Ninja Gaiden for the Xbox broke historic ground in the action genre, as players guide Ryu Hayabusa to his ninja-slashing destiny. This year, Team Ninja unleashes Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword for the Nintendo DS, and this bold hack-and-slash adventure contains the action that fans crave.

This DS iteration features Ryu Hayabusa tackling an all new threat to his ninja clan, though that's all we know at this point. No one on the development team, not even creative mastermind Tomonobu Itagaki, has let anything slip. However, it should remain very loyal to the Ninja Gaiden legacy, with tons of enemies to rip apart.

One thing Team Ninja did reveal about Dragon Sword, however, was the game's unique play system. It makes full use of the Nintendo DS touch-screen, although players need to turn the system on its side to play it. The top screen then sits on the left, showing Ryu's position on the current game map. All the game's actions happen on the bottom screen, now sitting on the right. Players must perform Ryu's moves with specific actions on the touch screen.

Later parts of the game require the use of magic and charged attacks, which players execute with ease. To perform them, they trace symbols on the screen once they appear to pull off the Ninpo attacks, which then result in the devastation of all on-screen foes.

In addition, Team Ninja put a lot of work into the game's presentation. The graphics look on cue with previous Ninja Gaiden games, the camera remains fixated on one particular angle through the levels, giving players a wide-open view of where enemies reside so they can set up a plan of attack. The animation looks down-right sick, particularly when Ryu goes flying all over the screen, swinging his ninja sword vigorously.

Gamers searching for lots of action will find it here, including a few boss battles that will test their last nerves. However, puzzles also come into play. The map system (on the left screen) comes in handy during these segments, so players don't get lost. Completing certain parts of the game also earns unlockables, including a mysterious female ninja with powers on par, if not better, than Ryu's.

Some questions about Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword still require answering; such as how the game's sound will come across (in terms of voice acting and music) and how the story unfolds. Look for more coverage in the weeks ahead, leading up to the review later this year.