‘Naruto’ offers gamers a fighting experience in a manga world

From the manga pages by Masashi Kishimoto and the animated series that followed, “Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2” is the latest game following the Japanese series “Naruto.” Released for both the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, this is perhaps the best game for any fan of the animated series.

The first and most easily notable feature is just how gorgeous the game looks. The way the characters move and the environment was all carefully crafted to mimic the feel of the animated series. The animation is very smooth, and there is no lagging despite several characters on the screen fighting at the same time.

The game offers two different modes from the start, versus and adventure mode. Versus is just like it sounds, allowing players to battle, whether they’re in the same room or across the Internet. Only a small number of fighters are available upon starting but more will unlock through fighting matches and/or playing through adventure mode.

Adventure mode is the game’s single-player version of the animated series’ story. The player can explore the environment for items and do side quests as they continue the story. It is clear that the narrative was created for fans of the show, as the game takes place in the middle of the story with little explanation of what happened in the past and thus losing the significance of some of the scenes taking place. The large cast, each with their own story and powers, can be hard to keep up with. The game also shifts into the points of view of different characters as the story continues in an attempt to better explain the story.

Fighting is the meat of the game and although the controls are easy to learn, mastering them can be quite difficult. The shoulder buttons handle blocking and the joystick is used for movement. The four face buttons make up the jumping, short-range, long-range, and charge chakra commands. Chakra is small bar underneath the life bar, and is used in special techniques. Charging it enables the character to power up the commands mapped on the other face buttons or to execute a powerful technique that is unique to each character. Each character also has a variety of items to use via the direction pad and support characters to call out, giving the player additional options.

Boss characters, spread throughout adventure mode, add much variety than just simply fighting through each match. Players are challenged to input button sequences as the fight boils to the climax and they are rewarded with scenes of intense action.

Overall, this is a game that was made for the fans of “Naruto” and it may be the best one released so far. It has a fair chance to attract the attention of those that like fighting games and it certainly doesn’t lack in terms of graphics.