Ninja: Shadow Of Darkness

for Sony Playstation

Distributed by
Eidos Interactive Limited

Price: £44.99

Players : 1

Ninja: Shadow Of Darkness tells a tale of Ancient Japan being split into two distinct regionsm each controlled by a powerful warlord. Both of these men were desperate to gain control of the other's lands - and therefore become Emperor of all Japan. All hell broke loose, though, when one of the warlords, Katasaki, cheated and sold his soul to an evil demon named Batanaka, as the demon decimated Japan in the process.

Years later, after a soul-searching journey, a young Ninja named Kurosawa returns to his homeland. Discovering the horrors caused by the demon, the Ninja vows to save his people from the evil grip which has befallen them...and so begins his quest to rid the land of the demon regions.

Sounds intriguing, but what it boils down to is an isometric 3D game of running about, kicking and punching any bad guys that get in your way and collecting coins to spend in the shop later on where you can buy items which will aid you in your quest. Along the way are the usual assortment of food, powerups and magic potions which will keep you going after taking a beating.

Graphics, Sound and Playability

The graphics are very average and make you feel as if this is one of the first Playstation games made. There is some nice use of colour, but absolutely nothing to stand out as being different. The sound is a little better though, with a not-bad tune pumping along in the background, although the kicks and punches are nothing more than spot effects.

I hate to repeat myself, but the playability also shouts "average" as well. For the most part you're running along confined to a particular area until you've dealt with the enemies in that area. When you've killed them all, a key appears and you can access the next area... and so it goes on. Even a group of men carrying axes pose little threat: yes you lose more energy when they hit you, but they're easily placated with a limp kick.

Overall

Overall, this is the Ninja equivalent of an older Eidos game, Fighting Force, which wasn't the best game to begin with but they've taken that, reduced the quality of the graphics and done a search-and-replace on the sprites. You knock someone to the ground, they get up, you knock them down again and they flash to point out that they've died.

I'd like to say that if you like the sort of game that dates back to Double Dragon in the arcades and Target: Renegade on the ZX Spectrum, then you'll like this, but for all it copies from earlier games, it's all been done better before so you'd be better off downloading an arcade or Speccy emulator and playing those games on your PC.