Naruto Shippūden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2

is the sequel to Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm. It is slated to be released in Japan for October 21, 2010 for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. It will be released in Europe on October 15, 2010 and in the US on October 19, 2010.

Gameplay
The gameplay retains many of the elements from the previous game. The game will feature 23 interactive and destrucible stages and more than 40 playable characters. Each character can also gain new combos and jutsus by activating the Awakening Mode. As the story progresses, players will unlock new Jutsu and Ultimate Jutsu for certain characters. Lars Alexandersson, a character designed by Masashi Kishimoto for Tekken 6, is also playable.

Support characters will be returning. There are 2 types of support characters: offensive and defensive. There is also a new feature, named "Drive Gauge", in the game. Depending on the Drive Gauge, players will be able to unleash devastating team jutsu with the support characters. When the drive gauge is full, the defensive support character will automatically protect the player. The jutsu clashes from the prequel also makes their return. Chakra Backwards Dashing is now included. Ultimate jutsus will now be real-time and shorter than the ones from the previous installment. This will help keeping the fast pace of the fights and will also prevent lagging in on-line battles. For some characters, there will be two usuable jutsus in one match: one basic jutsu and an enhanced version. When using the jutsu for the character, if the attack button is held, the jutsu will be enhanced (Ex. Naruto using Rasengan as his normal jutsu, then turning into Great Ball Rasengan by holding the attack button). Also, health has been reduced, so now there are only two health bars, instead of the three like in the previous game.

Free roaming also makes a return. The game will feature a 1:1 recreation of the Konohagakure. In addition to the Konoha, players will be able to roam outside the village, ranging from forests to deserts, and also the Sunagakure. Boss battles will be returning, with quick-time events and cutscenes. Boss battles are divided into 2 or more parts, depending on the boss fight. For example, the Naruto vs. Kakashi boss fight (which is held at the Training Field) contains 2 parts: one of them is normal fighting; in the other part, after Sakura smashes her fist into the ground, the scene is changed into a new stage with water and rocks; in this part of the battle, Kakashi attacks with long-range jutsu that the player must avoid. Boss battles include Naruto vs. Kakashi, Gaara vs. Deidara, Sakura vs. Sasori, Four tailed Naruto vs. Orochimaru, Naruto vs. Sasuke, Sasuke vs. Orochimaru, Naruto vs. Kakuzu, Sasuke vs. Itachi, Jiraiya vs. Pain, and Naruto vs. Pain.

New to the Ultimate Ninja series are also the aerial battles, where players will be able to fight in the air, such as Gaara vs. Deidara.

Players can access multiple online features; quick matches have opponents chosen at random, ranked matches with leaderboards, match customization, as well as the availability to host matches.

Development
Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2 was officially announced on December 21, 2009 by Namco Bandai Games at a Jump Festa event. V Jump magazine revealed the game a few days beforehand. As CyberConnect2's first multi-platform project, they worked closely with Microsoft. On July 16, the demo release date was announced in the official website. It was officially released July 29, 2010 on the Japanese PlayStation Network and Xbox Live (The Latter requires a gold membership). The European release date for the demo is August 25 2010. It contains the Naruto vs. Kakashi boss battle. It's North American release date is October 12, and its European release date is October 15.

Story
According to the CyberConnect 2 CEO, Hiroshi Matsuyama, the story will begin from the very first Naruto: Shippūden episode to episodes that will be broadcasting this summer in Japan, a content of 3 years of anime broadcasting. The game features a deep three-part story from the point of view of Naruto, Sasuke and Jiraiya.

Confirmed Playable Characters
New Characters are indicated by the asterisks.


 * Naruto Uzumaki (Four Tails Mode; Sage Mode)
 * Kakashi Hatake (Sharingan Mode)
 * Sakura Haruno (Herculean Mode)
 * Sai *
 * Yamato *
 * Might Guy     (Eight Gates Mode)
 * Tenten
 * Rock Lee (Eight Gates Mode)
 * Neji Hyūga (Byakugan Mode)
 * Asuma Sarutobi (Flying Swallow Mode)
 * Ino Yamanaka
 * Shikamaru Nara
 * Chōji Akimichi
 * Hinata Hyūga (Twin Lion Fist Mode)
 * Shino Aburame
 * Kiba Inuzuka
 * Tsunade
 * Jiraiya (Sage Mode)
 * Minato Namikaze*
 * Chiyo (With Mother and Father) *
 * Gaara
 * Temari
 * Kankurō
 * Itachi Uchiha (Mangekyō Sharingan; Susanoo)
 * Kisame Hoshigaki
 * Deidara *
 * Sasori (With Third Kazekage; True Form) *
 * Hidan (Jashin Ritual Mode) *
 * Kakuzu (Four Hearts Mode) *
 * Pain *
 * Konan (Angel Mode)*
 * Sasuke Uchiha (Curse Mark Stage 2; Mangekyō Sharingan)
 * Suigetsu Hōzuki *
 * Karin *
 * Jūgo (Curse Mark Mode) *
 * Orochimaru
 * Kabuto Yakushi
 * Lars Alexandersson *
 * Killer Bee (Full Eight-Tailed Mode) *