A couple of hours ago I was able to play an early build (February build) of Ninja Gaiden II. I was at a Sneaker fiends event and Konsole Kingz had a copy on deck and of course as the guy thats right now trying to get through Ninja Gaiden part one (and loving it) I had to have at it. Since I was there before the doors opened (HA!) I had an opportunity to play for a good 15 to 20 minutes and after that I watched someone play for another 15 minutes. The videos are from the version I played.

<

If you loved the first Ninja Gaiden you will love part II. The controls are pretty much the same except for the fact that now you use the right bumper to grab items etc. The moves you loved in the first game are still there. Flipping up shafts, running along walls, charging for combos and all that are still intact using the same button scheme. The game looks a bit better due to the improved graphics. Do note that the graphics in the first Ninja Gaiden were great and part II is not a super drastic improvement but it does look better. The weapon/item select menus are nicer looking and the game itself is fast and bloody! Fast and bloody. In the game your cutting limbs off of enemy’s and blood from their artery’s squirt and all that. Limbless enemy’s do crazy kamikaze moves at you. There were people standing around watching me play and while I played there were quite a few moments where the small crowd of people were like “WHOA!” when they saw a head or arm chopped off or when they saw Ryu lift a enemy’s body off the ground with the dragon sword sticking through them and slam them on the ground. The details of the combat that was fun in the first game are more detailed and still very fun if not more fun. I was excited about the Ninja Gaiden II release before and after playing this early build and I am looking forward to the final version even more. I don’t think fans will be disappointed at all.