Naruto: Path of the Ninja - hands-on

And while you will spend much of the beginning of the game playing with those three notorious Squad 7 stand-bys, you can switch out your posse with the likes of Shikamaru, Neji and Rock Lee later on. Funny we should mention that, but the formation of your squad is of particular importance during combat. You can arrange your group's formations in the menu, or right on the battle field. Proximity matters, and certain enemies are more susceptible to certainattacks. There'll be a definite strategy in place for who you play and who you bench.

But what of the jutsu, you ask? Oh they're here, and then some, because Path of the Ninja is promising over 90 of them. There's elemental jutsus, like lightning, water and wind, but each character has their own attacks exclusive to them. Sasuke's got his fire, and what would Naruto be without his Sexy Jutsu? But there's also a number of Combination Jutsus that yourcrew will have to team up to unleash.

But what powers you can team up to combine will depend on your Chemistry. You've got to foster camaraderie between your characters so they'll perform better on the battlefield. This can be done by some talking, or more interestingly, by sharing meals with friends at the Ramen shop.