Developed by Cyber Connect 2, Generations is the latest rendition in the Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm series of games. The title alters online play and ramps up the number of playable and support characters far beyond any Naruto game in the franchise so far. Players can compete in a variety of online battle modes with their favourite Naruto characters, including Naruto and Sasuke. Naruto fans have been waiting to see more of Zabuza and Haku since the launch of the original Manga, and now they will have their chance...

Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm - Generations works on two levels. If you're a fan of this sort of fighting game, but don't know that much about Naruto, then you'll enjoy the game play. And if you're a fan of Naruto, and have been following the manga and anime series, then you'll be in total heaven.

Generations has been designed for the hardcore Naruto fan who wants to play through the major fights of the series. So, in 'Story Mode', you can choose to play classic Naruto (as young Naruto), through Naruto Shippuden (as older Naruto) and as Sasuke Uchiha - with other characters available as you unlock them. Between the fights there is a linking narration (to refresh you're memory if you've read/watched the manga/anime) which sets the scene. There really is something entertaining about getting the chance to battle some of Naruto's past adversaries.

Your general options include the aforementioned 'Story Mode'; 'Free Battle' (which is further broken down into 'Vs Battle'; 'Survival'; 'Tournament'; and 'Training'); 'Online Battles' (which includes the options 'Player Match' and 'Ranked Match')

According to the PR blurb we received (and I've no real way of verifying this as I write, as I've only scratched the surface of the unlockable elements), there are over 70 playable characters (72 if the 'Vs' menu is to be believed) and over 60 minutes of all-new animated content from Studio Pierrot. This is also the first time that the franchise has included a system that integrates real-world collectible cards with the video game. Apparently the cards from the booster pack carry a code that allow you to unlock corresponding artwork for you in-game profile card. You can also engage in a special mini-battle to unlock a bonus skill and gain an advantage in the 'Custom Ranked Match'.

The actual fighting is mostly button mashing, but works well for this type of game, and it's interesting to play as familiar characters and see how their fighting animation attacks differ (even if the general attack button controls are pretty much the same for every character).

Those that love Naruto will instantly warm to this.

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Darren Rea