Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Butt-Kicking Ninja

By Lev Grossman Sunday, Feb. 22, 2004
    • When you're a ninja, your job is slicing large evil people into large-evil-people cutlets. Motivation is not a problem. In Ninja Gaiden (Xbox; $49.99), the latest installment in a venerable series that began on the old Nintendo Entertainment System, you play a limber little guy wearing a purple pantsuit who's on some major quest, the point of which is not easy to understand — dragon this, family honor that and so on. Whatever. You won't get bored unless leaping into the air, running along a wall, doing a somersault, tossing three shuriken (ninja throwing stars) at a guy in samurai armor and then decapitating him in one smooth motion is something you do, like, all the time. Game-play-wise, Ninja Gaiden is a neat combination of fighting and exploring, and although it's quite violent, the action is rendered in such lush detail — streaming sunlight, falling leaves, birds circling overhead — that it becomes almost balletic, like a Jet Li movie shot by Ang Lee. Ninja Gaiden is a tough game with a steep learning curve, but nobody ever said fighting evil was easy. Especially in a purple pantsuit.