Fans of Shonen Jump's Naruto franchise can rejoice as the titles are coming out by the handful. As at this point, many of you have done all you can with Naruto Ultimate Ninja 2, so along comes...Naruto Ultimate Ninja 3! That's right, much like many franchises before it like Dragon Ball Z, the industry is getting these to you faster than a crane kick to the face! For fans, this is a good thing as it finally introduces features, characters, and ideas that are once only found in the episodes of the show and keeps things fresh and kicking (pun intended).

Visually NUN3 provides the same punch (okay I'll stop now with the puns) that you can come to expect from the world of Naruto. Utilizing flashy cel shading techniques not only do you get all your characters in 3D, but the keep their animated approach as well. The fighting areas are impressive as not only are they exquisitely detailed, but are multi-teared in most cases allowing for some very diverse fights. Over 40 of your favorite characters battle to be the best in the world and the game promises to be have the largest selection of fighters ever in a Naruto title.

While I can do without voiceovers in fighting games, I'm sure that they are here to keep up the authenticity of the show. Thankfully for folks like me, I can turn on Japanese voiceovers so I don't have to hear the Americanized catch phrases over and over again. Seriously, sometimes it's like nails on a chalkboard. The rest of the sounds come straight from the show including kicks, punches, and musical score.

Like any fighting game, the single player experience can be tiresome after a while, no matter how many fighters, stages, or ideas you toss in. Once you master a series of combos the A.I. never rivals the intelligence of a human and their real time reactions. While there is a ton of single player activities to participate in, nothing beats a good one on one with a human. What Naruto UN3 has going for it is a strong fighting engine that is easy to pick up and learn, but deep enough that a master at the game can be unbeatable. This can lead to some very intense matches between skilled veterans. Toss in the large arsenal of fighters and you'll find yourself immersed in this title 'til Ultimate Ninja 4!

I've already mention the 40 plus fighters and Japanese voiceovers, but UN3 also gives fans more of what they want from the series like a brand new Summoning Mode that turns your characters into giants or give the ability to summon giant creatures to control in battle. You also have the capability to upgrade your character's strength, defense, chakra, agility, and even special abilities. There is a new 55 mission storyline that is exclusive to the game and gives Naruto fans a whole new reason to make this a must have title. If you just want to go old school you can relive major battles and events from the show as well.

All this is wrapped up into a nice neat package for Naruto fans. I'm sure that sales will be huge much like the previous two Ultimate Ninja titles, so the likelihood of a part 4 around the corner is almost a certainty.