2. Ninja Gaiden
Developed by: Team Ninja
Published by: Tecmo
Release Date: September 10, 2003

	What's Ahead: Ninja Gaiden will not follow any of the previous storylines set up in the original Ninja Gaiden games, though the idea of older characters making appearances has not been ruled out. One Tecmo character we did recognize in the game was Ayame from Dead or Alive. Additionally, the demo's one disappointing aspect was that not many enemies seemed to appear onscreen at once. However, this was, after all, only a demo, and the final version of the game should be able to model many more enemies onscreen at a time. Ninja Gaiden will also feature Xbox Live support, but in what capacity, we do not know.

As classic ninja action franchises go, few are recalled more fondly than the original Ninja Gaiden games. The series followed the life and trials of Ryu Hayabusa as he slashed his way through a bevy of demonic enemies in his quest to avenge his father's death. At E3 this year, we had the pleasure of checking out the newest installment in the series, which will be exclusively released for the Xbox later this year. What we saw was a graphically astounding game with the potential to be one of the most amazing ninja action games released in a very long time.

Ninja Gaiden is, for all intents and purposes, a straight-up action game. Stealth will not be a requirement during gameplay, making for a very action-oriented experience overall. Beyond just smoking numerous enemies, however, you will also have to use Ryu's incredible agility to navigate the game's levels, as many of them contain obstacles that can only be traversed using Ryu's ninja moves. You will also be able to use multiple weapon types throughout the game, including your standard ninja sword, nunchaku, a bow and arrow, shurikens, and magic spells.

Visually, Ninja Gaiden looked really amazing. The game makes incredible use of lighting and texturing effects, with lots of little touches like water that reacts to your movements. All the game's environments and enemies, and even Ryu himself, looked great, and the cinematic sequences shown in the demo simply blew us away. To put it simply, we're absolutely impressed with what the demo for Ninja Gaiden had to show us, and we look forward to seeing more of the game as the release date draws nearer.