Mike Bantick
Tuesday, 08 September 2009 07:51
Entertainment
Page 1 of 3
Why do you send one man, armed with a sword to rid modern day Tokyo of a virulent mutation virus sweeping the capital? I don’t know either, but it makes a great setting for a video game.
It has to be asked, for all the convoluted settings that designers come up as a premise or setting for a video game, does it get any more ridiculous that that presented in Ninja Blade.
Ninja Blade
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Developer
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From Software
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Publisher
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Microsoft
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Rating
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MA 15+
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| Xbox 360 |
Some sort of corrupting virus is loose in one of the most densely populated cities in the world. Known as the Alpha-worm, this mutation is changing the good people of Tokyo to the point they become berserk zombie-like creatures hell bent on,,,,, well not much at all, just kind of roaming around the sitting not really hurting anybody, still they must be stopped!
With an elite team of fairly non-plussed modern ninja’s at their disposal, the authorities decide that this handful of elite close-combat lads is the best way to treat a city wide plague, armed with swords!
Right from the outset, this is ridiculous, stupid fun, just like any good action movie. The absurd scenario, over-the-top characterisations and relatively simple game-play are providing no more cerebral challenge that a box-set of Chuck Norris DVDs.
It is a good thing that this premise is set early, for as Ken (a name that does not seem suited to your on screen avatar) you will find yourself alone but constantly on the move from one ridiculous situation to the next.
Structure wise, Ken’s pursuits to save Tokyo from the virulent spread of the plague consists of the following rinse-and-repeat process, broken up by an occasional on-rails turret section.
Ken will lope along his path, dispatching ‘carrier’ grunts, which explode after a good belting into motes of life replenishing green, and red spend-on-power-up blood crystals.
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