Naruto: The Broken Bonds builds on the solid foundation of Rise of a Ninja. The multiplayer arena battle system has been given an overhaul. Learning from the previous game, Ubisoft Montreal has streamlined some elements of combat while adding some depth in other spots. The biggest addition however is offline and online two-versus-two multiplayer.
Naruto's 2v2 multiplayer takes a page from Dead or Alive. You fight one character versus another, with the other players waiting off screen to tag in with a tab of the Left Bumper. To win, you must knock out both of your opponents. Though teammates don't fight onscreen together, you can team up for some impressive (and powerful moves). While fighting, the screen will occasionally flash white. It's at these moments that you and your teammate must tap LB at the same time. Get it right and you'll perform a tag-team move. It's not that tough to nail the timing, so long as your off-screen partner is paying attention.
Though I didn't get to play 2v2 online, the offline version shows some real promise. There's an added layer of strategy in how to approach matches. And with 30 playable characters there should be plenty of interesting matchups.
Combat in Broken Bond is markedly better than in the past iteration. There are now only three hand signals for jutsus so that if you know those three, you are golden. And if you can't remember them, when you hold down the trigger to activate a Jutsu power, all three hand signals appear at the bottom of the screen. The Jutsus themselves have also been improved. Last year's model often transported characters to another area for Jutsus. Now, every Jutsu occurs in the arena, preventing any kind of disconnect with the rest of the action.
Expect to see a number of new Jutsus and redesigns of those from Rise of a Ninja. Yes, Naruto still has Shadow Clone Jutsu, but it's now handled in a slightly different way. Even if you are an old pro with Naruto: Rise of a Ninja, there are plenty of new wrinkles for you with Broken Bond.
You'll also notice that there are far more levels to a Jutsu. Instead of three, you'll see about a half dozen, allowing for a wider number of mid-range attacks as opposed to choosing between low, medium or heavy.
With two players in the mix on each side, your Rage meter also had to see a change. It's less about a desperation move when you're about to die and more about strategy. With Rise of a Ninja, it was too easy for players about to be knocked out to enter Rage mode and make an impossible comeback. You'll find Rage more readily available in Broken Bond, but at a cost. Your Rage meter is shared with your teammate and is tied to your Jutsu energy. Enter Rage mode and you'll drain all your stored energy for a Jutsu. Once your Rage ends and your partner takes over, he'll be in a pickle as he'll have no mojo for a little while. In this way, Rage becomes, more or less, a fourth Jutsu that every character can access.
The arenas have some improvements as well. There are now numerous lighting options for each stage, which is going to add a dramatic look to many fights. Though the arenas I saw were very similar in design to those in Rise of a Ninja (circular stages with minimal elements in the background) the variations in lighting made a big different in the overall appearance.
Arenas are unlocked in Tournament mode. While I didn't get to see Tournament mode in action, Ubisoft says it will be different than the "Forest of Death" mode from the past. Gamers will have a number of ranks to obtain, from Student on up to Okage. This should help with ranked matchmaking.
Though there have been some gameplay tweaks, the controls are similar enough to the original that it's easy to pick up and hop into Broken Bond. The combat is just as fast and slickly stylized as before. Only now there are better Jutsus and the addition of air combos. If the changes to the adventure mode are on the same level as those to multiplayer, then Naruto will be worthy sequel.
Klik om te vergroten...
