ninja blade 360

[Takedown3]

i did a search and found no threads in gaming on this title, i believe its a fairly new release so i figured id start a thread

game is far superior to ninja gaiden 2 imo just because ng2 was pretty faggotory when it came to damage and button mashing

this one is still a masher but way more fun with the action combos i guess i will call them AND you seem to take less damage overall when comparing the two

so ya its pretty fun so far just on level 2 and taking a toke break gonna spam it a bit tonite and see if i can get level 5ish

some of the ach's are pretty nutso to get for ex: beat level 1 in less then 30 mins, my first play thru i did it in 1hr9m -.-

anyway ya its worth a rental

[izembo]

every copy we sold here came back the next day used with people saying the game sucked and they didnt even want to bother finishing it <_<

[-Zer0-]

Too many quicktime events.

[OzzofAsura]

every copy we sold here came back the next day used with people saying the game sucked and they didnt even want to bother finishing it <_<

Wow. lol

[Weltall]

This and Ninja Gaiden 2 suck.

[Takedown3]

meh if you guys say so i guess but im digging it atm imo the quicktime events are super fun

[Elcura]

QTEs are great if you wanna be immersed in a game! Was never a fan of NG, dial a combo isn't for me, neither is a camera that likes to have seizures while I play.

[-Zer0-]

meh if you guys say so i guess but im digging it atm imo the quicktime events are super fun

Proper use of QTE are hard to design to as it ruins the suspension of disbelief really easily. Take RE5 for example, great game, but using QTE during some of the movies or cinematic sequences just takes the immersion out right away. Overuse of it just kills a game to the point where you're not playing the game, but playing an event sequence of a game.

[Katlan]

game is supposed to be a fusion of GoW and NG... and it's absolutely horrible

[Insanecyclone]

I liked the demo but this is more of a rental tbh the QTE's are a nice addition

[Takedown3]

trying to be objective here i do see how the QTE's are annoying as i am not exactly as quick on the pad as i used to be so im focusing more on what button to press more then the actual action that is going on

but holy fuck the one QTE where the big ass worm spits a bunch of trucks and cars at me and i snag the motorbike and ride across the shit to fuck the worm up was pretty fucking amazing

still digging it not sure where all the hate is coming from but sall good

[-Zer0-]

It's not so much hate as giving observations. Ninja Blade, from an outside perspective, seemed like a good idea, but didn't quite make it past poor execution. Like Katlan exclaimed, it seemed like the developers went and said, "God of War...Ninja Gaiden...Two amazing franchises? Let's put them together, we're bound to come out on top!" Not so much.

Solid game? Sure. Good game? Eh, it really depends whether you're a casual or core gamer. Being a core gamer, it stands out more from an analytical perspective and I question why I'm not being as immersed as I feel I should be. Think of Tetris and then think of Ninja Blade.

[Takedown3]

while i haven't been gaming as much as i used to back when i had better then wireless sat based internet i still play 30 hours a week so i would still consider my self far beyond a casual gamer (not crazy like i used to be in ffxi 80+)

different likes i suppose or mebbe im crazy

[BRP]

I am really looking forward to this. It is no surprise if this doesn't turn out to be popular.

Also I hate this huge stigma on QTE. Seems like it's everywhere I look since Yahtzee brought it up. Not saying it is a well defined mechanic, it can be improved upon by a lot. However people love to exaggerate just how annoying they are. "suspension of disbelief" hahaha

[Insanecyclone]

Ninja Gaiden's hero is named Ryu while Ninja blade's is named Ken cannot unsee

[-Zer0-]

I am really looking forward to this. It is no surprise if this doesn't turn out to be popular.

Also I hate this huge stigma on QTE. Seems like it's everywhere I look since Yahtzee brought it up. Not saying it is a well defined mechanic, it can be improved upon by a lot. However people love to exaggerate just how annoying they are. "suspension of disbelief" hahaha

You obviously haven't studied game design. Suspension of disbelief is a concept of determining how immersing a game can be. It's like a comic book cover for example, if you can illustrate a great cover that pulls the audience in to read it and take it home, then you're successful. What's this stigma on QTE though? I personally don't have anything against the use of QTE, just misuse of it.

Ninja Blade came close to being successful in my book, but the way they handled QTE is a little questionable.

[Elcura]

QTE can be good in someplaces, I don't mind it in game as much as I loathe it in cutscenes. The worst thing is never knowing when a QTE is going to pop up so you can't enjoy the cinematics for what they are. Why bother putting in so much effort into a cut scene when the player isn't going to be watching it at all? Instead, they'll be waiting for the little buttons to pop up suddenly.

RE5 is a good example of this, like the event inside the bomber. Awesome fight scene that I could barely watch before I was waiting to press the buttons like a good monkey in order not to fucking die and have to do it all over again (yay, actually unskippable because supposedly it's gameplay!)

Even in game they can be annoying, QTE doesn't actually take reflexes. All it requires is foreknowledge that it's a possibility and for the most part it's incredibly lazy design.

Sure, I bet half the people who say they hate QTE are just bandwagoning, but there are actual legitimate complaints to be had with QTE, especially when done so crudely (which in most cases they are, so all the more reason to hate).

[BRP]

You obviously haven't studied game design.

Need to separate this little line here. It just too damn cute. Going to have to troll someone with this someday.

Suspension of disbelief is a concept of determining how immersing a game can be. What's this stigma on QTE though? I personally don't have anything against the use of QTE, just misuse of it.

Your meaning here is inconsistent. I am going to delete your comic book cover hook thing from the quote because it makes even less sense. Seriously, what the hell?

Taking a leap of faith here, I am going to say you have little understanding on what exactly "Suspension of disbelief" means. In terms of the narrative of videogames it would be the conflict between game mechanics and the setting and plot. For example: a videogame character eat bullets like a champ, but gets taken down by a single shot in a cutscene. It requires a suspension of disbelief. Without it there couldn't be that follow-up, like for example the said character is defeated only within cutscene and is taken to the enemies base where he has to escape/sabotage. Another example would be in MMOs you are not the hero you are titled as, but actually "a peon in a world of peons." How about the fact that your dude does the same three attacks against everyone, and it works! It is not "a concept of determining how immersing a game can be."

Suspension of disbelief and immersion are related though. This relationship is strong for movies, novels, and all the in between, but for videogames it is weak and sometimes nonexistent. The story and the setting and so on doesn't need to make sense because it is the fluff. What matters is the crunch. Timing your jumps, managing the troops, aiming for the head, hitting that combo, fighting to survive, feeding on a tree frog, snakeeaaaattterr. It is flow.

Now we are on a topic that makes sense: Flow vs QTE and QTE in cutscenes. The latter first.

If anything breaks up flow, it is the cutscenes. Now they certainly have their use in videogames and I am not here to discuss their merits. Since your flow has either put into standby or ended completely by the cutscene, what is there to lose really? In my opinion there is only one problem with QTEs in cutscenes: Is it a cutscene where I need to be on my toes or is it a cutscene where I am allowed to scratch my genitalia as I absorb the statement "shirtless sexy man has killed your virginal love interest because nanomachines." Well there is a problem of not being able to skip cutscenes I guess, but this has never been my problem... I like to absorb the whole thing anyway. QTE in cutscenes could be called boring... but that's because they are in cutscenes isn't it?

I guess there is the chance that a game has QTEs that are far too difficult even for an active mind. I can't think of any since the first Shenmue that were even that difficult. Some of them are even kind of pathetic(hey that truck is about to fall on me think I'll have to do something, oh okay push a and b within the next 4 seconds I can do that.) I wouldn't really be surprised if someone like Yahtzee still found them difficult and completely bollocks. The idea of having to repeat a long cutscene is a drag though.

Now QTE also appear within play. These I have never understood the problem. They are usually far too short to really be jarring to the experience. Sure it would be nice if the developers had just let us suplex the dragon or pull down that space ship from orbit like we would punch a guy... I really waiting for that fucking game to be made, but not yet eh? So removing impossible expectations aside, what shape does these QTE come in? We've got the offense action, something you initiate... for example the going nuts with kicks and punches like I am the motherfucking fist of the north star in Godhand. These are not really breaks in play but rather an extension in your ability to kick ass, a step up from the shoryuken in fancy. Then you got defensive which is when the monster grabs you and will either eat you or you will break out free by pushing X button a lot. Here I can see the complaints coming in. I guess people would prefer if they just took some damage and let the battle continue instantaneously. It can get old real fast. Obvious solution would be to stop fucking getting caught or have the monster just eat you on the first failure. I am still waiting for the day we begin calling QTE Saving Throws... because that is their predecessor by decades.

I can't comment on Ninja Blade directly. I have to reserve judgment whether it did QTEs poorly or not.

[-Zer0-]

You're right. I didn't clarify exactly, and for that I apologize. What I was implying was the fact that the game as a whole comes together based on its flow and mechanic use, thus my correlation with QTEs and Suspension of disbelief. I didn't put it into context, but it's much like a good novel or comic book when it comes to making a game successful as an entirety.

I have to slightly disagree on flow and suspension though, or actually, agree but I'm almost certain we're talking about the same thing but from different approaches. The flow you speak of and the suspension of disbelief are one in the same. Or maybe I'm misinterpreting your view of flow within the game? Either way, my understanding of immersiveness and suspension of disbelief is that it's a key part of the experience of reading or watching a movie that can also be applied to games. It's a mental state which we choose to believe the fictitious world that is the game. The better the game supports the illusion, the more thoroughly engrossed we, as players, become; which goes to say immersiveness is one of the vital aspects of game design. It's not so much a narrative as a harmonic factor within game design.

However, the suspension is often broken in most games by some design flaws; which with Ninja Blade, happens a few times using QTEs. In Ninja Blade's case, some of the QTE sequences within the levels and the "cutscenes" really break the cycle with unnecessary slowdowns and random screen displays, not to mention the whole rewinding feature. Add this to odd AI designs and graphics and the game just goes down a few notches from perfection. The QTE from combat seems almost unnecessary in the main gameplay and has players focusing on the anticipation of them rather than concentrating on the foes themselves. Some of the QTE cutscenes within the gameplay almost flow well, but the phases into them and out of them were pretty poor, or at least I think so.

[Ragnus]

Ninja Gaiden's hero is named Ryu while Ninja blade's is named Ken cannot unsee

Dude that's awesomely lame.

It's too bad to hear about this game sucking though. I was thinking about picking it up.