Ninja Gaiden Black - Xbox

News from Lik Sang

Dashing up walls, silently striking and decapitating those who stand in your way, Ninja Gaiden was one of the best action adventures of this generation, recognized by many as the perfect Ninja Gaiden title. This week though, Tecmo proves the game wasn't perfect after all. In Ninja Gaiden Black, the entire original game is here, exploring the back story of Dead or Alive's Ryu Hayabusa, who is seeking revenge after his clan is massacred by the Vigor Empire. On top of that however, are the new scenes, weapons, enemies and costumes from the two downloadable Hurricane Packs. Then moving into unseen territory, there’s new cinematics, extra side missions and fresh areas to traverse. Still not done, after you wrap the main adventure up, which is far from a simple task, there's around 50 extra combat missions awaiting you, and beyond that even, the entire original arcade version of Ninja Gaiden can be unlocked!

Showing it all the love and care it deserves too, Tecmo went through the whole game polishing up any graphics that didn't meet their standards of perfection. Further changes include many challenges with a beefed up difficulty level, but for those who the game mocks as "Ninja Dogs", after dying a few times you're given the offer to play at a much more forgiving level. If you're after the ultimate honor however, give Master Ninja mode a go. Only one lone staff member from the developers, Team Ninja, was able to complete this, and anyone else who can, can rest easy in the knowledge they are truly one of very few elite gaming ninja's in this world. Being released this week, if you didn't give it a go the first time around, find out just what you missed out on now, and if you did, take your skills, and adventures, to whole new levels.