The cut-scenes don't help the plot that much, either. As far as I can tell, they're lifted – badly - straight from the anime,. They're vaguely watchable the first time around. Should you have to repeat them, however, you will be annoyed. Some of them are untenably long for the amount of information they impart. The use of the anime also makes them possibly the only cut-scenes I've ever seen that look worse than the in-game graphics. I know that endless seconds spent alternating between a small handful of frames is a staple of serialised anime (I not-so-fondly recall the weeks-long fight between Goku and Frieza in
Dragon Ball Z). In a polished game, however, they stick out like a slightly unfocused sore thumb. The lack of widescreen in the cut-scenes (they're nipped in with patterned borders) was also irritating – especially after watching the gameplay in all its widescreen glory.
That said, they do serve to highlight how gosh-darned purdy the game is. The cel-shading is beautiful. When I first turned the game on, the opening scene (of gameplay, not the opening cut-scene) was met with a contented “Ooooooh!” from around the office. When I realised I'd accidentally knocked the 360's component cable from HD to standard a minute later and rectified it, the game was met by an even longer “Ooooooooooh!”.
The main characters are stunningly realised while the backgrounds blend together in a SPOnGasm of cartoony goodness. The water is also deserving of a special mention for its sheer loveliness.
When the action picks up in the fight sequences a good framerate is also revealed, making the bursts of mild fantasy violence seamless and pleasurable to watch.
The design and layout of Konoha also deserve a special mention. I was pleased to see a well-thought out, spacious and interesting hub to the game. Running around the place and jumping from roof to roof is a joy as you first get acquainted with the town. Fans of the
Naruto franchise should be pleased with the time and care Ubisoft Montreal has put into the environment. It's just as well, given the amount of time you'll spend bezzing around it.
Alas, the size of Konoha – as well as being a strength of the game – also becomes an unutterable pain. As you progress and re-tread Konoha's winding alleyways again and again – which you have to in order to complete your mission – you will grow too familiar, and that way leads to contempt.
In fact, the repetition involved in traipsing around Konoha is a ‘running’ theme. While the game's designers have excelled themselves in the look of the various areas you traverse, the same can't be said for the bloke who was supposed to add the variety to the layout.
For example, the route to the Land of The Waves, while easy on the eye, gets passed through so many times it borders on the obscene. It started to feel like my morning traipse to the bus stop.
It’s also
Twlight Zone creepy – there is no escape! At the end of quests that take you out of Konoha, a warp appears to take you back. The only reason I can think of that the same isn't offered on the way out (once you've already taken the route) is padding.
Similarly the fights, while initially fun, are repetitive in places. You'll be forced to fight the same bandit over and over and over and over and over again. When you have to wait for a load sequence every time you get into a scrap, that becomes tedious. I understand that, without them being few and far between, every battle can't be against a unique character. However, would varying the appearance of the characters that do appear, just a little bit really have cost Ubisoft that much?
Nope, didn’t think so.
