Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword (Nintendo DS)

For someone who has not played Ninja Gaiden since his 2D games this was a refreshing change, to keep within the DS hardware limits the levels are Pre-rendered scenes while the characters and any Interactive objects are 3D models, to my knowledge in terms of the games viewpoint this plays like the more modern 3D Ninja Gaiden games.

The combat can be challenging to the point of unfair at times but that's just how Ninja Gaiden games play. You navigate areas, find keys,spells,pull switches, dodge traps and flip jump to climb up vast pits all while kicking demon butts and bosses along the way. Which brings us nicely to the touch screen controls, although veteran gamers in particular will be baffled by the touch screen only controls at first they have been designed in such a way that you never feel like your attacks are totally random.

You hold the pen on the part of the screen you want Ryu to move towards, tap it to shoot or hold down block to do a rolling dodge and in combat you literally slide the pen across the screen in sword like slash motions to do different attacks or slash upwards to go into a jump which has yet another new set of moves. The combat can be repetitive at times but how much that bothers you will depend on how much the combat appeals to you, personally I feel the combat alone in this game is one of the most revolutionary things to come from the DS

P.S. you may need some kind of touch screen protection with this game because it single handedly killed my generation 1 DS's touch screen, but this was more down to how old my DS was then the game itself.

Anyone who wasn't excited when this was first announced could easily be forgiven. After all so many high profile 3D console games get watered down and diluted into lame 2D platformers when ported to handheld.

Dragon Sword however is far more ambitious than that. Trying to create a 3D standalone title to one of the most intense Xbox and 360 hack and slash IPs on to the DS is no mean feat, fortunately for us, Team Ninja has succeeded. In fact I could even argue that this DS series spin off surpasses Ninja Gaiden 2 for sheer enjoyment and playability.

Translating the button and analogue stick movements to just the stylus and one button to block/dodge is a brave move, however they've done it and boy it works really well. The intuitive system allows the player within minutes to grasp the basics of jumping, slashing, darting across the screen and doing all the things that ninja's do best with ease. Dragon Sword's combat is extremely enjoyable and thankfully even the difficulty has been dialled down to a more acceptable, yet still satisfyingly challenging level (seriously, the console versions were sadistically hard.)

The graphics are stunning for the DS and without doubt some of the best seen on the console. With great music and sound to accompany it this really is one of the tastiest aural feasts on the handheld.

What stops me from giving this full marks is that unfortunately the game really is short. With about 8-10 hours worth of game-play it really is quite hard not to feel somewhat short changed. The inclusion of a hard mode and a few collectables don't really do that much to extend the longevity. However, this is still a great game and I'd rather have a short but high quality gaming experience than a long drawn out average one.

Seriously, with this game, touch screen protection is a must.
First day it arrived, my partner spent almost 6 hours taping and sliding the stylus vigorously, wriggling in her seat in attempt to avoid shurikens. She loves the speed of the game and enjoys stylus-based controls, which she finds more intuitive than button-combos in most of the games.
I find it sometimes difficult to do certain moves, as the game often misinterprets my erratic slashes, however with time I almost completely got rid of that by streamlining my moves.
Graphics are awesome, music non-invasive and sounds are proper (however constant screams and sounds of sword-fight are pretty tedious for people in the range of speakers, so playing the game on headphones is advised).
It is a great game, a total must-have for every DS gamer.