So, anyone who knows me, Knows Im a naruto fan. It's become one of my favorite shows and has replaced most tv for me. Ironic I know, but it says something about the state of American Tv when A japanese cartoon is more interesting then most american tv, not including Mythbusters which I love.

but, anyway, recently theres been a pair of games hitting the stores, one for the 360, one for the WII, both based in narutos world. So how do they work out? Lemme go ahead and tell ya.

After the recent glut of FPS games, Halo, Jerhico, Medal of Honor Airborne, ETC and so on, I was getting kinda sick of blowing crap up all the time. Dont get me wrong, halo 3 multiplayer is awesome, but I can only get sniped so many before it gets annoying.

Naruto: rise of ninja is a nice break from the FPS din on the 360, as it's an action platformer that feels slightly like Prince of persia and metroid mixed into a normal mario style platformer. The body of the game has you playing as the Title charecter naruto, who, for those unfamiliar with the show, is an orange jumpsuit wearning, hyper active prankster. I wont go into the full details, but natuto is a trouble making orphan shuned because he has the spirit of a giant demon fox trapped in him, making him hated by the people of his village. Most of the game is spent trying to change this view of him by helping villagers, doing missions, and completeing side jobs, while collection coins, buying scrolls and weapons, and other common adventure game stuff. Like in metroid, naruto starts with little if any skills or abilities that one would expect of a good ninja, but grows and gets new powers as time goes on, getting stronger, faster, and more powerful, and learning techinques like wall running and so forth, which allow greater exploration of the world.

And what a world. The city of konoha, which is where the game spends most of its time, is beautifully rendered and detailed, with lots of hidden nooks, crannys, hidden coins and items, and a full cast of villagers, both minor and major, to interact with. And its this portion that makes the bulk of the game, running around ,getting powers, finding villagers and helping them, and so forth.

The other major point in the game is the Combat, which, unlike some games where the two parts are linked, in this game they are seperated. When engaged in battle, the game become a 3d one on one fighter very much like another well known naruto game series, clash of ninja. While the game is simplified with a light punch, hard attack, block and jump all mapped to the face buttons, it has a good deal of depth with diverse combos, special dodge moves, and unique attacks for various characters. most notable is the Jutsu, the magical special attacks that are unique to the naruto world. While various games have done magic and special attack, in the naruto world these moves are not only impress but spectacular and well designed. It's not the stock energy blast ala DBZ, and in rise of ninja they actually require you to play an active role in these events. When activated, you must input a command order on the thumbsticks that mimics that hand signs used in the show. Then you much time your release of the left trigger so that it falls in a specific area. During the attacks themselves, each charecter has unique features for there jutsu, such a a Quick time event style for narutos shadow clone, and a traget strike mini game for Neji hyugas 64 palm technique. This mix of abilities makes the moves unique for each charecter. Theres multple power levels and each charecter can do massive amounts of damage with a fully powered up jutsu. The visual effect of a properly pulled off jutsu is impressive, and can be stunning to pull off the first time. But they are limited in number and don't have a great deal of variation from use to use.

All in all, rise of a ninja, is a great game for naruto fans, even if the english dub is a bit off some times The visuals a crisp, the sound is authentic, the actions fast, the platforming fun. A buy for naruto fans, and a rent for new comers.

Now, Clash of ninja revolution, is on the other end of the specturm. It will ONLY appeal to naruto fans.

It doesn't look all the different from the previous games, has some new features like multilevel areas with interactive transistions and the new remote controls are well done and add a sense of ownership to playing as your favorite charecters. The audio is good, but the voice work is still the edited BS crap that was present in the Past clash of ninja games and as such looses a bit of the story and context, but it's most all there. The action in the fighting is great, the Mini games are fun, and the multiplayer is fast and fantic, but still more no online.

Overall, if your a naruto fan, Clash of ninja revolution is more of the same with some new features and a Fun wii remote control setup, even if some of it takes a bit getting used to. With the clasic and gamecube controls as an option, it gives enough choice on controls. I wish I could say more, but the game is short, somewhat limited, and is mainly a fighting game with some neat extras. Good game, but only the naruto fans will really dig it .:)