The Scoreboard #12

Oh, Ninja Gaiden... How we both love and loathe you. While it’s definitely one of the more fantastic games on the Xbox, the original Ninja Gaiden challenged us in a way we never thought games could. The frustration was there, sure, but you evolved as a player, honing your skills. You just don’t get that anymore.

Oh wait — you do. Ninja Gaiden II came out. Well, because we’re big ol’ sissies and wanted to stick with children’s Lego games and button-mashing Arcade shooters, we contracted one of the craziest Achievement whores on the OXM message board: Axe Argonian. Mr. Philip Vasto took it upon himself to submit an epic treatise about Itagaki’s latest (and last) Ninja Gaiden, but will the Achievements be enough to keep you interested beyond the slicing and dicing?

Blood isn’t the only thing you’ll be showering in.

Ninja Gaiden II

Ninja Gaiden has long been considered a game that's solely for the hardcore. Well, now that Ninja Gaiden's 360 debut is finally out, are its Achievements purely for the hardcore? Surprisingly, Itagaki has successfully done something that many developers have failed to do: he's made sure that every Achievement lover is pleased. Whether you're a guy who wants to just beat it once and collect everything on first romp, someone who wants to play through all the difficulties, or the hardest-of-the-hardcore who wants to be 1,000-for-1,000, Itagaki has ensured that no kind of Achievement whore is ignored. You're bound to leave even your first play-through with 600-plus points alone. I applaud Itagaki for making an Achievement list that suits Achievement lovers of all stripes.

Best Achievement: The Way of the Master Ninja (100 pts.) Complete the game on the Master Ninja difficulty. — This is by far one of the greatest accomplishments that can grace someone's gamertag. Master Ninja is hard. I mean VERY hard. You'll need skill, patience, and ninja balls to make it out alive. However, what makes this Ninja Gaiden II's best Achievement? The requirement of skill for this Achievement is applauded, but I'm referring to something greater than skill. I'm talking about the emotion of excitement that overwhelms you when get this Achievement. I mean, what can be a greater award than this mixed feeling of happiness and joy?

This is, to me, a very rare feeling to come up in Achievements. I've felt this only a few other times — like with Orange Box's Aperture Science Achievement and Halo 3's Overkill Achievement — but for an Achievement being this hard, I applaud you, Ninja Gaiden II. You have redefined the term "hardcore."

Worst Achievement: Any of the “Weapon Master” Achievements (5 pts. each) Complete the game using only a certain weapon. — Let me get this out of the way first. If you want to see the 1,000 next to the words “Ninja Gaiden II” on your profile, you'll have to beat this game 11 times at a minimum. That's right, 11 times! While I applaud Itagaki for his madness, I also curse this madness.

Who wants to beat the same game 11 times for 1,000/1,000 completion? I know I wouldn't, but there are some nutjobs (like me; yeah, I didn't want to beat this 11 times for 1,000/1,000, but I'm still doing it) that would play the same game 11 consecutive times just for the sake of seeing a four-digit number on their profile. The worst part is that completing the game with only one weapon will net you a measly 5 points. Not 100, not 50, but 5. Prepare to spend around 60 to 70 hours if you actually want to see that 1,000/1,000 in your profile. Yes, this means that you'll have to seclude yourself from the world and your friends by journeying into the mountains and meditating on this game...something like that.

Easiest Achievement: Any of the "Mastered Techniques" Achievements (5 pts. each) Successfully perform the techniques. — In layman's terms, you basically have to easily find scrolls that teach you new moves. It's almost like a tutorial so you can find them easily. However, I honestly thought that these Achievements went off like the 4th of July. They're scattered across the first few levels, and this boosts your gamerscore very quickly. They should rename all these Achievements "Complete the Tutorial." In fact, the actual Achievement descriptions make them sound harder than what they actually are.

Hardest Achievement: The Way of the Master Ninja (100 pts.) Complete the game on the Master Ninja difficulty. — Didn't I mention this earlier? This difficulty is just [censored] hard! Prepare for the hardest Achievement of 2008 and possibly of your life. Don't worry: we'll make sure your family gets your body in a Ninja-art coffin.

Time Investment vs. Payoff: 5 (out of 10) — To be honest, this paragraph will conclude with a mixed bag. By playing through the game on Acolyte (you'll want to) using only the Dragon Sword and getting nearly every other basic Achievement, you'll probably come out with 600-plus points. That's not bad at all. However, you'll be required to beat this game 10 more times for every Achievement that has the term "Complete the game" in it. However, it pleases my heart to say that Ninja Gaiden II has about 18 main story Achievements (many are secret Achievements). I guess Itagaki wanted to help out the gamer by putting a crapload of main story Achievements. Sadly, those Weapon Master Achievements are just inexcusable.

Overall: 10 (out of 10) — Before you panic, I'm giving Ninja Gaiden II a 10 for more than one reason. One of the main reasons is that Itagaki has done something that many developers fail to do: He took Achievement lovers and divided them into a few categories. Most people are going to leave this game with a wealthy 600-plus points. Others will leave with 700-plus points.

Few will finish with a full 1,000. However, the point is that Itagaki made sure that no matter what type of Achievement lover you are, you'll leave with a wealthy number of points. How many developers really do that in today's games? Most developers just lean toward the easy category. Others just lean toward the hardest-of-the-hardcore category. Itagaki gives everyone a chance to get a bucketload of points. No one is ignored. The other reason is from the hardcore gamer's perspective: this is hardcore crap!

Consider this one of 2008's toughest 1,000s. Not only will you need skill, but you'll need enough patience for a full 1,000/1,000. In the mixture of all these things, this Achievement list deserves a 10. I honestly hope that more developers take this as an example for the future. I hope that they'll follow in Itagaki's footsteps and make sure that in the end, no one is ignored. Let's just hope we don't have to play 11 times for a full 1,000 next time around.

Put that one in the books, folks, because The Scoreboard was an epic one this week. Big props to Axe Argonian for his epic contribution to this week’s edition: tackling Ninja Gaiden II (11 times) is no small feat. If you want to be King of the Intertron for 15 minutes, why not send us your own Achievement-focused review? (Or disgusted hate mail!) Come on now, it’ll be fun. Just don’t be stickin’ your nose into The Incredible Hulk, Grid, Battlefield: Bad Company or Alone in the Dark — we get first dibs on those bad boys!

See you next time, Internet. By then you should have a heftier Gamerscore, since you followed our in-depth critiques and advice!

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