The platforming/adventuring elements are solid, if a bit clumsy in places. Your standard swinging objects, dipping platforms and thrusty-sharp-thing elements are all present and accounted for. It's not particularly inspiring stuff, but it’s well put together and well integrated into the game world. Speed challenges serve to keep things interesting and offer some degree of variation, while grinding down ropes (grinding feels like the wrong word for ropes, but it's the most accurate) is a nice touch.
The highlight of the platforming elements, however, was the tree jumping. Basically Naruto, under your guidance, propels himself from branch to branch through the trees at an ever-increasing speed to get from one area to another. It's really good fun, despite the concept's simplicity.
Unfortunately, the platforming felt a bit inaccurate in places. Bear in mind that I've been spending a bit of time with
Mario Galaxy. So, it might be a bit unfair to judge
Naruto against that game's rather marvellous control system. Even-handedness aside, I didn't really feel like I knew where the little guy was going to land as I bounced around.
Again, things got a bit repetitive in places, particularly in the side quests. Endlessly collecting herbs from only slightly difficult to reach places gets pretty boring after a while.
The dialogue's decent enough. The back-and-forths between Naruto and his fellow Team 7 squad members (they don't pop up that often and aren't a major part of gameplay, if you were wondering) are entertaining and give the characters a bit of depth. Naruto, unfortunately, is an annoying little brat. His hyperactive antics thoroughly failed to charm me. If I lived in Konoha, I'd probably hate him along with the rest of the villagers. It's a personal thing, I know, and if you're a
Naruto fan you already disagree with me on this. If you're not, however: you've been warned...
SPOnG Score: 71%
Conclusion
[b][i]All complaints aside, Rise of a Ninja is a decent game. Its flaws, while noticeable and frustrating at times, are not devastating. It's polished, pretty, and there's fun to be had. It just suffers from a few gnawing concerns, mostly stemming from repetition – in spite of some good ideas from the dev team aimed at keeping things varied. The straight beat-'em-up mode adds depth and replayability to the game, although the emphasis has clearly been on the story mode.
If you're a Naruto fan, I'd recommend it. Younger fans in particular will no doubt find Rise of a Ninja involving and enjoy the attention to detail. If you're not a Naruto fan and you're only buying a couple of games this month, don't bother. If you're not and you're buying ten games this month, it's worth some of your time and pennies.[/i][/b]
