One of the most noticeable changes to Gaiden is the way in which the violence level has been forced viciously up from ‘you’ve got red on you’ to a degree of butchery that makes Peter Jackson’s low-budget early works look like Disney movies, albeit without all the damn singing. Presumably, when it came to blood, Team Ninja was eager to heed Gerard Way’s advice ("Give them all that they can drink and it will never be enough…") since Ninja Gaiden 2 must be among the most brutal major releases we’ve come across in years. Following the furore that surrounded even the most basic of decapitations in the first game, it seems the world is now happy to welcome a game where lopping off body parts amid torrents of claret is commonplace. Conan recently got away with it (THQ’s barbaric offering sure as hell earned its 18 certificate) and NG2 looks very much set to overtake it in the gore stakes. Ryu’s lightning fast swipes are now capable of dismembering foes, although when facing tougher opposition, simply cleaving off a limb isn’t necessarily going to be enough to put them down. You’re just gonna end up faced with a massive demon that is a bit more pissed off than it was, mainly about having used to have, until very recently, a full quota of body parts.

And to help you rip the bad guys to bits come a number of new weapons, alongside a good few returning ones. First of the new bunch is a giant scythe, which you’d assume from its size would be cumbersome and somewhat slow. You’d be wrong. Ryu swings the terrifying blade effortlessly as though he were the Grim Reaper himself, hacking through crowds and leaving a rather gruesome harvest of body parts and red stuff strewn all about him. Of course it’s a little slower than your basic swords, but this is made up for with range unseen outside of Soul Calibur and its uncanny ability to disarm enemies in the most literal sense of the expression. The other new offensive tool revealed so far offers far less range but a whole different world of potential. When equipped, Ryu gets a rather nifty set of claws on both hands and feet, allowing him to shred enemies at close range with swipes and kicks alike. While you’ll need to be right next to your target to do any damage, the speed with which this set of blades can tear through flesh is astounding and if you do manage to work your way in close, this will probably be your best choice for a quick kill.

Whereas before switching weapons was a somewhat arduous process of menu-trawling, it appears that Team Ninja has taken a leaf out of Capcom’s book and allowed Ryu to switch armaments on the fly, just as Dante and Nero can. While a little different to the implementation in Devil May Cry, the same sort of theory applies – you could use a hefty weapon to break a foe’s guard or knock him down before dashing in, switching to claws and going crazy on his newly helpless (and soon to be shredded) body. Similarly, the system can work the other way, allowing you to exploit an existing opening with a quick combo before switching to something more chunky and knocking your victim skywards, setting them up for a spectacular Izuna Drop finish. Ranged weapons too look set to return, although hopefully in a slightly more generally useful capacity this time. Previously, even the simplest of foes rendered your basic shuriken and kunai ineffective, whereas the explosive arrows proved somewhat too potent when you could get your hands on them.

Another critical change introduced to open Gaiden up to a world of less capable and indeed less patient players is to the game’s health system. How exactly this new ‘recharge’ system plays out is currently unknown, although a number of possibilities exist – we could see full regeneration after each encounter, ‘permanent’ and ‘temporary’ damage introduced as in many tag fighting games or even a Halo-esque system with a recharging shield-type meter letting damage through to a constant health bar when depleted. Whichever Team Ninja opts for in the end, it’s definitely a step in the right direction for attracting less determined gamers to play it through. Too many times, we’ve attempted bosses over and over with next to no health and while we rank among the few that actually rise to such a challenge, for many, this would be about the time they reach for the off button and fish around in their coat pockets for their receipts.

Outside of the slightly speedier combat – yes, somehow it is actually possible to make things quicker and more intense than the spectacularly tricky Ninja Gaiden Black – and a fistful of new Ninpo abilities (including a tornado attack that sweeps up enemies, debris and even severed body parts and tosses them around like a circus performer juggling offal), it’s all rather quiet on the Ninja Gaiden front. If Team Ninja has done anything major to the core mechanics of the game then they’re no ready to show the world just yet. Far more likely, though, is that much of the groundwork will go untouched, with only a newly developed bloodlust and enhanced combat potential setting this apart from its predecessor’s numerous forms.

And this in itself is no bad thing. Devil May Cry 4 has proven that even the most seemingly insignificant of tweaks can make all the difference where it really matters and even if NG2 just turns out to be the prettier, more brutal and more intense more-of-the-same affair that it looks to be then we’ll be perfectly happy. That said, Capcom’s series has really upped its game this generation and attracted a whole new world of devil hunters, so Ryu is going to have his work cut out stealing the limelight away from the silver-haired double act. Still, this far more brutal take on the genre should offer enough of its own unique flavour to coexist just as the original Gaiden (the Xbox one, not the NES debut) sat wonderfully alongside Devil May Cry 3. We loved them both and now, we invariably get to love their follow-ups even more. We recommend you start responding to the name ‘Ninja Dog’ because unless you’re a dab hand at this sort of game, we expect Ninja Gaiden 2 will be calling you just that a hell of a lot. Ninja Garden would never do that sort of thing to you, though. Ninja Garden is a lovely game. Too bad it doesn’t exist.