Hands-on | Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2
Format: PS3 | Genre: Action/Fighting | Publisher: Temco | Developer: Team Ninja | ETA: Autumn 2009
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 is a difficult game to explain, in theory. It’s essentially just Ninja Gaiden 2, with new characters and all the bugs fixed. Yet it still feels like a completely new game. Allow me to elaborate.
In the build we played under the watchful eyes of Team Ninja yesterday, we were introduced to two new characters, though they may be slightly familiar depending on your gaming pedigree: Ayane of Dead or Alive fame, and Momiji of Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword. Both were playable on the day, and Rachel (the angry hammer-wielding woman from the first teaser trailer) is also planned for her own playable experience.
//Costume party
The first thing you’ll notice, if you’re sensible enough to ignore their ridiculous costumes, is that these characters seem to move noticeably more slowly than their male counterpart. Whether this is a design decision or simply the fact that, even when walking, Ryu seems to be busting a sprint animation isn’t clear. However, the focus is more on combat than acrobatics with the two new characters, a refreshing change from some of the occasional off-putting parkour forced on you with the game’s Xbox version.
Ayane’s demo weapon was a set of two short katana, wielded with deadly skill, though with her being the one to equip Ryu with the awesome Dragon Sword, this isn’t surprising. And her finishing moves – which can be used once the foe targeted has lost at least one limb – are far faster than Ryu’s. This goes a long way in alleviating the tension you’ll sometimes feel when ten ninja are circling you as your character pulls off a lengthy death-stroke animation, allowing your living antagonists to close in. However, her swift combat skills are more than adequate, with a lot of opportunities for mashing the square button in comparison to Ryu. His main fault was that, even when wielding claws, he he would occasionally slow down as the looping attack animation wound to a close. With Ayane, it’s more a case of the combo finishing when you finish, though you’ll want to learn how to dodge, as with only two short swords, her blocking ability leaves a lot to be desired.
[Continues...]
Heaven forbid Tecmo/Team Ninja actually fix the buggy mess they ripped 360 gamers off with Ninja Gaiden 2. I hope this game is perfect because Tecmo/TN don’t go back and fix any bugs they just move on. I will never buy another Tecmo or Team Ninja game again.
” Yet it still feels like a completely new game” It’s supposed to be a new game because it’s a remake.
And I don’t even get WHAT you are trying to say, just getting me confused everytime I read on:/
“/The female of the species”
“I’m wondering if Momiji was designed by someone outside of Japan, because she actually seems to be wearing clothes.”
WTF!???
Er. I’ll hop in pretty quickly and say I’d hope the “outside of Japan” comment was pretty obviously tongue-in-cheek, and that section header a knowingly crap reference to a mid-90s pop song.
Carry on.
Team Ninja were headed (design-wise) by a man called Tomonobu Itagaki, a man famous for making games where every man was fully clothed, and every woman was near-naked and falling out of her top all the time.
I am now happy the woman doesn’t look like that, as I can enjoy a game that has finally not been made for prepubescent young boys.
Though the comment was made in jest, Japan does have a reputation for greatly exaggerating the female body in games.
Regardless, hope you gained something out of the article.
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