Ninja Gaiden II contains more "fuck yes" and "aw fuck" moments than any three action games put together. In the course of Ryu's journey, you'll be both bad ass and just plain bad. And sometimes, if only for a moment, you'll hate this game.

For every brilliant action sequence, there will be another marred by a bad camera angle. After every gorgeous level, there will be another set in a dull, dreary cave. Following every exciting fight, there will be another boring cutscene that defies all laws of human decency.

Some of this sounds terrible in description, but don't worry--these will be temporary feuds. The truth is, it's difficult to stay mad at something this beautiful. I mean, just look at this: Registered users can use the HD Stream

Do you see that video? Doesn't that look awesome? Yeah, that was me. I did that. I didn't tap a button in time with the rhythm of a techno track, or wave a Wii controller in a disco move, or follow an on-screen prompt that triggered a scripted attack. Each slice and swing was an immediate result of my sometimes skillful, and frequently lucky, button presses.

With Ninja Gaiden II, what you see is what you get. It's a frantic, skill-based brawler, and retains the responsive mechanics that set the first game apart. It's all about quick action and quicker reaction, a careful balance of parry and thrust and total coincidence. Only the most dedicated players will dominate at the highest difficulty, as it should be.

That being said, this is unquestionably a Ninja Gaiden for the rest of us. Thanks to a relaxed health regeneration system, I happily defeated most of the game's levels and bosses--on the easiest mode of four, mind you--without coming close to a frustrated toss of my controller. Occasionally I'd get stuck on a boss for a few minutes, sometimes to the point of rampant ninja cursing, but I was rarely red-faced to the point quitting--as I was with Team Ninja's first.

Speaking of red-faced, let's get this out of the way right now: Ninja Gaiden II has to be one of the bloodiest games ever made. Brains will be roughly coaxed from skulls, launched into walls with a sickening smack. Limbs will litter the ground by the dozen. Ryu may have a fancy walk-on-water move, but he'll be wading through more pools of blood than anything else. You really have to admire a game that leaves you feeling empty if you leave an enemy with a single appendage still attached. It's over the top, but deliciously so.

Weapons such as the claw-like Falcon's Talons and the hefty Lunar Staff can literally tear tough-guys to shreds. Each can be upgraded at shops found within levels, changing in appearance and killing power up to three times. Easily accessed by a new in-game crosspad, the wide choice of blades, blunts, and ranged weapons is half the fun. There is nothing like using akimbo katanas to deal with a spindly monster, then switching to the flail-like Kusari-gama to mow down a group of ninjas. The Lunar Staff and its cranium-crushing power is my personal poison, but then, Donatello was always my favorite.

In many ways this is a Turtles-like affair, with everything from humanoid ninjas to insectoid monstrosities opposing you. Most of the enemies are memorable and great fun to dispatch. Some are simply re-skins of enemies seen earlier in the game. Others are merely boring. A general rule: anything that flies or swims will never be as fun to kill as your standard land-based foe.

The bulk of Ninja Gaiden is spent eliminating hordes of these enemies at a time, and their appearances and attack patterns are varied enough to keep you interested. I never once tired of decapitating or de-limbing the lot of them, and the game is a clear winner in that respect.

Of course, development time has also been spent elsewhere to provide for a more complete package.

Turn the page for more.