The Broken Bond

You can always tell whether a licensed intellectual property is any good by whether it makes you want to know more about the original. Consider Naruto, for instance. I have no particular affinity for the popular anime/manga, and the series has its own fair share of panned video games. But after playing Naruto: Rise of a Ninja, I simply wanted to know as much as I could about the series -- proof positive that the game, despite its faults, was actually pretty good.

So good, really, that once I was finished with it I sought out its sequel, Naruto: The Broken Bond. I'm embarrassed to say that that was well over a year ago. But I've finally only gotten around to playing it, and I must say that it's just as satisfying as its predecessor, if not more so.

Ubisoft got it right by keeping the overall conceit of the game intact: its RPG-like elements, the cel-shaded graphics, the overall combat and control system, and the mission objectives for players to fulfill. Overall, Naruto: The Broken Bond can be considered an incremental improvement over Naruto: Rise of a Ninja, and it makes the right kinds of improvements to interest those enamored by the latter game as well as longtime followers of the series who will enjoy the unabashed fan service this game represents. There's more to explore, more characters to use, and simply more things to do. Indeed, on a personal note, it was the "sidequests" (ramen delivery!) that I particularly enjoyed in the first game, and I wasn't at all disappointed by the variety of quests that Broken Bond has to offer, even if these were delegated to the game's supporting cast (and occasionally wonky controls notwithstanding).

As far as straightforward story-driven pseudo-platforming games go, Naruto: The Broken Bond is worthwhile decent fun, and, just like its predecessor, I would say worth owning for Xbox 360. If I have any regret about playing the game, it would be that the underlying story in the anime/manga hasn't concluded yet (or so I hear), so it seems it will be some time until a sequel is made and I get my Naruto fix again, if at all.