E3 '07: Naruto: Rise of a Ninja Impressions

Ubisoft announced last year that it had made a partnership with Viz Entertainment to publish games in the US based on the highly popular Naruto anime and manga series, but it wasn't until earlier this year that it began showing what was in store. Tonight Microsoft gave us a further glimpse with a short trailer for Naruto: Rise of a Ninja during its E3 2007 press conference.

The trailer begins calmly enough with a quick tour through Naruto's home village, though as is the series' trademark, things got fast and furious in a hurry in this quick-cut trailer. We're shown shots of Naruto sprinting through the village, sliding across cables strung between the tops of buildings, double-jumping over pedestrians, and running up the sides of buildings. Eventually, though, he reaches the edge of the village, where he tries to improve his travel time by leaping from tree to tree, though at one point a miscalculated jump lands him smack into a tree trunk. From here, we're treated to a medley of fight sequences, as Naruto faces off with familiar characters such as Sasuke Ichiha and the sand-wielding Gaara, before the trailer comes to an end on a shot of a larger cast of Naruto characters.

The trailer seems designed to showcase the game's dynamic, anime-inspired visual style, something it accomplishes with aplomb. The village looks great; we see grass fold under Naruto's feet; and the fights are punctuated with incredible sights, such as huge dragons made of flaming blue energy. And there are plenty of slick-looking camera angles, anime-style speed lines, and impact pauses that give a thrown punch a little extra...punch. You can expect more coverage of Naruto: Rise of a Ninja as E7 2007 gets under way.