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NARUTO is a franchise that most regulars here at
Electronic Theatre will no doubt be aware of. Based on the
highly rated animated series on Cartoon Network, from VIZ Media,
 the
series has been running for quite a few years now and has already
seen dozens of videogame releases across a multitude of formats.
However, much like that which the series if often compared to –
DragonBall Z – the constant stream of titles certainly doesn’t
harm their retail presence and, for the most part at least, hasn’t
hurt their playability, either.
The latest title
Electronic Theatre has been acquainted with comes in the
form of NARUTO: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2, launching
exclusively for Wii in Europe on March 28th, 2009. Set in
and around the mystical village of Hidden Leaf, NARUTO: Clash of
Ninja Revolution 2 takes key elements from the recently aired
Chunin Exam storyline and gives players the chance to play as their
favourite characters to become the greatest ninja that ever lived.
The title features four modes of gameplay – Mission, Single-Player,
Multi-Player and Mini-Games – and the typical high-quality visuals
fans have come to expect from the series’ videogame outings. Set to
feature the largest number of playable characters yet from the
NARUTO series - addressing what was considered to be an
issue with the first release in the series on Wii - NARUTO: Clash
of Ninja Revolution 2 also introduces several prominent
and popular characters for the first time, many of which are
available to play from the beginning, in addition to the regular
favourites of Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke and Kakashi.
Using the same core engine as previous outings in the series, the
game is played with either the Wii Remote with or without a Nunchuk,
the Classic Controller or a GameCube Controller. The game is viewed
as a traditional Beat-‘Em-Up; with the Wii Remote and Nunchuk
Control System set as default, movement is controlled by the
Analogue Stick and the B Button and Z Button move forward and
backward in the 3D arena. The A Button is used as the main attack
button and light combos can be executed using motion-based controls.
Holding both the Z Button and C Trigger will initiate the new Pose
System, allowing the player to input gesture controls for in-game
power-ups, such as filling additional segments of the Chakra Meter
or a temporary attack damage increase.
As always though, managing your character’s Chakra is crucial as
special moves, as blistering combinations are dependent on this
gauge. As an extra twist, during a fight it’s now possible to move
the action to another
 environment by performing a strong attack near
the border of the arena – a first in the NARUTO series.
Four-player battles are available on a single system, including the
option of a two-player Co-Operative Mission Mode, though sadly
online play is not an option.
NARUTO: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 is set to provide players
with quality Beat-‘Em-Up mechanics and a fast-paced gameplay
experience on Wii. Due for release on March 28th, 2009,
we’ll have more information on NARUTO: Clash of Ninja Revolution
2 soon. |
