Support characters return with two new features. The first feature is Support Types — Defense, Attack, and Balanced. These can be unlocked for each support character and decide its actions during Support Drive level one. The second new feature is the Support Drive, which has two levels. Level one is activated once a player's support characters are summoned enough times. When Support Drive level one is activated, a player's support characters will summon themselves automatically depending on their support type, and on what actions the player is executing. When a support character automatically summons itself, it will not reset the support character charge gauge, and can even be summoned when the gauge is not full. A support character cannot be manually summoned by a player if it has already summoned itself automatically. If a support character is set to Defense, it will automatically summon itself when a player is charging chakra, and block the opponent from dashing into the player.
When a support character is set to Attack, they will help attack an opponent through combos, and knock the opponent back when a combo sends them flying. Set to Balanced, it will throw projectiles alongside the player when the player uses chakra projectiles and block incoming Ultimate Jutsus, at the expense of losing that support for a while. When Support Drive level two is activated, for a limited time a player will be capable of releasing a Team Ultimate Jutsu, activated by hitting the chakra button three times and then the attack button. A Team Ultimate Jutsu drains an enormous amount of a player's chakra, and does massive damage if it makes contact with an unguarded opponent.
The game does not have free roaming in the same sense as the original, instead being replaced by more traditional JRPG screens and movement. In addition to the Leaf Village, players are able to travel outside the village, through environments ranging from forests to deserts, and the Hidden Sand Village. Boss battles have returned, with quick time events and cutscenes.
Players can access multiple online features; quick matches have opponents chosen at random, ranked matches with leader boards, match customization, as well as the availability to host matches.
Plot and characters
The game's adventure mode covers the original manga and anime's beginning with the return of young ninja Naruto Uzumaki to his ninja village, Konohagakure, after three years of training with Jiraiya. Across the story mode, Naruto and his allies fight many enemies from a criminal organization known as Akatsuki. Starting with the first chapter, they capture Gaara, once leader of the Sunagakure village. The second chapter follows Naruto's team in their failed attempt to take former ally Sasuke Uchiha from the criminal Orochimaru. The following two chapters focus on Konohagakure member Shikamaru Nara as his team again battles new members from Akatsuki. The next chapter has Sasuke betraying and defeating Orochimaru while forming his own ninja team to track down his older brother, Itachi, who murdered his entire clan years ago. The last two chapters follow Pain, the acting leader of Akatsuki, as he kills his teacher, Jiraiya, and Naruto trains to avenge his death. Clearing the story mode unlocks an additional "fragment" chapter detailing Sasuke's team's failed capture of Killer Bee, following their alliance with Akatsuki.
Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 has 44 characters and 15 support characters. While Naruto is at first present with his initial Shippuden techniques, later in the game he is playable with his "Sage" techniques as a separate character. Tekken 6's Lars Alexandersson is a guest character. Lars appears in his third alternate costume from Tekken 6 designed by Naruto creator Masashi Kishimoto. While unlockable through the game, the character of Minato Namikaze can be used instantly with a code that comes with the game's limited edition.
Reception
Critical response
The game received "average" reviews according to review aggregator Metacritic based on Western sites, while Japanese magazine Famitsu gave it a nearly perfect score of 39 out of 40 for its PlayStation 3 version and a 35 for the Xbox 360 version. Some sites complimented the story mode as well as the presentation of the graphics which might attract gamers or appeal to players who are not too familiar with the Naruto series. IGN's reviewer complimented the game saying, while he was not a fan of Naruto, he was impressed by the game's narrative to the point of caring about the characters' fates; another reviewer felt that some parts might confuse some gamers. The reviewer for GameTrailers found the story appealing despite its cliches. He felt the sequel was a major improvement over the first Storm game, and enjoyed how some characters can be unlocked. Another aspect praised by reviewers was the boss fights for their use of cinematic scenes and quick time events. VideoGamer.com said gamers would be amazed by the game's quality during these fights. Famitsu praised the advancements in gameplay and character control, in addition to positively comparing the animation and artstyle with the Naruto anime. While finding these boss fights appealing, some reviewers found some of other fights anticlimatic. Eurogamer felt Storm 2 was a good sequel based on the new characters, new modes as well as its online mode. The inclusion of Tekken guest character Lars Alexandersson was also well-received by writers.
Other criticisms of the game were that the characters had similar moves and that sidequests do not involve fights. While the visuals were praised, the world map was criticized for not having many activities other than finding items; some criticized the characters' interactions. Other criticism included the noticeably long loading times that occur during the story mode, as well as the similarities between characters' moves, which made the sequel lack the appeal of famous fighting games. On the other hand, Engadget applauded the breadth of strategies in the fights and the fact that players have to focus on interrupting their enemy's charging while trying to recharge themselves. The use of items within fights, as well as sub-missions, has prompted some to compare the game with Eastern role-playing games. Gamezone said the worst aspect of the game was its multiple use of arenas. Reviewers had mixed opinions about the audio. The soundtrack and the use of both English and Japanese voices was praised, while one reviewer found the cast unlikable, and disliked the plot and the voiceovers.
