Real Talk By: KJ

While the Itagaki-less Ninja Gaiden 3 has received terrible reviews for its campaign, many have left the multiplayer component untouched. Levels, connectivity, match types, there’s simply little to no coverage on the subject. Cmack released info on the campaign, so now its time to see how the coop and versus stand up.

Coop Mode is quite similar to the challenge rooms of Ninja Gaiden 2. Several Stages where the player must survive waves of enemies. This can be played offline solo. For some reason when racking up combos in campaign, the game doesn’t recognize. When you’re in coop it shows you not only combos, but also the points collected. It’s just something we expect, leaving us scratching our heads as to why it was left out of the campaign. Some levels are varied and plentiful, with standard assortments of enemies. Levels range in difficulty, but none are so much of a challenge that they cannot be defeated. The enemy tactics are watered down, and adding another player into the mix exploits it even more so.

The 4 vs 4 Competitive mode is Clan Battle. Keep in mind NG3 requires an online pass with no trial period. You can customize your Ninja unlocking different colors and clothing add-ons as you progress. Kanji symbols will be unlocked on the back of your ninja. Pick whatever symbol you want to represent your clan. The game has strangely only three levels to fight in. Each are standard looking playgrounds. Team Ninja is releasing free updates that will bring more maps. Doesn’t really feel like a hook up when the current list is so flimsy. Speaking of limitations, the online meets with the same issues of the campaign. The dragon sword is the only weapon available. It would be like playing Uncharted online and the only thing you could do is throw grenades. It’s still cool to use the combos you’ve learned against real live opponents. The stealth killing was barely touched in single player, but here it’s incredibly useful. When moving slowly your character will go transparent, making it very difficult to see. Halo Style. It’s pretty satisfying landing a stealth kill online. Another thing is the connectivity. I’ve experienced little to no lag in a full room of fighters.

This multiplayer had massive potential. Glaring omissions really damage the score. A lack of weapons and three stages is just unacceptable especially when you factor in an online pass is needed for admission. While Its cool seeing a cluster of ninjas fighting each other, there’s just not enough here. It’s overall a forgettable experience, that’s not to say a sequel could make it stand out.

Ninja Gaiden 3 Multiplayer Gets

Out of five

What’s Legit?

+Little Lag

+Ninja Customization options

+Landing stealth kills online

What’s Perpetrating?

-Three Maps

-Online Pass

-Limitations from single player carry over