One thing I've always liked about the Ninja Gaiden games is that they, for the most part, feel difficult by design. Meaning there's not very much instance of "I TOTALLY PRESSED THAT BUTTON" or "Why doesn't this work?!"
However, playing Ninja Gaiden 2 - on easy mode no less - I'm coming to the conclusion that that's not always the case.
Remember that game you used to play as kids - at least I used to play - where the couch cushions or different colored tiles on the floor are ok to step on, but everything else is hot lava?
Well, I think the makers of Ninja Gaiden 2 must've loved that game.
I've arrived at the "Gothic City with Rocket Launcher Ninjas and CyberTanks" Level, and since its the scary fire fiend boss, of course there's snow everywhere.
There are big patches of snow with a single trail of footprints through them. As long as you walk on that line its ok, but anywhere off that is covered in mines. And not the "walk on them, they blow up, and then you can walk there" kind, but literally every square inch of the snow is covered and any given spot can blow up as many tmes as you step there.
Also, there are guys with machine guns shooting at you. And sometimes Rocket Launcher Ninjas.
If the stuff only blew up once, I'd call it design, but the difficulty in passing those patches makes me think it's closer to broken, which is disappointing. Up until this part the game has been, with few exceptions, challenging and fun. Most of the bosses have been easy but there have been some fun parts. Now the game has turned into boomerang practice. The only thing stopping me is that I know my controller won't come back if I throw it.
I suppose I'll try a few more times, but with games like Braid and Geometry Wars available, I'm not going to spend a ton of time on something that feels like it is playing unfairly with me.
This is what I want to do to the game when it pulls crap like this.
However, playing Ninja Gaiden 2 - on easy mode no less - I'm coming to the conclusion that that's not always the case.
Remember that game you used to play as kids - at least I used to play - where the couch cushions or different colored tiles on the floor are ok to step on, but everything else is hot lava?
Well, I think the makers of Ninja Gaiden 2 must've loved that game.
I've arrived at the "Gothic City with Rocket Launcher Ninjas and CyberTanks" Level, and since its the scary fire fiend boss, of course there's snow everywhere.
There are big patches of snow with a single trail of footprints through them. As long as you walk on that line its ok, but anywhere off that is covered in mines. And not the "walk on them, they blow up, and then you can walk there" kind, but literally every square inch of the snow is covered and any given spot can blow up as many tmes as you step there.
Also, there are guys with machine guns shooting at you. And sometimes Rocket Launcher Ninjas.
If the stuff only blew up once, I'd call it design, but the difficulty in passing those patches makes me think it's closer to broken, which is disappointing. Up until this part the game has been, with few exceptions, challenging and fun. Most of the bosses have been easy but there have been some fun parts. Now the game has turned into boomerang practice. The only thing stopping me is that I know my controller won't come back if I throw it.
I suppose I'll try a few more times, but with games like Braid and Geometry Wars available, I'm not going to spend a ton of time on something that feels like it is playing unfairly with me.
A game with that much spraying blood can't be all bad, though.