System: Microsoft Xbox 360

Publisher: Microsoft

Reviewer’s rating: **

ESRB rating: Mature

Game type: Action

Kind of like: “Ninja Gaiden,” “Ninja Gaiden Black,” “Ninja Gaiden Sigma,” “Devil May Cry 4”

Best feature: Plays smooth like buttah.

Worst feature: Monotonous levels, poor camera angles.

The bottom line: It was with much anticipation that Microsoft’s Team Ninja brought its long-awaited “Ninja Gaiden” sequel to the next generation. But with four years passing since the original release and incremental changes with each of its remakes, “Ninja Gaiden II” treads on familiar territory without adding much to the franchise.

Protagonist Ryu Hayabusa returns for yet another go-’round. The absurd plot doesn’t really matter — something involving demons and ninjas. This game is all about slicing and dicing, with pure visual stimulation at its core. Scenes are graphically stunning — mass dismemberment and decapitation never looked better — and the game is probably one of the prettiest on the 360.

But as smooth and fast as the action is, it’s still a button-masher to its very core. Sometimes the game moves so fast the camera can’t keep up, leading to very frustrating moments. There’s no real skill involved playing through the levels — it’s just wave after wave of henchmen until the disproportionately difficult boss fights at the end. It’s hard seeing anyone getting any better by playing through the game, which is a problem because it lasts 14 mind-numbing levels.

At that length, a game shouldn’t feel incomplete. But with so much attention spent on making the gameplay as smooth and stunning as possible, it seems like the developers neglected good level design.