Shadow Warrior
Most of the game has all the same gameplay and action but that's not a bad thing most of the successful video game franchises I've known have been successful because that factor was still intact.
This sequel and many like it go by the old priciple in sports: Same game different arena. And it is a new ball game indeed, the game does have a few improvements over the orignal from the sharper graphics and a great soundtrack to boot. Two new powerups most notably the shadow replecation ability which is one of my favorate things in this game, it's a great tool for defense and offence. If you place one or two of your shadow ninjas someplace in the game you can increase you chances in both factors which equals faster progress but most notably you could do maximum damage to bosses if placed just right.
But also you have the ability to as "Spider Man" puts it to wall crawl. This also gives you a conderable advantage because it causes you to be more tactical and use your enviorment to your advantage.
As usual thought I have to warn you this game is hard, oh damn can it be hard a really butt kicker, there are unlimited continues thankfully but there are no saves or passwords, it's all or nothing. But like most to all hard game Ninja Gaiden has always gone by anohter principle which is it's easy if you know how. It takes condsiderable amount of practice to get though, if you memorize and find all the safe zones and hit in the right places at the right times. And you know what I'm glad, because it's basically your skill that will win this game you get no sympathy from me if you complain this game is too hard for you, I can actually get though most of this game without dying once (we'll sort of) at least until the final two levels those suckers are real butt kickers. If you can't handle it tough, as another old saying goes, "You can't stand the heat, stay out of the kicten; and I've always had a knack for hard games there the ones I play and enjoy the most.
But of coruse what really makes this game stand out in fact what made the whole series memorable in the first place is it's story driven. I won't reveal anything about it since seeing and uncovering it as your progress more is the best part of the game. The way it's played out and handled I'll admit it's easy to forget your even playing a video game but actually watching a movie. The cut scenes are all so beautifully animated, the story well crafted it's basically a comic book fantasy storyline but a good one at that, and even the characters feel well rounded most notable the two main stars of the series Ryu and significant other Irene both of them are just given such a range of emotion that I found myself actually caring about both these characters and what I was doing as if it really mattered.
I loved it then and just as much now which just goes to show how timeless this series truly is to me because Ryu the shadow warrior still cuts deep.