Game Preview: Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 4

Release date: 2015
Developer: CyberConnect2
Publisher: Bandai Namco Games
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Microsoft Windows

With the initial climax of the long-running manga series, "Naruto" has finally come to a satisfactory conclusion (more or less), so it's only a matter of time before the anime decides to catch up. However, with the vast list of video games in the series, non is more anticipated to bring the series full-circle than "Ultimate Ninja Storm 4".

Currently a sequel to "Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 3", the latest installment in the franchise promises to be even more explosive, fast-paced, and chock full of characters, and by the looks of the gameplay footage, I'm entirely convinced. 

The massive 12-minute gameplay footage shows us all we need to know, and everything we've come to love about this beat-em-up action franchise. The attacks look more refined, the backgrounds a lot more chaotic and interactive, and the combos and ultimate jutsu's entirely satisfying. What caught my attention the most was the improved combat system, taking a few notes from last years sluggish "Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution", which, while fun for the most part, unfortunately fell victim to a slightly enhanced combat system that came off as difficult and mostly unresponsive, especially when attempting to pull off a chain combo. However, this does not seem evident in the gameplay trailer above. The chain combos link effortlessly into ultimate jutsu's, making it seem as though a simple chain combo to start off with could potentially grow to a perfect K.O. with the right amount of skill at hand.

As for character selection, we can't comment much further since the only characters at play here were Madara and Hashirama, but boy did we get a good fight. However, we're definitely expecting a variation of characters old and young, especially from the original series, and with the amount of new content from the manga, also a worthy climactic ending.

The art style looks more refined, sleek, and fluid. It's still essentially the same 2D/3D conversion we've come to expect from CyberConnect2's attention to detail and fast-moving action, but a lot more pleasing to the eye. The ultimate jutsu's look especially mind-blowing, causing some colossal-scaled damage in the process. Another impressive feature added here is the ability to counterattack. This has been missing from the previous installments of the series were it was just a matter of turning into a piece of wood and surprising the opponent, but here we get a look at several ways to not only dodge, but launch a counterattack midway through a combo. It certainly would take the edge off trying to constantly charge your chakra in case a piece of wood might suffice.

In the end, "Ultimate Ninja Storm 4" is one of the most anticipated games of the year, not only for it's seemingly vast improvements in the combat system but just the sheer scale and kinetic energy of the fights, plus an interactive and lively background with eye-popping, sleek visuals. Chalk this one up for an expectedly great game in the way "Ultimate Ninja Storm 3" surprised us. As of yet, "Ultimate Ninja Storm 4" does not have a release date, but expectedly in 2015 later this year.