Playing “Ninja Gaiden” can be a painfully difficult experience. But no matter what you’re into, pain is rarely this fun.

Tecmo, the game’s publisher, bills “Ninja Gaiden” as “the greatest action game of all time” and manages to deliver on this lofty promise. It is one of the greatest action games of all time. The key to its greatness is that the game somehow manages to remain fun while being brutally difficult at the same time.

Team Ninja’s new XBox offering is hard. So hard, in fact, you can expect to die literally hundreds of times before finally leading superninja Ryu Hayabusa to the end of the game’s 16 chapters — only to find out supposed victory unlocks a new “Very Hard” difficulty mode (there is no Easy mode). Time to start over from the beginning.

The story of “Ninja Gaiden” involves Ryu trying to recover the dark dragon sword which has been stolen by the fiend Doku. Ryu is forced to chase Doku through all ends of the Earth prior to the final showdown, overcoming a large number of mini-bosses on the way.

The first thing to note in “Ninja Gaiden” is the incredible amount of control you have over Ryu. At the beginning of the game, there are already dozens of attack combos Ryu can execute. In addition to being able to run along walls, he can also bounce back and forth between walls to climb higher and block virtually all enemy attacks (except grappling attacks) with the push of one button. In addition, Ryu can perform a number of cool moves which involve launching himself off a wall and decapitating unsuspecting enemies with his fearsome “Dragon Sword.”

Ryu can also unlock many new moves and weapons along the way, leading to roughly a dozen different weapons to destroy his enemies with by the end of the game.

It may seem like all of this would make Ryu invincible, and the game would be a cakewalk. However, the enemies in the game can do most of what Ryu can do and then some. Ryu also does not have all that much health, so he can not get hit many times, making blocking essential. Oh — and there are generally about four enemies attacking at one time.

What keeps frustration from setting in is the outstanding artificial intelligence. Other than a few of the major bosses, the AI does not seem to “cheat.” The opponents do not do much that you cannot, and most enemies have a weakness. The computer is just very, very good. You always have the feeling that maybe if you tried it just a few more times, you could win.

Graphically, the game is great. It is really no surprise coming from a developer like Team Ninja, a developer that only makes games for the XBox, and whose former graphically great games include “Dead or Alive 3” and “DOA: Extreme Beach Volleyball.” Team Ninja has included an amazing amount of different locales in the game, from Japanese villages to giant airships to hell itself — and all of them look outstanding. There is also a ton of replayability to the already 20-plus hour game, as all three original Nintendo “Ninja Gaiden” games can be unlocked.

If there is one negative aspect of the game, there is no multiplayer support in “Ninja Gaiden.”

“Ninja Gaiden” is a truly remarkable game, and it is probably the best single-player game available on the XBox. Gamers who are not looking for a challenge; however, should stay far away from this one. Those who stick with it will find a rewarding experience that actually gets slightly less difficult as the game progresses and you improve.