Namco Bandai games is one of the world's premier developers of fighting games. They're responsible for the most recent incarnations of the Soul Calibur, Tekken, and Dragon Ball Z series. And this morning, during the opening hours of the 2008 Penny Arcade Expo, I got some time in with their latest offering: Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm.

I've been seeing screenshots of this game for a few months now, and I wasn't sure that Namco would be able to deliver a finished game that looked as polished as the early screens showed. I was wrong. This game, quite literally, looks and plays like an episode of the Nartuo cartoon.

The demo allows you to play as either as Naruto Uzumaki or Sasuke Uchiha for a battle set on the bank of a lake. The controls are simple enough, with a block, attack, shuriken (ranged attack), and chakra attack. The game also employs assisted attacks, which when pushed, bring a second fighter on your side (think Marvel vs. Capcom). All of your moves will be performed using various combinations of these attacks. Since it was my first time playing the game, my attack style could best be described as "button mashing".

But honestly, the fighting mechanics are not what is going to sell this game. Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm is all about the look. And it looks like you're controlling an animated cartoon. In the two matches I fought (both against the CPU...), I didn't notice a single frame that didn't look like it could have been pulled from a Naruto DVD. The backgrounds, character models, and even the way the attacks are displayed are amazingly realized. It showed me that Namco Bandai has put a lot of time and effort into staying true to their source material. Suffice it to say, I am eagerly awaiting the day that they announce a new Marvel fighting game.

I don't know if the ten minutes I spent on Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm have convinced me that I (who am not a fan of the cartoon) need to own the game. But for fans of Naruto, anime in general, or fighting games, this may be one of the best of this generation.

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