is an
action-adventure gameAn action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
developed by
From SoftwareFrom Software is a Japanese software company founded in November 1986 that develops games for Sony's PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo's DS, Wii, GameCube, Xbox, Xbox 360, Sega's Dreamcast, and mobile phones...
released for the
Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft, and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles....
. The game has been categorized as a
"Cinematic action game," combining a mixture of
hack and slashHack and slash or hack and slay refers to a type of gameplay that emphasizes close combat with short-range weapons. "Hack and slash" was originally used to describe an aspect of pen-and-paper role-playing games .-Origins:...
elements with
context sensitive commands.
Ninja Blade features character designs by
Capcomis a leading international developer and publisher of video games headquartered in Osaka, Japan. It was founded in 1979 as Japan Capsule Computers, a company devoted to the manufacturing and distribution of electronic game machines...
's Keiji Nakaoka, a soundtrack by
Norihiko Hibinois a Japanese video game composer and saxophonist.-Biography:After graduating from Berklee College of Music, he moved to Kansas City to start a career as a solo jazz musician...
's
GEM ImpactGEM Impact is an audio production studio founded by game composer and saxophonist Norihiko Hibino in 2005. It is located in Tokyo, Japan, and employs a number of composers, producers, and artists...
studio, as well as storyboards and animation from Production I.G. The game was released in North America on April 7 2009, published by
Microsoft Game StudiosMicrosoft Game Studios is a brand owned by Microsoft and introduced in 2002 to represent the company as a video game publisher, coinciding with the launch of the Xbox...
.
A demo for
Ninja Blade was released in Japan on December 29, 2008.
is an
action-adventure gameAn action-adventure game is a video game that combines elements of the adventure game genre with various action game elements. It is perhaps the broadest and most diverse genre in gaming, and can include many games which might better be categorized under narrow genres...
developed by
From SoftwareFrom Software is a Japanese software company founded in November 1986 that develops games for Sony's PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo's DS, Wii, GameCube, Xbox, Xbox 360, Sega's Dreamcast, and mobile phones...
released for the
Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft, and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles....
. The game has been categorized as a
"Cinematic action game," combining a mixture of
hack and slashHack and slash or hack and slay refers to a type of gameplay that emphasizes close combat with short-range weapons. "Hack and slash" was originally used to describe an aspect of pen-and-paper role-playing games .-Origins:...
elements with
context sensitive commands.
Ninja Blade features character designs by
Capcomis a leading international developer and publisher of video games headquartered in Osaka, Japan. It was founded in 1979 as Japan Capsule Computers, a company devoted to the manufacturing and distribution of electronic game machines...
's Keiji Nakaoka, a soundtrack by
Norihiko Hibinois a Japanese video game composer and saxophonist.-Biography:After graduating from Berklee College of Music, he moved to Kansas City to start a career as a solo jazz musician...
's
GEM ImpactGEM Impact is an audio production studio founded by game composer and saxophonist Norihiko Hibino in 2005. It is located in Tokyo, Japan, and employs a number of composers, producers, and artists...
studio, as well as storyboards and animation from Production I.G. The game was released in North America on April 7 2009, published by
Microsoft Game StudiosMicrosoft Game Studios is a brand owned by Microsoft and introduced in 2002 to represent the company as a video game publisher, coinciding with the launch of the Xbox...
.
A demo for
Ninja Blade was released in Japan on December 29, 2008. This demo was released in North America on March 10, 2009.
This game features Kelly Hu as the voice of the villainous Ryoko Kurokawa.
Story
In the year 2010, a small village was attacked by unknown creatures. The survivors were moved to a research facility where they underwent examination. The village was designated as “Alpha-Site” from then on. While at the research facility, the survivors began to show symptoms of
necrotizing fasciitisNecrotizing fasciitis , commonly known as flesh-eating disease or flesh-eating bacteria, is a rare infection of the deeper layers of skin and subcutaneous tissues, easily spreading across the fascial plane within the subcutaneous tissue. Type I describes a polymicrobial infection, whereas Type II...
. When further examined the researchers found an unknown type of hook worm. It was classified as "Alpha-worm". Conventional medicine had no effects on the patients, as the Alpha-worms continued to spread into their blood stream causing genetic failures. They deformed the victims, but the infection continued to increase the strength and resilience of the people infected. While it made their bodies more resilient then that of a normal person, the infected lost any signs of sanity and developed violent tendencies.
Before long, the infected broke free and attacked the researchers. A few researchers survived, only to find that they themselves had been infected. Fearing the situation would become worse and result in an outbreak, the military was forced to sterilize the site. They assaulted the facility and destroyed all traces of the infected and the Alpha-worms. To prevent panic, governments of the world kept the Alpha-worms secret. There have been contained outbreaks of infection over the years but have all been stopped by the G.U.I.D.E. squad. The government was confident that they could control the spread of Alpha-worms until now.
Development
The idea for Ninja Blade initially came about when From Software thrived to create a game in which conveyed to the gamer the same intense sequences from those of Hollywood action films. From Software worked very closely with Microsoft in creating the game's protagonist Ken Ogawa. Ninja Blade producer Masanori Takeuchi states
"We worked closely with Microsoft in creating Ken. They provided us with lots of useful feedback and insightful consumer research of worldwide gamers. By cooperating and working together, Ken has become more appealing to a wider audience." Character Ken Ogawa was designed by Capcom 2nd Character Development Studio designer Keiji Nakaoka.
Prior to being announced, Ninja Blade was commonly being referred to as
Otogi 3 by various sources. Ninja Blade planner Kazuhiro Hamatani noted that while not a direct sequel or spiritual successor to
OtogiOtogi: Myth of Demons, known in Japan as simply Otogi , is a hack and slash action game by From Software, published by Sega for the Xbox...
, that the game would contain action-adventure elements of which fans of the
Otogi series would like.
Many Critics have criticized Ninja Blade as being a ripoff version of Ninja Gaiden.
Reception
Overall, the game has received mixed reviews with an aggregate score of 66/100 on
MetacriticMetacritic is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
.
Ninja Blade was named Game of the Month in the June 2009 issue of
GameProGamePro is an American video game magazine published monthly. The magazine was first established in Redwood City, California in 1989 by Pat Ferrell, his sister-in-law Leeanne McDermott, and the husband-wife design team of Michael and Lynne Kavish....
with a rating of 5/5 stars. GamePro's Heather Bartron wrote that she enjoyed the action of the game and particularly the boss battles, but disliked the placement of load screens and the game's lack of depth.
External links