Ninja Gaiden II Updated Hands-On

Ninja Gaiden II has been set loose from Team Ninja's dojo and will soon be upon our very doorsteps. The game is due to visit North America on June 3 and Europe on June 6, and fans of the series will no doubt be keen to see Ryu picking up his Dragon Sword once more, as he continues from where he left off in the Xbox original back in 2004.

At the European press launch for the game, we got our hands on the previously unseen chapter eight, aptly titled Submit, or Die! The action begins straight after the events on the Daedaelus airship--seen in our previous hands-on with chapter seven--and starts as the greater fiend Zedonius is awakened after a long snooze. It appears he's not a happy greater fiend, what with being surrounded by a small army of puny earthlings intent on his destruction. Luckily for him, he makes quick work of a bombardment of tank shells and issues an ultimatum to the inhabitants of Earth: Accept the yoke of the archfiend, or die.

After the brief cutscene featuring the red-winged demonic fiend, you'll assume Ryu's role. You won't encounter Zedonius immediately, because you'll be preoccupied with an array of smaller enemies to dispose of. The setting is a snow-laden city, reminiscent of Russia. You'll have to proceed through narrow streets and open courtyards, over sandbagged defences, and around deserted tanks as you progress through the level on your mission to stop the archfiend.

Hindering your progress will be wave after wave of soldiers equipped with rocket-propelled grenade launchers. They usually appear two at a time and unleash a series of rockets at you in quick succession. It certainly pays to dodge these barrages--if you're a sitting duck your health will quickly diminish. While sprinting straight towards your assailants is one way to avoid staying put, it's a challenge to dodge projectiles en route as you try to get within striking range without being hit. Another option is to hide behind cover, wait for the soldiers to reload, and then use your bow to take them out from afar, which works well if you value your life. Although your health bar will regenerate, it will happen only once you've cleared an area of enemies, and each time you bear the brunt of an enemy's attack, your health bar capacity will be permanently reduced by a small amount. Thankfully, full health can be restored by using health packs or by finding restore points.

In addition to foot soldiers, we encountered some pesky dogs, which looked to be armed with explosives (but of course!), and some larger enemies, including one that resembled the queen from Aliens. Although we didn't see them, we're sure the Spider Clan, as well as more unworldly enemies, will still be on the lookout for Ryu.

While Ninja Gaiden was a challenging game for even hardcore gamers, Ninja Gaiden II's difficulty has been dropped a notch so as to cater to a wider audience. Despite that, there's a range of difficulty levels, and even the easiest one (acolyte) will be a challenge for Ninja Gaiden novices. Thankfully, we were able to play through the first couple of levels before attempting level eight, but even with a bit of gameplay under our belt, it certainly wasn't a walk in the park.

The idea is that you'll unlock new moves, abilities, and ninpo (magic), as well as level up your weapons, as you progress through the game. Once you've gotten to the harder and more advanced levels, therefore, you should have the appropriate training to be able to vanquish any foe that stands in your way, though it still might take you a few attempts when it comes to the more challenging situations and boss battles.

During our playtime, we were able to check out some of Ryu's alternate costumes. While they're not included on the game disc, they will be available after launch as a download on Xbox Live. We saw seven costumes in total, including Ryu's legendary Black Falcon costume (his traditional garb) and Dark Blood (a variant of Black Falcon with a blood-coloured theme). The rest of the costumes, codenamed USA_COS_B0, B1, B2, and so on, were fiend variants. These included variants of the aforementioned costumes, as well as a gold-coloured suit with a red glowing visor in place of Ryu's eyes, a reptilian-like green and grey suit, and a suit that makes your character look like a mummy, only with silver, black, and meshed fabric. While providing a nice aesthetic addition to the game, the costumes don't seem to have any effect on your character's performance when playing.

As you'd expect from Team Ninja, Ninja Gaiden II is proving to be a sumptuous feast for the eyes. After being in development for more than two years, the game has gone gold. The preview build we saw looked impressive, and we experienced slowdown on only one or two occasions when the screen was filled with sword-swinging ninja action.

To find out more about Ninja Gaiden II, watch our video interview with Team Ninja's Itagaki-san from the event and stay tuned for our full review of the game.