include the bounce jump between two close walls, leaping upwards back and forth until you reach the top, wall clinging, swinging from branches and poles, hanging from ledges and the Flying Bird flip where you run up a wall and back flip off it to land on a platform a good distance behind you.

There are plenty of jumping puzzles included in the game but for the most part they are easy enough to get through with the special jumps and moves, but there would be an occasion where the camera wouldn't line up right and trying to jump straight across from one platform to the next was a near hair pulling event from frustration.

After you are done with the pretty tough and twenty-ish long hours of single player gaming, you can hook up Ninja Gaiden through the Xbox Live service for the Master Ninja Tournament. Some time this month, the Master Tournament will kick off. Once the tournament begins, participants will compete against other players within their regions and then will be ranked on their overall scores from the trial missions you will be able to play.

A leader board will show players overall rankings so that players can see how they stack up against the competition. Then later on in the year, the top players will take part in the final tournament in Europe. Although this may not appeal to everyone who plays the game, it definitely gives those who think they have the right stuff, the chance to prove it.

When you combine all the features you can find in this game like being able show you are the best player this side of the dojo, the option to unlock the three original Ninja Gaiden games, the rather challenging gameplay and the overall length of the game itself, mix that in with being the best looking game on the Xbox to date and you have yourself a sure fire hit. Other than the odd time that the camera misbehaves on you, Ninja Gaiden is without a doubt going to be in the running for game of the year.