Naruto: Rise of a Ninja Preview

Might this be the first great Naruto game?

Naruto is the #1 anime on Cartoon Network. That success on television has not translated to videogames. To put it kindly, the Naruto games released to date have not been spectacular. Ubisoft hopes to change that with Naruto: Rise of a Ninja, an Xbox 360-exclusive title coming this fall.

Rise of a Ninja follows the storyline of the Naruto anime from episodes 1-80, while adding some new content. If you're a fan, you will see the most memorable moments of the first 80 episodes reenacted in the rich and beautiful world created by Ubisoft Montreal. If you've never watched Naruto, you'll be witness to the earliest stories of one of the hottest anime on the planet. Either way, you're going to have the chance to kick the crap out of a lot of people.

Part adventure game and part fighter, Naruto: Rise of a Ninja features RPG elements and an innovative combat system. Set in the Village of the Hidden Leaf, you play Naruto, a ninja in training. With a fully-realized city to explore, you'll be tasked with numerous missions that, when completed, boost your Chakra Meter. And you'll want to continually expand that meter as it allows you to learn new skills useful for both adventuring and for pummeling other ninja.

Early on, your master will offer to teach you the skill Chakra Concentration. But in order to learn the skill, you'll need to get your meter to the proper level. This isn't too hard to do, as there are plenty of tasks to be completed around the village, including collecting feathers or locating a lost student.

Rather than slow down the game by having players talk to every single NPC they pass, Rise of a Ninja makes it easier to tell whom you should talk to at any given time. Every villager displays an easy-to-understand icon over their head. These generally indicate how they feel about Naruto, but during a quest, they display who has information.

Once you've completed enough tasks to bolster your Chakra Meter, you can return to your master to learn your new skill. And when we say "learn a new skill," we mean it literally. You are going to be taught the skill. It isn't just instantly awarded to you for having your Chakra Meter filled to the brim.

Both passive and combat skills are performed using hand signs, just as is done in the anime. Performing a skill is simple enough. Hold down the left trigger and use the analogue sticks to make your hands create motions. You'll need to learn the motions of a chakra and then perform it in order to gain the skill. Chakra Concentration allows Naruto to focus his chakra in his feet, allowing him to run up trees. But performing the hand motions isn't where the skill execution ends. As Naruto races up the tree, a meter appears showing his speed. You'll need to balance his speed so that his feet don't move too slow or too fast. Go to either extreme and Naruto will lose his footing and take a tumble.

Now that Naruto can scale trees, he can also travel along the limbs. The Tree Action Sequence is a fast-paced run along the treetops. Moving with the left thumbstick you can aim yourself towards another branch and then leap with the A button. Time it right you you'll leap higher and become more skilled. Better skill means you can reach new locations and fetch new items. That's fun, sure, but running around in the trees isn't going to make you a ninja. For that, Naruto will need to kick some ass.

Combat is arena style and in 3D. The basic elements of fighting are fairly basic, so much so that anyone can likely pick up and play Naruto without feeling overwhelmed. But the combat adds some complexity by throwing chakra skills into the mix. While doing battle, you can perform hand moves to call out powerful attacks. But in fast-paced combat, that's not so easy. Every move has an associated minigame that adds another layer of depth to the battle system.

Neji, for example, has a 64-point palm strike. The minigame has the Neji attempting to quickly hit nerve points on the other character. The other player isn't inactive during this. If you're under assault, you can attempt to adjust these points and make your opponent miss. It looks like fast fun in action. And with each of the 10 (or more) playable characters having 2-3 chakra skills, there should be a healthy variety of minigames to master. These battles can take place either on a single Xbox 360 or over Xbox Live between two players.

Naruto: Rise of a Ninja looks promising. And we're not just saying that. This could be the first truly worthy Naruto game. With so few fighting games on 360 (and even fewer Naruto alternatives), Rise of a Ninja is certainly worth putting on your radar.

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