Hands down, one of the best action/adventure games of all time.
The graphics are still relevant today. I have no more problem praising the graphics of this game today, than I did 8 years ago. This game looks and runs better than a lot of new games today even. Not to mention some of the 1rst gen titles for 360. I literally still come back and play this game when I'm uninterested in all of the new stuff out right now. Essentially, what I'm saying is that this game is still very easy on the eyes.
The gameplay consists of you playing a master ninja, and he has the moves to back that title up with. The combat definitely steals the show in this game. There are a wide range of moves to use to kill your enemies with, and as wide as the range is so also is the depth of the combat. Greg Kasavin was right in his review when he said the combat had this "fighting-game" level of depth. You can chain so many different attacks together in so many unexpected ways it almost has an unlimited level of depth in it's fighting mechanics. And the controls are top notch, even in this day. There is still not a single game available that controls as tight and as well as Ninja Gaiden does. Again, that also includes every other variation of the series. I will play some of these new action/adventure games and wonder "why it's not as smooth or as responsive as Ninja Gaiden back on the Xbox was?" The reason Ninja Gaiden holds this standard is because Team Ninja cared about their game. Sure, they made money on it. Everyone got their pay checks. But, a game this precise doesn't just happen. It can't even happen by trying hard. It only happens when the team working on it actually cares for how the game turns out in the end.
The only low points of the game are that the story is kind of "run of the mill" and the character Rachel, who is basically a dominatrix hooker that you definitely will not find any depth or interest in, is horrible. WEAR SOME PANTS! And some people would complain about it's difficulty, but the game is as fair as you'd expect a fighting game to be. But, if you're patient with it and just pay attention to what's happening on screen (and also make good use of the defend button) you wont have much trouble. It's a pretty fair game all in all; putting other peoples ability to be impatient and rage-quits aside...
I applaud Team Ninja for Ninja Gaiden. It's one of the best action/adventure games to have ever been made, and it's definitely my favorite game of all time.
Boom! Deal with it @9.5/10