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Hi all! I've had several readers ask me about Ninja Gaiden II, and when they could expect to see a review post. The short answer, of course, is always the same: we will post a review when it is ready.
The long answer is that Microsoft did not send final code to review outlets. The build we received suffers from loading issues, visual glitches, and other noticeable flaws that may or may not be present in the game you buy. Here is the statement we received from Microsoft when we pressed them on the matter:
Just a quick note from Team NINJA below regarding the "Ninja Gaiden II" red discs. Please note that the delay in load times you may experience is not representative of the final game. In the final boxed copy of the game, which you will receive once the game ships to retail on June 3 in the U.S., you will not experience any lag in load times. Team NINJA is aware of the issue and requests your patience as you play through the review red disc.
Xbox 360 spins DVDR media slower than replicated media, so it's not representative of how final media will perform. Also, please keep in mind that this build distributed early to you guys for review purposes is not final retail code (emphasis added -- KV). While the build contains many final gameplay features, story elements, and graphical capabilities, it's a press evaluation build so it is not as fully optimized as a retail product. Generally, load time is one feature that improves between review builds and final product. While there typically is not a major noticeable difference between review builds and retail product, it can vary, so please keep this in mind while working on your review.
You may remember that we reviewed Lost Odyssey based on code provided to us as reviewable, and rightfully called out load times that lasted close to two minutes in our evaluation. The retail game did not suffer nearly as much as our review build did, and we replayed a significant portion of the game and adjusted our review text to reflect as much once the issue came to our attention. We do not wish to repeat that circumstance, and will only post our Ninja Gaiden II review when we know that it is factually correct.
Frankly, we aren't willing to accept any developer or publisher at their word when we're told that flaws in the review build will not be present in the retail game. While we want to bring you timely reviews, we are strongly committed to bringing you accurate reviews based on the same exact game that will be in the box. Games are expensive, and you deserve an honest evaluation based on the final product. Publishing an early review with potentially incorrect information (or one that glosses over important information because we take the publisher at face value) does a disservice to our readers.
We will publish our Ninja Gaiden II when we are fully confident that it reflects the game you will purchase. You deserve nothing less.
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