Comments on: Why is this fun?

By: KoolAidMan

KoolAidMan — Sat, 30 Jul 2005 11:52:16 +0000

PS – Itakagi is a riot. Sample quote: “That’s right. In other words, there are some people who want to beat the game, even if it means being reduced to the level of a dog; people who are not afraid to shame themselves to accomplish their goals. Sometimes in life, that type of style is necessary. Anyone who can think like that can still be a real man. The Ninja Dog difficulty setting is for men like that. So don’t give up too easily!”

http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=1&cId=3140456

http://interviews.teamxbox.com/xbox/1170/Tomonobu-Itagaki-The-Bad-Question-Interview/p1/

By: KoolAidMan

KoolAidMan — Sat, 30 Jul 2005 11:30:01 +0000

I disagree. Ninja Gaiden is a challenging game but in the best way possible. It is difficult but never unfair. Sections early on in the game that seem impossible at first are a cakewalk if you play over them again after having made it through several levels. Your improvement while playing the game is one of the many things I really enjoyed about it (and I have little patience for most single player games). The controls are super tight, responsive, and the combat system is really really satisfying. It is probably my favorite game from last year over Metroid Prime 2 and Half Life 2.

If you want to talk about a game that is needlessly unfair, hard in a cheap way, and NOT fun, let’s talk about Devil May Cry 3. :)

By: mike_ch

mike_ch — Sat, 30 Jul 2005 02:24:09 +0000

NG is a rental. It’s quite fun to watch it move, but battles, particularly boss battles, are just the same old NES-era routine of defending yourself while memorizing the enemy’s patterns and learning when to make your move.

This would be somewhat entertaining for the old-school gamer except you throw in the new-school twist of 3D arenas, and it starts to become needlessly difficult. The second notable battle in the game is a couple enemies on horseback that have a variety of ways to come at you and attack you. It’s hard enough to learn their pattern without having to swivel the 3D camera around and around like the cameraman is on crack to see what’s happening.