'Naruto' packs ninja action for the Wii

10:04am Thursday 24th January 2008

Not surprisingly, the mega-popular Naruto animated television show on the Cartoon Network - based on the Japanese manga (comics) series - has spawned many successful DVDs, action figures, video and card games, books and clothing.

Now, Nintendo Wii owners can test their skills as a young ninja with Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution, a fun and fast-paced video game that, while not doing much to push the fighting genre forward, delivers a frenetic brawler for you and up to three friends.

Originally released for the Nintendo GameCube in Japan a year ago, Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution lets you play as or against more than 20 familiar characters including Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura, plus lesser-known fighters such as Tenten and Temari. As with most fighting games, all of the characters have special powers to master.

While a bit confusing at first, you can control the game by holding the Wii Remote horizontally; using the Wii Remote and tethered Nunchuk controller (recommended); or using the Wii Classic Controller or the original GameCube controller. The game doesn't take full advantage of the Wii's motion-sensing technology, but the Wii Remote and Nunchuk combo is still the best option. Along with button presses, you can move the two controllers through the air to enhance basic and heavy attacks or to deflect projectiles.

Basic moves include dash, double jump, punch, mid-air attacks, counter moves and blocks. Advanced moves to pull off include Shino Aburame's "parasitic insects jutsu," Gaara's "sand burial" move and Naruto's "nine-tailed berserk" - each prefaced with a short but impressive animated sequence. Speaking of visuals, the game uses a fitting "cel-shaded" approach, which makes the fighters look like they're from a Saturday morning cartoon.

Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution offers eight fighting arenas, some of which we've seen in past Naruto video games, but each stage has two areas you can fight in. Therefore, you can toss an enemy off to one side of the ring and it might lead to the secondary location to continue the clash.

And thanks to nine game modes, you can expect a lot of bang for your buck. The single-player options include training, a story-driven mission mode, player vs. CPU, time attack, survival mode and fun (but basic) minigames. An example of the three minigames offered includes a motion-sensing shuriken throw challenge. Multiplayer modes are two-player head-to-head or one-on-three - against each other or against computer-controlled fighters - and a cooperative survival mode against computer-controlled opponents.

Despite some minor control issues, and the fact this fighting game isn't particularly deep, Naruto: Clash of Ninja Revolution is one of the better video games based on this popular franchise - especially for fans of the animated TV show.

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