New Naruto screens unleashed

By Mikel Reparaz
published

Ultimate Ninja sneaking onto PS2s this summer

After making a splash on GameCube, ninja-in-training Naruto Uzumaki is headed for a battle royale on the PlayStation 2. Naruto: Ultimate Ninja once again adapts the anime series into a one-on-one fighter, with Naruto and his Ninja Academy classmates battling for supremacy.

Unlike the GameCube's Naruto: Clash of Ninja, however, Ultimate Ninja isn't a straight-up 3D fighter. It's a little closer to 2D, but the characters can jump between the different "layers" of each arena to attack from a safe distance. Ultimate Ninja will feature 12 of these interactive stages, as well as more than 12 playable fighters and an overall darker tone than previous Narutogames.

Ultimate Ninja isn't due in the US until June, but would-be student ninjas can get a little taste by clicking thethe thumbnailsto the right for our latest batch of screenshots.

April 27, 2006

Mikel Reparaz
Mikel Reparaz
After graduating from college in 2000 with a BA in journalism, I worked for five years as a copy editor, page designer and videogame-review columnist at a couple of mid-sized newspapers you've never heard of. My column eventually got me a freelancing gig with GMR magazine, which folded a few months later. I was hired on full-time by GamesRadar in late 2005, and have since been paid actual money to write silly articles about lovable blobs.