SCREEN WALPAPER

However, it is boring to play and will ony appeal to fans Final Verdict Akatsuki Rising isn't fundamentally broken so it's impossible to write off entirely. All in all, if we have to hear Naruto's stupid irritating little voice over again we're probably going to cause an international incident. Basically presentation is of the exact level you would expect. It doesn't look very good, though stylized could be argued, and the voice acting is phenomenal, if only in the way it makes you want to kill in the game.

Different modes of play are available in Akatsuki Rising, including multiplayer, but because the fighting engine is so mind numbering it's hard to think why anybody would bother with many of them, instead opting to try to eke out some satisfaction from the Story mode. Hammering the (Square) button and hopping you don't die is just about all the skill involved, even with the magic scrolls thrown in. Scenario mode welcomes players and introduces to a story that sees a slightly other Naruto fights legions of identikit bandits and other such enemies for no real reason in combat that feels loose, inaccurate and incredibly boring. Playing like a neutered Crisis Core, lacking in any of the subtlety, tactical nuance or production values that made Square's portable RPG so much fun, this is one strictly for the rabid bunch of Naruto fans out there.

Naruto games are generally a mixed bag of poor and bad; this particular PSP version, with its silly long name, is well within the realms of the latter.