As the Naruto series slowly comes to an end, I find myself saddened and desperately trying to find Naruto experiences that will help me relive the greatest moments from the manga and anime. This is such a rich universe filled with loveable characters, epic battles, and awesome powers. Utimate Ninja STORM Revolution brings the mythos and AWESOME to life at every step.. But there are opportunities.
First, I will warn you that the console versions still seem to be the way to go but this port is the best I've played so far. We're all hopeful Storm 4 will deliver across the board but this game is no consolation prize. What I love about this game is that it strikes a great balance between action/adventure game and deep fighter. The exploration and questing is as satisfying as pulling off 60+ combos, calling in support, or pulling off an amazing block/comeback.
Replay value is a huge thing for me. As a family man, I can't buy every game that comes out so, when I buy a game, it needs to provide tons of replay value and fun. Revolution certainly fits the bill there.
Really, I love everything about this game. It looks beautiful and the PC frame rate issues seem to have been resolved. There are only a few things that bug me. They are not deal breakers but it's good to know they are there:
- Loading Times - They feel too long for what the game is.. Sure, there is the open world component but loading between menus seems very archaic to me. You may want to load this game onto your SSD, which I may very well do. Mind you, my gaming rig is not a bleeding edge system but it is more powerful than the average PC so this should not be happening at all.
- Button Assignments - While you can remap buttons fully and controller support is flawless, I still don't get the button mappings in this series. I feel that wasting a button for charging chakra is silly but I suppose it makes sense with the mechanic of chakra-loaded attacks. A dedicated shuriken button, however, is really goofy.. But no biggy. I would just rather see a weak/medium/strong setup for more control over your combos and fighting style; that way, people can't write this off as a mere button masher.
- Lock-On System - The 1v1 battles are still the best. I love the concept of FFA/Battle Royale, but the lock-on system here still leaves something to be desired. You click the analog stick to unlock and click again to lock on, but it's not always clear which target you will lock onto. A simple fix would be to have the crosshair appear on your targets as you move your characters, then click to confirm the lock. Easy.
Regardless, this game is tons of fun and it makes me want to go back to the XBox 360 and even Gamecube games. That's not because this game sucks but, rather, it's so good you want to explore and revisit all the Naruto games. I hope they make proper ports of all the games from previous platforms but, more importantly, I hope they make them proper ports, deserving of the PC platform.
Anyway, back to UNS Revolution...
One feature I absolutely LOVE is the Network Clone. This is an avatar that battles online players while you are away from the game. They pop up in other instances, collecting items and experience. You can fully customize your Network Clone and Story/Ninja Tournament characters, which I love because this gives the unlockables even more value.
Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution combines the best of breed technologies and game mechanics from games like Mystic Heroes, Dynasty Warriors, Dragon Ball-Z (the good ones, not Xenoverse), and Forza (i.e. driveatars). Truly, this game is a treat. If you're a fan, don't hesitate.. Though I will say it is better-suited at $40 or less, not $50.. At least on PC.
With regards to Ombre's review and similar write-ups, the Story/Campaign is not boring if you don't mind running around a bit and reading lots. There is quite a bit of dialogue and not that much voice acting, which isn't a bad thing but it does make me feel that this is a licensed game that should have released at a more appealing price point since they did cut a few corners.
When you choose your "move type", you have to choose between Awakening (buffed character), Support Drive (buffed defense/attack support moves), or Ultimate Justu (unlocks OP ultimate). I think this is actually a selling point for more casual players or folks like me, who can't dedicate as much time to gaming and certainly not one game in particular, no matter how much we love said game. If you were able to have Awakening and Support Drive together, for instance, it'd be pretty OP.. And it would widen the gap between newer players and dedicated/hardcore vets. That would make the experience too exclusive and essentially render the online gameplay useless.
Speaking of online, I have not played online with the exception of challenging a few Network Clones. To that end, I felt really underpowered. I landed tons more hits than my opponents and yet they still won. The time you invest in this game unlocking things, leveling up, buying ninja tools, etc certainly does give you an edge. The players I battled were level 30ish. Battles do come down to skill but it's tougher when you are matched up against more seasoned players so that's something to keep in mind.
Overall, I would totally recommended this game. I reiterate that this feels like more of a $40 game but there is tons of value there, regardless of the price point. I recommend Revolution without hesitation if you love fighting games, anime, and/or Naruto but temper expectations just a little bit. IF you're super picky, I'm sure you will find glaring flaws.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS OF NARUTO SHIPPUDEN Ultimate Ninja STORM Revolution:
OS: Windows XP or higher with latest Service Pack
Processor: 2.3 GHz Dual Core or AMD
Memory: 1 GB RAM
Graphics: 512 MB video cards Pixel Shader 4.0 (Geforce 8xxx-ATI HD2xxx)
DirectX: Version 9.0c
Storage: 8 GB available space
RECOMMENDED REQUIREMENTS OF NARUTO SHIPPUDEN Ultimate Ninja STORM Revolution:
OS: Windows 7 or higher with latest Service Pack
Processor: Intel i3-530, 2.93Ghz / AMD Phenom II X4 940, 3.0GHz
Memory: 4 GB RAM
Graphics: 1024 MB video card, Pixel Shader 4.0, DirectX10 GPU
DirectX: Version 9.0c
Storage: 8 GB available space
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