Review by: Mike Thompson

Editor's Note: We admit: we don't have any hardcore Naruto fans on the staff so Mike tackled this review by trying to do his due diligence by reading up on the story, characters and setting of the series. Normally we don't like assigning articles to people who are unfamiliar with the source material, but in this case, we figured it was better than not covering the game at all.

Up until now, I've missed out on the various Naruto anime series, which means I was totally unfamiliar with the show's mythology when I started playing Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2. Granted, I'm not exactly part of the target audience for this title, which was obviously created as an game for the series' hardcore fans. As a result, Wikipedia became my friend and helped me learn about the characters and storylines that were featured in the adventure. That said, I generally found myself having a pretty decent time as I played through the game.

Here's what I was able to glean from the Adventure Mode's rather lengthy story: during the timeline of the Shippuden series, the titular ninja returns to his hometown of Hidden Leaf Village to complete his training as one of the Sannin (legendary ninjas of great skill and power). Players will follow the story surrounding Naruto and Sasuke, and subsequently get to recreate many of the show's bigger fights.

In Adventure Mode, players run around a gorgeous (but limited) game world in what is effectively narrative framing between fights. The world looks great, but it's pretty basic and doesn't actually contain that much for you to find. Not only that, but you'll spend way too much time running back and forth across the same areas.

Of course, the game's world isn't the only thing that looks good. Everything about Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 features a high level of polish, particularly the game's graphics. The cel-shading effect is so spot-on that there are several moments where you'll actually think you're watching scenes taken straight from the TV show. In fact, much of the game looks like it's straight from the series. Though there isn't much to do in the world, there is plenty to admire: tons of little details are present as you run from battle to battle. Meanwhile, the frantic action in the battles animates beautifully, even when special effects/powers are in play. There was a little framerate slowdown, but only when there were a lot of characters on the screen at once.

The fighting itself is surprisingly pretty deep; deeper, in fact, than I expected to find in a licensed title. Initially, there are only two types of attacks available; thus, early on combat is simultaneously accessible and also a tad shallow. Some of the bigger battles also aren't entirely playable, since some of their epic moments feature quick time events instead of letting you control the action on screen. However, there's a great deal of strategy involved, thanks to the chakra and support character systems. When you charge up your chakra, the energy can be used with your attacks to make them more powerful. Meanwhile, you can choose a couple of other AI characters to come in and support/guard your back in a fight.