[Xbox 360] Naruto – The Broken Bonds   

This anime favourite has appeared on Xbox before as we followed his path from a disliked, screw up ninja, to a much loved member of the Leaf Village. After the first game finished with our characters still in the middle of fighting enemy ninja who were trying to destroy their land, we join them where they left off. Naruto must team up with his fellow shinobi to defeat the evil Ninja who have come to bring the village to rubble.

This game follows the anime of Naruto very closely and will finish where the English episodes are, while the story is far from over at the end of the game, it does settle things very well between Naruto and his friend but greatest rival Sasuke. While they are team mates who gain strength from each other, as time passes and Naruto grows stronger, Sasuke feels he is not progressing as much and will not be able to fulfil his one purpose in life to avenge his murdered family and kill the person responsible, his brother. The story revolves around both Naruto and Sasuke, showing events in their lives and you playing as both. Completing missions to help re-build the Leaf Village and bring it back to strength, and training to become the strongest ninja and one day be the greatest of them all, the village Hokage. While the game tells the story well and to complete the main story mode will be about 8 – 10 hours, there are many missions which are the same, in terms of going here, beating this person, getting that item and return. Then doing that 3 more times before you progress in the story. Some people may find this very repetitive. But the story is told well and I really enjoy all the plot twists and character developments in Naruto.

The style of the game is the same as the original, Rise of a Ninja. A 3rd person adventure mode where you control various characters with a range of skills to complete missions, while then entering the battle mode which plays like any 3-d fighting game. Combos, specials and much more to learn in order to become any good! I like the mix of adventure game play and fighting, I think it breaks things up nicely and does help with the occasional repetitive missions. While many of you will be surprised to hear that the fighting aspect is actually a very deep and involved battle system, I have enjoyed this fighting game more than any other I have played. Ever. You are able to fight in groups and tag in your team mates during fights, or use your combos to get them involved.

The graphics are great, the characters have original Japanese voices or the English ones, making it seem like you really are in the Naruto world, the level designs are huge and look as close to the anime as possible! All this without playing on an HD TV, I would love to see what it looked like on one. While some characters could look a bit better and it does seem like the characters have had a slight tweak from the original game and may have been a bit lazy on Ubisoft’s part, the original worked well and if it isn’t broken, then don’t fix it. So good graphics, a enjoyable plot with twists and all the controls and game elements  that make it a joy to play. This game really has no flaws….. well almost, I mentioned earlier the missions get a bit boring because you have done it all before, and this for me was a big factor, I pushed through to complete the game because I love Naruto and I know the story well and was curious to see how it played. I do think unless you are a fan then you may grow tired of the main game.

But all is not lost, the multiplayer aspect is for me, as strong as the single player. I would have to go along and say I would give the main story about a 8/10 (for a huge fan of the series, maybe a 7 if not)

So the online mode, it is very simple but then it works, the battle system I love using in the story, with more characters and levels to use. While fighting against other Xbox live users and moving up the ranks from Student to Hokage. I found games loaded quick, there was little lag in the games I played and most people play the game well. With any game you get people who just spam certain buttons but I guess if it makes a game enjoyable for them, it is their choice. You can choose to play with 3 other people in a tag match and I found all that enjoyable, being part of a ninja dream team and working with someone else to victory. I played Online a lot, and am at Jonin rank – one from the top as getting to the top is not easy! But the game is addictive and because the games load quick and play well it has that “ just one more fight, then I will stop” syndrome. You all know what I mean!

To sum up the game Naruto The Broken Bonds, I would have to say if you like Naruto, you will love this game and it is only £30 in most places, so a great game to get for Christmas. If you liked the original then this instalment will keep you hooked, you will want to know what happens and how the characters develop. If you have never heard of Naruto then I think it is worth downloading the demo or playing the original. Ubisoft have failed to put in a brief summary of what happened in the first one and I think this may put of newcomers to the Naruto world, as previous knowledge is very useful in this game.

If I base my overall score on someone who has played and likes Naruto, then the fact there is a lot to get through, it plays well and the controls and camera angles work. The story is good and the online is addictive, I have to give this game a 8.9/10 – I can’t give it a 9 due to the fact all the missions which could be avoided with more fun aspects.

Hope you enjoyed this review and I would have to say go and buy this game! You will have hours of fun training to be the greatest Ninja!