Tomy and D3Publisher’s Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2 is the latest in the popular RPG videogame series offering a completely original storyline, expanded character roster featuring 30 playable characters and improvements to the battle system that will give players more options than ever before as they make use of the newly-added Squad Leader and Ninja Tag systems.
For those who want to test their mettle against fellow ninja across North America, Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2 will also provide the opportunity to earn points and special ninja cards as players prove their strength over Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection for online play. Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2 has been given a release date of September 23rd, 2008.
Get ready for more Naruto role-playing on the DS. Watch the Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2 trailer.
Tomy and D3Publisher’s Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 offers an all-new original storyline created for the North American audience when it gets released there in fall 2008 and features the largest character roster yet for the Clash of Ninja series. The latest iteration of the hit fighting game represents a huge progression from the previous game, including never-before-seen modes, improved visual presentation, and polished gameplay mechanics. The only four-player Naruto fighting game series available.
Watch the first Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 trailer:
Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 ninja secrets get unveiled by the game’s specialist Glenn Stotz in this video interview.
Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) announced what new PlayStation Network downloadable games, expansions, demos and videos were released for PlayStation 3 and PSP today.
American Games (Demos):
* Elefunk Demo
* Elefunk - $4.99
* Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Playable Demo
* Rayman (PS1 game for PS3/PSP) - $5.99
* Star Trek: Tactical Assault (PSP) - $19.99
American Games (Content):
* Metal Gear Online “Gene Expansion” includes three new maps, one new game mode, new character skins (Meryl and Johnny), additional character slot - $9.99
* Rock Band “The Who 12 Pack” from the “Live at Leeds CD” - $19.99 for the pack or $1.99 each
– songs: “Amazing Journey”, “Baba O’Riley”, “Behind Blue Eyes”, “Eminence Front”, “Going Mobile”, “Leaving Here”, “My Generation”, “Real Good Looking Boy”, “Sea & Sand”, “Summertime Blues”, “Who Are You”, and “Young Man Blues”.
* WarHawk Update 1.4 includes 2 new game modes (Hero and Collector), bug fixes, added quick join and modified medal requirements.
American Trailers:
* Brother in Arms: Hell’s Highway Tank Mayhem Trailer
* Mercenaries 2: World in Flames E3 Trailer
* PlayStation E3 2008 Press Conference
* Prince of Persia Trailer
* Project Origin Trailer
* Pure Trailer
* Rag Doll Kung Fu Fists of Plastic Trailer
* Sid Meier’s Civilization Revolution Behind the Scenes Trailer
* …and many many more E3 2008 videos
European Games (Demos):
* Elefunk Demo
* Elefunk - €7,99 / £4.99
* Fatal Inertia EX Demo
* Fatal Inertia EX - €19.99 / £14.99
* Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm Playable Demo
European Games (Content):
* Metal Gear Online “Gene Expansion” includes three new maps, one new game mode, new character skins (Meryl and Johnny), additional character slot - €9.99 / £7.99
* Super Stardust HD “Team Add-on” - €3,99 - £2.99
European Trailers:
* E3 - Ragdoll Kung Fu Trailer
* Siren Blood Curse E3 2008 Trailer
* Ratchet & Clank: Quest for Body E3 2008 Trailer
* …and many many more E3 2008 videos
Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) announced what new PlayStation Network downloadable games, expansions, demos and videos were released for PlayStation 3 and PSP today.
American Trailers:
* Battlefield Bad Company Trailer, Rainbow Sprinkles trailer & Snake Eyes trailer
* Dead Space Animated Comic Issue #2 & #3
* Killzone 2 Trailer
* Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 Course Video
* Valkyria Chronicles Teaser Trailer
* Vampire Rain: Altered Species Trailer #1 & #2
QORE (Content): $2.99 per episode or $24.99 for a 1 year subscription (13 episodes) — If you don’t want to buy this, you can wait two weeks to get the content (but not the video magazine) for free.
– Demos:
* Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm
– Trailers/Videos:
* Resistance 2 - Anatomy of a Game: The Making of Resistance 2 (Part One)
* Silent Hill: Homecoming - In-Depth Look at Silent Hill: Homecoming
* Madden ‘09 - Featured Story: We Love Madden
European Games (Demos):
* Space Invaders Extreme Demo (for PSP via PS3 and PC Store)
* Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3 - €9,95 / £6.99
European Games (Content):
– Buzz: Quiz TV:
* Sci-Fi Quiz - €4,99 / £3.49
* Rock Legends Quiz - €4,99 / £3.49
* Australian Culture Quiz - €4,99 / £3.49
* UK Culture Quiz - €4,99 / £3.49
* Guitar Hero 3 free song: July 4th 2008 Holiday Single
* Rainbow Six Vegas 2 Gift Pack with 3 free new multiplayer maps
European Trailers:
* Brothers in Arms: Hell’s Highway Ubidays Trailer
* Haze Launch Trailer
European Extras:
* Echochrome theme
* Elefunk theme & wallpapers
* Metal Gear Solid 4 theme
* Top Spin 3 wallpaper
The July issue of Japanese gaming magazine Shonen Jump did a preview for Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2, which is said to be coming out on Wii in fall 2008. The upcoming Tomy-developed fighting game will feature more destructible objects and have more playable characters than the 20 in the first Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution.
New characters include Choji and Kiba. They will join the new roster consisting of “tons of new characters”, which will likely include the Sound Five as well. — Translated by Siliconera
Atari and Namco Bandai announced the release date of Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: The Phantom Fortress for PSP in America as June 24th and in Europe in July 2008. The PlayStation Portable game uses the battle system of the PlayStation 2 Ultimate Ninja series, adding an exclusive storyline, full-blown battles with brand new jutsu and animation, and wireless 2-player action and co-op multiplayer to create a whole new Naruto adventure for PSP. Set in the Naruto universe popularised by the anime TV show.
A mysterious flying fortress has descended onto the Hidden Leaf Village. In the role of Naruto, the player must enter the fortress, uncover the hidden plot and unlock characters on the way up the 100 floors of the Phantom Fortress to ultimately defeat the enemy and unveil the explosive ending. Create teams of powerful ninja to aid you on your quest from over 20 of the most popular characters from the animated series, each with their unique Jutsu, combos and Special Techniques. The Secret Technique is a new battle system different to the special moves seen in previous Ultimate Ninja series which allows for faster, more explosive and intense action sequences unlike any other currently available on portable games. You can also power up your favourite characters to give you a winning edge in battle.
While staying faithful to the hugely popular anime, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: The Phantom Fortress boasts a completely new original adventure, plus co-op gameplay and multiplayer action. A choice of six thrilling gameplay modes ensures plenty of ninja ass-kicking battles. The deep single player MUGENJO Mode is filled with dramatic events, exciting movies and intriguing dialogue which let the player enjoy the story to the full. Other fun modes include the Naruto Points Mode for obtaining and viewing unlockable items and Wireless Battle Mode for challenging friends anytime, anywhere using the WLAN feature of PSP in six types of intense two-player battles using different team combinations.
Naruto faces his biggest foes in stage after stage of exciting battles. Watch the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2 trailer:
In the PlayStation 3-exclusive Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm (formerly known as Naruto: PS3 Project), for the first time, the line between the Naruto TV animation and gaming will truly disappear. Even though the gameplay seems to feature a free roam fighting system like the Xbox 360-exclusive game Naruto: Rise of a Ninja. Be ready to play this latest world of Naruto only on PlayStation 3 systems in 2008.
Watch the Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm action trailer:
In Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution you can perform acrobatic fighting moves from the anime and manga and couple them with cool motion control mechanics on the Nintendo Wii.
With 20 Naruto ninjas, the game offers players an action-packed single-player story mode and there are 2-player multiplayer battle modes and even an up to 4-player versus mode for fans of the show to see who’s the strongest.
System: Wii
Genre: Fighter
Release dates: October 23rd 2007 (USA), March 28th 2008 (EUR), March 30th 2008 (AUS)
Players: 1-4
Developer: Eighting
Publishers: Tomy, D3, Nintendo
Origin: Japan
Naruto is the story of Naruto Uzumaki, a shinobi (ninja) who wants to obtain the title of Hokage (village leader). However, an incident occured 12 years ago, when a demon fox attacked the village; many shinobi fell, until the 4th sealed the demon within a baby. As a result, the adults see Naruto as the demon. As a Genin, Naruto is part of a three-man team - the members are Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and their instructor, Kakashi. Together, they will face many challenges, make friends, face deadly enemies, and try to survive each other.
Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution is an original Nintendo Wii game exclusive. Based on the hit series currently airing on Cartoon Network, this first game for the Nintendo Wii released in North America and Europe will include characters that have never been featured in the Clash of Ninja game series. The game will follow the storyline of the television series from the events of the Chunin Exams arc to the end of the Search for Tsunade arc. It will take advantage of the Wii Remote in fast-paced ninja action for up to four players in nine different gameplay modes. The next generation in Naruto games will also include all new character animations, new interactive environments and special mini-games created exclusively for the Wii Remote.
Watch the Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution launch trailer.
The main features in Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution are:
* Twenty available characters – Among the available characters will be original characters such as Naruto, Sasuke or Sakura, but other characters will include some never seen before in the Clash of Ninja series. Plus, the characters will have all new animations for the Wii!
* Battle it out in one of six stages – Each of the six stages will have two distinct combat zones that allow players to beat their opponent in one stage and then continue to pile on the punches as they transition to the next combat zone. You can do this by performing a strong attack near the border of the arena.
* Exclusive content – This game will include all new game effects, new interactive environments and an all new special attack animations.
* Various game modes - Game modes include: story mode, score attack, timed attack, survival, 2P Versus, 2P Score Attack, 2P Survival and 1-4 Multiplayer Versus.
* Three special mini-games created especially for the Wii Remote – Shuriken Throw, Rasengan Training and Shadow Clone Trick.
Watch a Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution Wii controls gameplay demonstration.
FUN FACTOR - 7.5
The game gathers 20 fighters in a competition for those looking for a fight. The cel-shaded graphics will make you feel like you are in the animated series controlling the action. Add in the expressive new style of Wii motion controlled gameplay and you’ve got a fighting game fans dream of once you get past the motion controls learning curve. With a loose story re-telling single player mode that once played through allows you to unlock all characters for fun multiplayer battles. That’s really what this Naruto game is all about, making it a must-have for fans of the series.
Graphics - 7.5
The first thing you’ll notice about the game are the cel-shaded graphics that perfectly do the anime TV show justice. The character animations in-game are present aplenty. But I did find myself wondering why the shadows the characters cast are blocky, that’s so ten years ago. Cutscenes are present too, but are more like reading a voiced manga, after a fantastic game intro I would’ve expected it all to be animated. The visual effects are bright and flashy making sure the game delivers on the action-filled battles. The multi-tier battle arenas look simple and take you to six different locations with only some items being destructible.
Audio - 8.0
The voice acting is done by the same actors who do the Cartoon Network-dubbed English version of the anime series, it’s very true to the series. “BELIEVE IT!” The soundtrack isn’t that diverse, but what’s there fits the game’s theme very well and is quite catchy to the ears as it stays true to the series’ jingles. All required fighting sound effects are your standard effective fare.
Ingenuity - 8.0
Thanks to the motion sensing Wii Remote and Nunchuck controllers (or the lone Wii Remote), the game supports full gesture control which means that every attack in the game is performed using a unique motion that corresponds to your favorite character’s hand-motions in a fairly realistic manner. This means the game has some learning curve, but in the end it gives you a feel for a more physical way of playing that puts you in the shoes of your favorite Naruto characters. Because most importantly, you’ll be able to pull off character-specific special attacks by doing specific motions and firing them off. So if you’re playing as Naruto, get ready to do a shadow clone jutsu and then pull off a Rasengan! Be sure to time your effective use of Chakra energy wisely. There are downsides however. Sadly some chain combos are made very difficult if you mess up your motion control movement with a weak attack in the middle of your combo, hence stopping the combo just because you accidentally added a random movement of the Wii Remote in the heat of battle. Another nitpick is that the fighting styles are different for each of the characters, but they end up feeling samey since they share a lot of the same execution moves. But this is spiced up with the special moves (jutsus) that have you follow on-screen instructions for motion controls to execute a huge attack!
Worried it might get tiresome after many hours moving your arms? Aside from taking a break every 30 minutes, alternatively you can just as easily use the GameCube controller or Wii Classic controller instead, using only button presses and analog sticks for player control.
Replay Value - 7.5
Fans of the series who played the Naruto: Clash of Ninja and Naruto: Clash of Ninja 2 games on GameCube before, might not find too many new options or gameplay here. Tsunade, Jiraiya, Kisame, Itachi, Tenten are some of the new characters in this latest game in the series though. If you’re a fan of the TV show or are new to the fighting game series, you’ll like it very much. You’ll be able to play through the game in about 10 hours. But there’s a lot of replay value with the various other gameplay battle and ninja training mini-game modes, but that only becomes apparent if you’re playing with at least one friend (up to 4-players), keep that in mind. Let’s hope for online multiplayer in the Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution 2 sequel in October-December 2008.
Tomy and D3Publisher’s Naruto: Path of the Ninja 2 is the latest in the popular RPG videogame series offering a completely original storyline, expanded character roster featuring 30 playable characters and improvements to the battle system that will give players more options than ever before as they make use of the newly-added Squad Leader and Ninja Tag systems.
European Games (Demos):
In the PlayStation 3-exclusive 
