Ultimate Ninja 4 Naruto Shippuden

SCORE: 63

I had some high hopes for Ultimate Ninja 4 Naruto Shippuden. The fourth game in the franchise, and since the third time was not quite the charm, I hoped that maybe it skipped a generation. I think I know why Namco Bandai only released this game on the Playstation 2 (PS2). A lot of this game feels like going through the motions without the awe inspiring exploration of the characters. Anime needs those characters to be fleshed out, but maybe only true fans will be around for the fourth installment of a series. There is a normal fighting game in this PS2 title, and a 3rd person action adventure portion.

The cel shaded graphics in Ultimate Ninja 4 Naruto Shippuden really show their age. This game is a last generation title, so it is not fair to compare it to current generation console games. With that said, I found a lot of bland graphics. The most color comes from the explosive violent attacks. The violence gets boring very quickly. The Tomb Raider style of exploration does not help. There are some female characters who attract the wrong kind of attention to particular parts of their bodies.

I love the voices in Ultimate Ninja 4 Naruto Shippuden. They are directly from the television show, and they have some great range of emotions. At times I ran into words I would not want children to repeat. Ultimate Ninja 4 Naruto Shippuden is a T rated title, so please abide by that as a minimum. There are also concepts like sacrificing to a demon that will raise a lot of eyebrows.

Namco Bandai has a great track record of including a lot of unlockable content in their Naruto games. I had trouble doing it in Ultimate Ninja 4 Naruto Shippuden, because of the gameplay issues. Some of the unlockable content may be found offensive by many of our readers.

I hate to use the word boring when I write reviews, but that is the one word that screamed out at me when I was playing Ultimate Ninja 4 Naruto Shippuden. Part of that had to do with the frequency of seeing: “Now Loading” on the screen. This had me close my eyes a few times because it broke up the action. Many of the levels are similar, and very repetitive. The fighting has a lot of moves to it, but even that got dull. How many ninjas can I destroy before I get tired of kicking them when they are down?

Ultimate Ninja 4 Naruto Shippuden contains a lot of eastern religious thought. This accurately represents content found in the anime show. Demons are appeased by some, and fought by others (by their own supernatural power).
- Sam

Graphics: 61%
Sound: 69%
Replay/Extras: 73%
Gameplay: 59%
Family Friendly Factor: 54%
System: Playstation 2
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Rating: 'T' for Teen
{Cartoon Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes}

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