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Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes coming to the PSP

Ninjas that slay together stay together

Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes coming to the PSP

It must be a strange feeling to wake one morning and decide 'it's a Ninja's life for me'. Granted the hours are good and women love a man who can wield a shuriken, but surely investment banking or shop keeping is less fraught with danger?

For those who have faced just such a career conundrum, it may be a good idea to instead sink some of those martial urges into Namco Bandai's forthcoming Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes game for the PSP.

Based on a popular anime, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes is a three on three team-based beat-'em-up set within eight stages in the Naruto universe.

In addition to the single-player mode, there is a wi-fi multiplayer option that sadly only supports two players. (Perhaps a missed opportunity, given the potential for six-player team combat?)

There are 20 fighters open to you, and each can be levelled up by completing missions. What these missions will consist of is so far unclear, but it's extremely likely to involve fighting hordes of evil ninjas. Players will also be able to swap their profiles wirelessly – a potentially nice little addition that doesn't feature in many PSP titles, despite the hardware's suitability.

A mere 20 playable characters may sound like a skimpy offering by today's beat-em-up standards – Tekken Dark Resurrection's 33 playable characters being a particularly crowded example – but to compensate, one of the ninja tricks at the heart of Naruto: Ultimate Ninja is the ability to unlock moves and abilities through choosing different combinations of fighters to make your dream Ninja trio.

Due before the end of the year, Naruto already looks visually stunning in all of its cel-shaded glory. Fingers crossed that by the time it's released it will have the martial skills to match.

Click 'Track It!' to wake up one day to find a review, dressed in black, by your bed. (Review delivery may vary depending on geographical location – in some places you'll just get an email).