Ninja Gaiden is hands-down the most gorgeous and fluid action game yet made.

Though propelled by a hapless and forgettable story of vanquishing evil forces seeking out a well-guarded magical superblade talisman thingy, the katana-intensive action is faultless, offering unparalleled control and mind-blowing fight mechanics.

It's difficult in the extreme though, with little warm up and no practice modes to be found--the antithesis of frivolous button mashing fight games--but offers the utmost in addictive gameplay depth because of it.

On top of your basic running, jumping, flipping and wall-sticking abilities, players have more attack moves and combat combinations than can be discovered in one sitting. With numerous other weapons and trade tools to be found, bought and used, and each coming with their own handling characteristics, the variety of attack options seems endless.

What's more, it's not always about the slice n' dice as Ninja Gaiden doles out some tantalizingly cerebral problem solving situations. But even these (or most of them) require polished controller skills.

If you've spent the last ten or twenty years becoming and expert gamer, Ninja Gaiden is the game you've been practicing for.