Score: 3 out of 5

A game based on a popular anime that not only does not suck, but feels fresh and has some innovative gameplay elements. You better believe it!

The gameplay can be divided in two. (1) When not in combat the game acts in a 3rd person view (2) In combat mode the camera switches to a regular fighting game camera position. Players will start out in Konoha village. The village acts as a base point and most of the missions are accessed from within. The graphics are done via cell shading and I feel that this was a smart choice and fits the title well. The village has been designed really well and along with good use of music from the tv series, the village truly stands out. The village feels alive with random people walking around, shops that can be visited and mini-games that can be accessed. People may be quick to call it GTA naruto.  

Most of the main missions will require you to get ffrom point A to point B. If point B is outside the village the game turns into a simple platformer. You are required to jump or use sprint to pass obstacles. Later on in the game Naruto will learn to concentrate chakra. This allows Nffaruto to focus chakra on his feet which in turn will allow him to climb trees and walk on water. Climbing trees and building via wall climbing requires you to press A repeatedly. When outside, Naruto will be required to climb trees to access faster modefs of travel. Travelling is done by jumping from tree to tree. This mini-game requires you direct Naruto towards tree branches and avoid traps that are easily seen beforehand. If successful, Naruto will go to a higher tree and increase the pace in jumping from one tree to another. The gameplay remains the same except that the speed increases. Walking on water requires you to balance Naruto towards the centre by pressing the right or left triggers. 

The optional mini-games include races, delivering ramen, playing hide and seek with some kids and using sexy jutsu to cure depressed villagers. The first three have a time period for which to complete the task, and pretty much require you to get from one point to another. My personal favorite were the races as they required the use of chakra concentration to walk on water and climb buildings. It added a new dynamic for what otherwise would have been a regular boring race.

When travelling outside the village to complete missions, Naruto will run into bandits or other important characters that he will have to fight. The fighting fsystem is divided in two parts:  use of chakra and basic hand to hand combat. Hand to hand combat has some simple combos that Naruto can perform. The aim in the fights is to drop an opponent down on the ground so as to do a jutsu. Jutsu's are in three levels, where the third level is the strongest. However it is designed such that you need more time to do a higher level jutsu. An attack from the opponent will cancel the jutsu. Naruto has two offensive jutsus that he can use while fighting. Chakra concentration allows his hand to hand combat to do more damage. However the shadow-clone justsu is the main jutsu you will be using in fights. In this Naruto makes shadow clones of himself and the game turns into a minigame where you are required to press the button that comes up on screen. The higher rate of success will increase the damage done. When taken a large beating, Naruto's head up display will glow red. This allows you to use rage mode where you become immune to damage and increase attack speed and damage temporarily.

The combat system truly shines when you play multiplayer. Different characters have different jutsus that have different mini-games. Most of the jutsu will also let the victim play in the mini-game so as to avoid the attack or at least lower the damage dealt. I think this system works well and is a nice innovative substitute to having to memorize numerous button patterns to perform the harder combos. Additionaly rage mode is also present in vs mode. The jutsu system and rage mode really feel fresh and ensure dynamic gameplay. Unfortunately, the combat starts to feel simple over time feels repetitive as the moves are limited.

Some of the small things really stand out in the game and are a great pleasure for Naruto fans. In order to perform jutsus you have to hold left trigger and then move the two thumbsticks. This mimicks the finger movement ninjas in Naruto's world do inorder to perform jutsus. In addition there are also memory clips. When knocked out, naruto can access memory clips that allow him to regenerate health. This is a hilarious addition as Naruto always flashes back to his memories mid fight in the tv series, and it annoys the heck out of me. 

Final word: The game is well made and designed. Gameplay elements although innovative, feel like they lack depth. But its a satisfying game for Naruto fans who should at the very least rent the game.

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