From Software are building themselves a reputation on the Xbox 360, and one that’s possibly not the best they could hope for. With releases dating right back to the first-wave of Current-Generation software, Enchanted Arms and Chrome Hounds, through Armored Core 4 and Tenchu Z, right up to this most recent title, Ninja Blade,  From Software have received a great deal of press coverage for being “almost great”. Each and every Current-Generation title delivered by From Software has been an enjoyable experience, but marred by flaws that prevent it from living-up to the possibilities its’ premise creates. Whether Ninja Blade will make waves to change this reputation depends entirely on what you expect a title in which you play as a Ninja should entail.

            Ninja Blade does not, in fact, represent the sum of the many years of experience developing the critically acclaimed Tenchu franchise. Closer to God of War in its’ gameplay agenda, Ninja Blade is a collection of Devil May Cry influenced combat, Quick-Time Entry (QTE) sequences and on-rails shooting. The very opening sequence sets the scene for an adrenaline pumping adventure as, while plummeting to earth, the player is tasked with taking out foes via a QTE sequence over a beautifully neon night time cityscape. Few games create such a rush within their first moments, and Ninja Blade never truly lets-up.

            Within this grand opening the game quickly establishes it’s conventions in a remarkable way – each entrance into a QTE sequence is acknowledged by the use of a zoom to a close-up of our protagonists left eye, and combat can be both swift and dynamic, with a small selection of swords offering the traditional trade-off between strength and speed. The developers were obviously quite taken with Dark Sector’s Glaive, as all of Ninja Blades minimal puzzles revolve around the use of a familiar looking, element carrying Shruiken.

            For the most part, the level design is a pleasingly varied jaunt through Platforming sections and combat spaces – if by no means amazing – however, a later Mission will find the player asking whether or not the developers ran out of ideas, as the player will retread familiar turf with maybe a slight repositioning of a barrel or canister and no explanation as to why. The camera behaves in a respectable manner for most of the game – perhaps even more so than Ninja Gaiden II – but there is one point in particular where there simply hasn’t been enough playtesting, and drawing the camera back on a centimetre or two would’ve made a world of difference.

Ninja Blade isn’t scared of the extreme surreal – riding a motorbike across busses in mid-air miles above the city or returning a missile to it’s sender by surfing upon it appear to be all in a day’s work for our hero. Though the western influence is very apparent, the game still retains many Japanese traditions. Most of the Boss enemies are based upon overgown insects – spiders, flies, slugs and beetles – as opposed to mutated bipedal creatures and the storyline has clearly been devised with eastern fantasy traditions in mind. The quality of Cut-Scenes varies; some are fantastic, others are underwhelming when compared with the competition. The sound quality is also a mixed bag, with some interesting rock compositions accompanied by some undeniably trite dialogue.

Ninja Blade is an entirely enjoyable ride from start to finish, with some extraordinarily bizarre set-pieces holding interest through each of its’ nine lengthy missions. Though the game will often be compared to the aforementioned trio of God of War, Ninja Gaiden and Devil May Cry series, the game is noticeably more accessible than each, and that’s even without any noticeably disjointed tutorial. Ninja Blade may follow the line of From Software’s just-off-the-mark Current-Generation titles, it’s never anything less than agreeable.  

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