Preordering Ninja Gaiden 3, I was worried after I saw all the reviews of this game from 3.0 to 80%. They're wrong!!!!
Difficulty: IGN said it's too easy. How can that be true? You now have at least 10 enemies or more all attacking you simultaneously on screen at all times, as with maybe 5-6 in previous games. All enemies still retain their difficulty along with all their cheap grab moves intact, while firing rockets and throwing bombs at you as gun turrets blast away and ninja dogs constantly taunt you! You call that easy! How much more can you throw at the player at one time?! You fight the famous spider ninja clan, undead ninjas, magicians, alchemists, military, demons, robots. What more do you want team ninja to do?!
Violence: Yes, limbs aren't being flung in every direction, but how would you know when so much blood is being splattered on every surface as you're quickly ripping through every enemy with furious skill? I loved the brutal feel of cutting and added button presses when cutting through steel and bone. I don't know about you but I like the added punch which seems to bring a little extra something when fighting.
Combat: Button mashing? Have people played Ninja Gaiden before? Sure you can button mash, but it's not going to get you very far. As Ryu hayabusa, you still retain most of your combos from the previous games. If you have to button mash it's because you never knew how to skillfully use combos before. As for magic, yeah it's true you only have one spell, but do you honestly need 5 spells to clear a room? It's an added bonus to help defeat the 10 or move enemies ganging up on you without have to worry about which direction should I aim my magic! Besides, the action is so incredibly fast paced, that you don't have much time to stand idle. Firing your bow, is mostly done from the air as you're leaping to avoid every freakin bomb, missile, or flame arrow heading your general direction. I honestly love the combat.
Camera: This has always been something in Ninja Gaiden. Enemies are hidden around corners, etc. You were always fighting in such tight spaces, you had to constantly flip off walls just to avoid being hit! Well now, the camera is even faster as it whips around to your various kills. But honestly, it doesn't bother me. Why? Because the better and faster you fight, the faster the camera moves, and I no longer have to rely on wall jumping to get a good camera position to see where my enemies are. Does this not make sense? Having a distant camera takes away from the intense feel of combat and I personally like the up close feel of the fighting! It gives me the feeling that because I can fight awesome, I'm rewarded by faster paced brutal action.
Weapons and hidden items: Yes they are no longer present! This isn't a role playing game. It's about story (this time around) and combat. I don't mind not having 20 different weapons to choose from. Besides you get it as FREE downloadable content later for added fun! And not having to search every area for scarabs is kind of a nice break since I can focus on the actually decent story and combat for once.
Graphics: It's team ninja. The graphics look great up close or far away. It's not the best looking game on the PS3 but it doesn't need to be. Still a 9.0 on graphics in my opinion.
Cool parts of Ninja Gaiden 3: First things I really loved about this game is the variety of levels. You fight in blinding snow, desert sands, jungles, gorgeous areas around your ninja village, high tech facilities, and etc. Previous games other than a few Japanese themed areas, felt like Gothic themed worlds that can be taken right out of Devil May Cry! Nothing ninja related and easily forgettable. Plus the bonus is I don't have to keep running through areas like I had too in previous games. My favorite part of NG3 was walking through the Ninja Village while life was going on, full of ninjas in training and people going about their daily chores. Was a nice break and cool to see people respecting Ryu Hayabusa and bringing a little more life to his village. Also having previous recognizable characters fight along side of you during game play was a pretty cool addition as well.
Things I didn't like: Music. My problem with the this music is that it doesn't really fit the game. You could easily replace it with any generic crap from Devil May Cry, Soul Calibur 5, or even the PS3 version of Castlevania, because the style of orchestra and electric guitar is too similar to care about. What ever happened to the NES music that you could recognize as Ninja Gaiden? Other than the Muramasa store owner music, can you really identify any of it when compared to another game?
Anyways: I'm giving this game a 9.5 because I'm seriously having a lot of fun with it. Is it worth purchasing, I would say definitely! Is it crap like everyone's been saying? How could it be that bad? No bugs, no glitches, good combat, it's fun, it's violent, decent story, yes no weapon variety (yet), still has challenges to face, has upgradable ninjas for online play. So quit your bit**** If it's as bad as they say it is, it's because people have unrealistic expectations of the game or were hoping for a carbon copy of something previous. Itagaki may be gone, but Team Ninja did an outstanding job making a HUMAN version of the Ryu Hayabusa we'll all come to know and love as a badass assassin of the Ninja Gaiden series!!!