Naruto: The Broken Bond - XBox 360

Naruto: The Broken Bond for the XBox 360 picks up where Naruto: Rise of the Ninja left off. And pulls off a rarity now a days where the game keeps what was good in the first game, expanded on it, and added new features that don't overtake the original feel of the game. My personal favorite was the diversity in the Achievements this time around. The game follows Naruto, and a cast of fan favorites this time, as the story continues. The main story lines picks up around the half way point in the anime and ends right before the point where the new Naruto anime series picks up. Now true they leave out a good one hundred episodes of events that happen to Naruto in the anime series. However these episodes are all considered to be filler and really don't impact the main story line. No crucial plot points happen during those episodes so you really aren't missing much. Back to the game now, the mini games have been expanded with new takes on the old ones and brand new ones. New areas for you to roam include Tanzaku town and a Hot Springs Resort. The Battle system has been upgraded to allow you to switch mid battle between various other playable characters. The game definetely feels bigger but what the game lacks is more original content. While the designers do give you some new content and bigger areas to explore, it goes by really fast. Once again the game falls prey to a pitfall the previous one experienced. The main story was fantastic but once that's done, the replay appeal is very low. All in all, once again, a solid game but once it's over the content really doesn't keep you coming back.