One of the greatest game series of the Nintendo era has finally returned and it's returned with a vengeance. Ryu Hayabusa has made his way back into the Ninja Gaiden world and like his previous outings, this ninja is nothing short of spectacular. The crazy gymnastic moves that the ninja was once known for are still here and he has even learned a new trick or two over the years. Our hero has returned to retrieve the Dark Dragon Blade from the evil Vigoorian Empire that has stolen it from where it was kept in safety. You now possess the Dragon Sword, which is the ying to the Dark Dragon Blade's yang, to help you in your excursion to retrieve the Blade. Your journey starts in your decimated home village with fellow ninja's slain and houses destroyed and quickly turns to the city of Vigoor where the rest of the game takes place in, around and under.

Right off the bat you can tell from the gorgeous graphics that you are going to be in for one hell of a ride. The crisp and dazzling graphics are easily the best that the Xbox has seen so far and definitely a breath of fresh air when compared to not just other ninja genre games, but any game that the system has seen. There are so many little details in the game that stand out to give it that extra push such as shimmer and twinkle on metal objects and the way the water looks as you run over the top of it like a flat rock skipping over the surface. The cut scenes found in between each chapter are some of the most fantastic CG that has been in any game ever. The animation is bang on and the voice acting is superb in Japanese and English, which ever you choose. The enemies you face, whether it is supernatural undead monsters or the military army type soldiers that patrol the city streets, all look terrific and act and react very intelligent to your actions. Not only do the regular enemies add a higher level to the game, but the bosses are some of the biggest and best looking around. Although the bosses are original and exceptional in appearance to start with, sadly you will face some of them repeated times. Other bosses will share different forms the next time you meet them, but there definitely is no shortage of boss fights in this game as some levels you can end up fighting three or four until you actually hit the final boss of the particular chapter.

At first the game may seem like it is a "button mashing-kill everything around you" type of control, but in actuality there is a deeper control system to be found. Each weapon you use, be it a flail, nunchuku, war hammer or even your trusty Dragon Sword, can be upgraded at stores that are found throughout the game and each time it is upgraded, it unlocks more moves that you can pull off.. Also each time you hit an opponent a combo hit counter starts. You can string a chain of attacks together and hit an opponent up to as many times as you can figure out. Some combos stop at 6 hits while others go on and on up to and even way past 20 hits. Different enemies handle different weapon types but for the majority of the game you will find that you use your dragon sword 90% of the time and only use the flails or nunchuku's when you are surrounded by many weaker enemies. The ki force that Ryu has control over can be upgraded as well. These Ninpo spells control the elements of ice, fire and lightning and blast outwards to attack all the enemies on the screen. In addition to his main weapons, Ryu also has projectile weapons in the form of shurikens that have an unlimited supply and a bow and arrow which is usually filled by pulling arrows from corpses.

Of course what ninja would be complete without the acrobatic moves that they are known for? This ninja isn't lacking those moves at all and they are pulled off marvelously whether it is during battle or trying to make your way through any one of the various locales you visit. Wall running has become popular in certain games as of late like Prince of Persia, but Ninja Gaiden takes it to another level where now you can run along a wall and jump to another wall and you will get higher each time you land on a new wall. Other moves include the bounce jump between two close walls, leaping upwards back and forth until you reach the top, wall clinging, swinging from branches and poles, hanging from ledges and the Flying Bird flip where you run up a wall and back flip off it to land on a platform a good distance behind you. There are plenty of jumping puzzles included in the game but for the most part they are easy enough to get through with the special jumps and moves, but there would be an occasion where the camera wouldn't line up right and trying to jump straight across from one platform to the next was a near hair pulling event from frustration.

After you are done with the pretty tough and twenty-ish long hours of singleplayer gaming, you can hook up Ninja Gaiden through the Xbox Live service for the Master Ninja Tournament. In May at the Electronics Entertainment Expo, or E3 as it is adoringly known, the Master Tournament will kick off. Once the tournament begins participants will compete against other players within their regions and then will be ranked on their overall scores from the trial missions you will be able to play. A leader board will show players overall rankings so that players can see how they stack up against the competition. Then later on in the year, the top players will take part in the final tournament in Europe. Although this may not appeal to everyone who plays the game, it definitely gives those who think they have the right stuff, the chance to prove it.

When you combine all the features you can find in this game like being able show you are the best player this side of the dojo, the option to unlock the three original Ninja Gaiden games, the rather challenging gameplay and the overall length of the game itself, mix that in with being the best looking game on the Xbox to date and you have yourself a sure fire hit. Other than the odd time that the camera misbehaves on you, Ninja Gaiden is without a doubt going to be in the running for game of the year.