I enjoy a good brawler, and the Naruto games by developer CyberConnect2 have delivered plenty of anime-inspired action since the PlayStation 2 days. Unfortunately, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution ($49.99) is something of a filler game when compared to the previous Naruto Shippuden title, Ultimate Ninja Storm 3 (UNS3). The game makes improvements and refinements to its combat system, but there isn't much meaningful content beyond the fighting, which makes for a repetitive and overall bland experience. I reviewed the Xbox 360 version, but the game's also available on PC and PlayStation 3.

Crazy Ninja Action

The single-player campaign in the previous title, Ultimate Ninja Storm 3, was very story-focused, going so far as to include unique boss battles and monsters in its campaign. Rather than continuing UNS3's storyline, however, Revolution throws Naruto's ninjas onto a remote island to compete in the Ninja World Tournament. There are high-quality anime-like scenes to accompany the story, but those sections contained too much exposition and not enough gameplay to keep me engaged.

The Ninja World Tournament is the meat and potatoes of the single-player experience. The tournament introduces four-way battles alongside the standard one-on-one battles. The concept of four-way battles is not new, as Naruto: Clash Of Ninja 2 for the Gamecube had a similar mode. Still, it is interesting to see CyberConnect2 reintroduce the option, and I suspect that they are testing the waters for a potential four-way battle system in future games.

The four-way battle pits players against three computer-controlled ninja characters. The object is to beat the stuffing out of opponents and collect orbs they drop, all while avoiding traps and ambushes. The ninja with the most orbs at the end of the match wins. This mode is very fun and hectic, but is exclusive to the Ninja World Tournament, and thus single-player only.

Between tournament rounds, you can explore the island to interact with characters by either challenging them or taking on odd side-quests. Completing these missions lets you call on these characters as support during combat. You can also tackle combat-oriented missions to earn medals, which can be exchanged for accessories and items. The side content in Ninja World Tournament all amounts to busy-work in the long run, though. With the lack of an involved story mode, the combat alone isn't sufficient to carry Revolution, so developer CyberConnect 2 simply padded the game with shallow and repetitive fetch-quest fluff to add length.

Ninja Shenanigans

Combat in Revolution is simple. Characters only have a handful of combos, special attacks, and projectiles, which makes learning characters and reading opponents relatively simple. Gear defines how a character plays, because equipment significantly boosts attack properties. In a way, Revolution is not unlike Square Enix's Dissidia: Final Fantasy fighting game, in that characters have a relatively limited move set, but can radically alter how they fight depending on the accessories they equip. The fault with a simplistic system like this is that the fighting devolves into spamming effective moves rather than mixing up attacks to get the edge on opponents.

Revolution gives players three combat types to choose from prior to battle. Each type alters how players perform their special attacks or summon assist characters. For example, Ultimate Jutsu Type focuses on explosive damage, giving players the ability to use their ultimate technique right from the start. The fighters can unite with their support cast to perform a team ultimate technique as well. Awakening Type can use the awakening enhancement right at the start. Awakenings alter and strengthen a character for a limited time, letting them deal tremendous damage. Drive Type is support oriented and gives players more direct control over support characters. Defensive Type supports tank hits, while Offensive Type boosts combos and damage. On top of these changes, guard breaking and counterattacks have been reworked to better balance the gameplay and punish overly defensive players.

If you simply want to fight for fun rather than jump into the sparse story, you can enjoy a leisurely brawl in Free Battle mode. Free Battle is your standard fighting game arcade mode with single-player and local multiplayer battles. There are also a few alternative modes in Free Battle, such as survival mode, which pits players against an endless series of battles, forcing them to fight to the best of their ability until they lose.

Online multiplayer is a mixed bag. Despite the enjoyable combat, there are some balance issues, particularly as a result of the previously mentioned Drive Type abilities. It is all too easy to perform beastly combos or avert damage, which greatly undermines the effectiveness of the Ultimate or Awakening combat types. Other balance issues come from characters simply being overpowered or grossly underpowered (Tenten is weak as a kitten, and Danzo has a one-hit KO). Beyond fighting, online mode also lets players create a computer-controlled clone of their character to go online and challenge players, which can earn them money, items, or gear.

A Filler Episode in Game Form

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm Revolution is an experimental afterthought, despite its interesting improvements and gameplay additions. The unimpressive tournament storyline, the fetch-quest padding, and the unbalanced online modes offset the game's enjoyable and improved combat system. There is fun to be had if you're a die-hard Naruto fan, but if you were hoping for more than just incessant brawling, Revolution leaves something to be desired.