It's one of those marriages you never see coming. You look at the bride, then you look at the groom and sit back and wonder...
At least, that was my reaction to I-Ninja, which combines extreme sports with, of all things, ninjas. The game, developed by Namco, portrays the adventures of a hard-edged ninja with major attitude, as he battles the evil Ranx army. Using gravity defying moves, I-Ninja can scale buildings, and rail grind. Thanks to his years of mastering his weapons and honing his skills, I-Ninja will also be able to use super-secret ninja arts such as the "sword copter", which presumably will allow him to spin his swords over his head and fly. I-Ninja will also have the usual assortment of ninja weapons like throwing stars, swords and chain whips, as well as some of the best weapons the United States military can provide, like missile launchers. Never mess with a ninja packing a missile launcher. Though details of the game's story line remain scant, the game's missions will be spread across five environments, and will contain enemies ranging from soldiers to 150-foot robots. I-Ninja is slated for release on both the PS2 and GameCube.
One of the showcase games at Microsoft's E3 Press Event (at least in trailer form), Breakdown is your typical FPS - well sort of. While players will still have access to a wide assortment of firearms, combat will also be decided through the use of quick fisted action usually reserved for fighting games. The game will also feature challenging puzzles and lots of exploration through rich, detailed environments. Set in a sci-fi universe, Breakdown will present a story in entirely real-time cut scenes, which judging from screen shots look rather impressive, and will use "contemporary licensed music". Breakdown is scheduled for a December release and will be an Xbox exclusive.
