Ninja Impact Ultimate Shippuden Storm Narut

Ninja Impact Ultimate Shippuden Storm Narut adapts the storyline of the most current Naru anime series, Narut Shippuden.

In the Ultimate Road campaign, Narus has returned to Hidden Leaf Village after three years of intense training to be reunited with many of his friends and comrades.

However, his dear companion Sasuke, who has defected to serve the insidious Orochimaru, is not among them.

Naru learns of some pressing events happening in the village and elsewhere,

and he immediately sets off with his teammates to try to set things right,

only to get tied up in a much bigger plot that involves several different factions.

The way the game adapts the story is admirable, though if you're already familiar with the way events play out (having read the comic or watched the show), there isn't much in the way of surprises.

The main game is divided into several chapters,

each of which contains a map screen that allows Narut and company to advance to various events and stages.

By completing certain stages or objectives (some mandatory, some optional), new playable characters, missions,

and special ability cards can be unlocked. Successfully completing levels and performing skillfully in battle also earns you ninja points,

which allows you to purchase character-enhancing card pieces and upgrades, along with extras like music or wallpaper.

Each chapter has a separate completion gauge that lets you know how much further you have to go before you've found and collected everything available.

There's a lot of emphasis on collecting bonus goodies in Ninja Impact Ultimate Shippuden Storm Narut, and this element of the game is well executed.

Visuals and sound are also quite nice: The character models are faithful to the original designs and are surprisingly detailed.

A heavy amount of voice-over also accompanies the story in both English and Japanese audio tracks.

The actual combat, however, is considerably less exciting.

Ultimate Ninja Impact borrows liberally from the design of Tecmo Koei's Warriors games, for all of the good and bad that may entail.

Controls are easy to grasp: You can jump, air-dash, or guard, as well as perform basic attack combos and throw weak projectiles with simple button presses. The chakra attacks are slightly more complex;

they require you to first charge up your chakra meter sufficiently by holding down the triangle button and then either execute them at the end of a basic combo string or hit a set button sequence.