Ninja Gaiden II

I played Ninja Gaiden II recently, and enjoyed it very much. Not a huge leap forward but decent steps, definitely.

The box claims it's suitable for "casual players to the most hardcore", which is half a lie. No game suitable for casual players throws you up against four ninjas in your first fight on the easiest setting (they have ranged attacks and guard-breakers too). That's at first control - the first game let you run about and practise the gymnastics to get a feel for Ryu, but not here. There's an assumption that you've played the first game.

It plays like the first game, but rationalised. Switching weapons and magic can be accessed quickly from the d-pad, a good choice. It looks like there won't be an obvious best weapon for each situation. The moveset has better balance too. You can save at statues with a button press, and they recharge health the first time you find them. There's a neat system in fights where some damage is temporary and some permanent: you don't have to nurse your health between fights, or milk weak enemies for health drops.

Everything good about the first game is still there - the combat is as supple as ever, enhanced by injured enemies making suicide attacks. This gives the game a new texture, as you're not just judging the position and action of enemies but also their status in order to predict what they could do next. You have new "Obliteration Attacks" that dispatch the wounded, so your moveset also changes.

The bosses are still rubbish. They look great and make a good spectacle but I don't think I can call them fun to fight. There's little to them except pattern recognition. In some cases the pattern is pretty obtuse, and sometimes only one attack leaves them vulnerable to a counter. One boss has stopped my play altogether, which is disappointing. I want to return but even FAQs aren't helping me with it.

If a film was otherwise good but had inaudible dialogue, you'd put it down to a technical problem. It would be a barrier between you and the good content of the film. Why not the same for a game-blocking boss? Just a thought. I'm sure it's turn will come soon, but until then it loses big marks for the bosses.