Hands-on | Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2

She’s also by far the best character in the new title, though I’m yet to dabble with Rachel. Wielding a dual-bladed quarterstaff, she’s a lot easier to control in terms of stopping your combo going too far and getting you a nasty slice in the face, her reversals and blocks a lot more solid due to the size and reduced speed of the weapon. Her finishes are, frustratingly, as long as those of Ryu, but you’ll find she’s able to clear the area around her with various spin attacks, so being surrounded shouldn’t be too wrath-inducing an experience.

Momiji’s level is identical to the Kyoto-inspired rose petals and temples of the early sections of Ryu’s geographical timeline, though with a few interesting twists. Firstly, her ability to whip out her bow and cast two arrows through the head of a ninja two hundred feet away is nothing short of incredible, her auto-lock ability a real help in a game of this pace. There was also a new boss halfway through the level: it seems her storyline begins with losing a little boy, one who trained at the same temple used by Ryu and co, and it’s up to her to find the little fellow. The bird demon who the player sees doing the kidnapping has decided to send a differently-skinned version of himself to mess with Momiji midway through, and the difficulty has really shot up.

Forget the “dodge, dodge, projectile, air attack” rota you got into the rhythm of with Ryu. Here, the fights are significantly more dynamic and it’s all you can do to keep from dying, even on Mentor difficulty. The AI is a lot smarter this time around, so keep using the same attack and eventually that bird demon will not only block, it’ll then counter attack, then land a huge, half-health-bar attack from the air before you’ve had the chance to get up again. It doesn’t fight like a demon, it fights like a player, and it’s pretty intense even in the calmer “circling” moments of the fight. He disappears before you can kill him, so expect him to turn up either later in the level or the game, as the preview build doesn’t take it far enough for players to find out.

It’ll be interesting to see whether the weapons for the three new characters to grace the franchise are upgradable and changeable, as Momiji seems perfectly suited for the scythe and mace weapon sets, with Ayane’s fast abilities locking her into weapons like the bladed nun-chucks and Wolverine-esque claw selections in the Dragon Ninja armoury.  Even if the answer is no, they’ll be fine simply upgrading the weapons they’ve got. Team Ninja have really put a lot of thought into the play-styles of the various people interacting with Ryu on the Xbox. Do you want a heavy weapon character? Rachel. Balanced and talented from range? Momiji. Lightning-fast and combo-heavy? Ayane. Though I’m imagining that’s probably not the reason most people will choose her. Maybe something to do with her being clad in less than most people wear in the shower.

With new characters, narratives, changes to the camera and enemy AI, you’d think it was enough to make the game what it should have been the first time round. But you’d be wrong. There’s also a co-op mode, with none of the Fable 2 “please don’t use certain abilities” obstacles to play in terms of fireball attacks and slow-down finishing moves. The mere suggestion of this is simply fantastic, and with the Japanese-speaking Hayashi grinning and nodding happily at the request of a co-op scoreboard, this looks to be one of the most popular aspects of the game. Sadly it’s not narrative based, simply an area affair, but to me this seems like it’ll work even better, especially considering the resounding success of the Circle of Blood mode in Devil May Cry 4.

So put on your ninja socks, strap on your mask, leather outfit and Styrofoam sword, and battle your way through tons of enemies when the demo lands on the PSN this September. Just remember to check your prepubescent mindset at the door.

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