These side missions continue even after the games main story line has finished, adding several more hours of gameplay to the game as well as several trophies. There are plenty of side missions, called requests, ranging from simple sparring with other characters, to finding items, solving riddles, and solving the mystery of the evil chakra dolls. There is more to do in the Ultimate Adventure mode than just play through the story. This tone is carried over into the credits and just after them so I highly recommend people watch the credit sequence as it rounds off the last chapters very good. These chapters also have some of the most detailed story out of all the chapters as an emotion connection with the player to the story is made. The games last couple of chapters make good use of this emotion. Couple this with excellent voice casting, the games story can lead to some emotional moments, both funny and sad.
The character models may look simple but they are full of emotion. The tone, the emotion the game is able to convey to the player is very impressive. As you play you notice that the game does tell some parts of the story more indepth than others, with this being more evident in the last couple of chapters. A problem with this is that the story in the game could lack depth and whilst it could be argued it does, the pacing, the story, the understanding of what is happening in the story is not affected and it keeps you hooked right through till after the game has finished. The story being told is much more streamlined and to the point. I have been watching the anime and I can say that none of the “filler” storylines have made it into this game. Ultimate Adventure is the games main story mode and it tells the story of Naruto Shippuden in 9 chapters, including the initial Prologue and special chapter found at the end of the game. In the options menu there is an option to play the game with the Japanese voice cast, which is what I did, and I played the game on the medium setting because, there are no trophies for playing it at a harder difficulty setting, I thought it would offer a more enjoyable gaming experience for someone new to this series.
The fighting is not complicated and uses a simple, yet effective, control scheme which many people may be able to pick up from the beginning.
If you haven't played the first game, or the Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 demo, it may be worth having a few fights in the Free Battle mode before starting the Ultimate Adventure mode, as there is no fighting tutorial. The main menu shows there are 3 modes of play, Ultimate Adventure, Free Battle, And Online, and Options.
Once the mandatory install is completed, the game starts with a trailer that provides a glimpses of the action, characters, and events to come in the game.
Ultimately, Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 is a great game and well worth playing. The major fights in the story have some spectacular QTE moments which are stunning to watch, but even general fights look good, and can be just as fast paced, and epic.
The hand drawn world simply looks amazing in HD. The main story is full of high and lows and the game does great in conveying this to the player, with the last couple of chapters in particular able to tug at heart strings.
But the games length is never an issue as pacing in the game is spot on and there is plenty do to during and after the main story line. The games story mode has two parts, the main story and the side quests, and because of this the game is surprisingly long. The controls are very simple and, even though there is no tutorial, they are easy to pick up and have surprising depth to them. Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 does have a couple of technical issues that have lowered its review score, but the game is too good to be dismissed because of loading and occasional anti aliasing issues.