Techtite Game Reviews ---

If the Ninja Gaiden game series is legendary for one thing, it would be the difficulty. What counts as "Normal mode" in most Ninja Gaiden games would be "Insanely Hard Mode" in any other game. Even Penny Arcade had to poke fun at the game's difficulty arcs, in one of their comic strips for early 2008. Here's the good news for people who always to play a game as Ryu yet could never survive level 1: "normal" mode in this latest sequel is finally...playable! Huzzah! While purists will insist that this is breaking with tradition, come on; it's really for the best.

Don't get the wrong impression, however; Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 is hardly a walk in the park. It's challenging, with numerous enemies to fight, admirable AI of these enemies, and an often gargantuan sized "boss" to defeat at the end of every level of the game. In short: yes by all accounts this is the exact same Ninja Gaiden 2 released on Xbox 360 some time back, albeit with a fairer difficulty curve in "Normal Mode," and some nice additions.

What kind of additions? Well for one, much like Ninja Gaiden Sigma, you don't just play as Ryu. Not only does "Rachel" return for a new level or two, though joining in the fun is another character from the roster of "Dead or Alive" stars: Ayane. In addition there's a third female heroine though I'll leave her story as a surprise for now. Mind you; while none of these new playable characters are male, none of these ladies are pushovers. In fact; I found Rachel's missions, with her spear-blade, far easier to complete than Ryu's. Then again, it's not like a game by Tecmo would be complete without the appropriate "jiggle" of its heroines...which, on Playstation 3, can even be controlled by wiggling your controller.

After unlocking these characters in story mode, you can engage in so-called "team mission" challenges with these characters. While these missions can be played offline, the real fun is playing these missions in co-op mode with a friend. This is a very pleasant addition to Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 that makes it more than worth playing, even for the gamer who's already played the original Ninja Gaiden 2.

The gameplay itself is typical of the series. The object is to defeat swarms of enemies and reach the "goal" of each level, which is often a boss character. This is best accomplished by blocking enemy moves and them using this moment to strike hard with an unblockable move of your own. Mind you; this is hardly a button mashing game series. If you just click fighting buttons at random you will lose quickly and without mercy. Timing of both defensive blocks, and offensive strikes, must be made at the right time in battle, or else the enemy will remain unharmed.

The good news: the game interface automatically targets enemies (or in larger enemies' cases: their "weak spots" are targeted one by one), so you can concentrate on inputting your next power move without worrying if your character is standing in "the right location." Just make sure the enemy you want defeated is the one who's targeted!

Not that this leads to a perfect game. There are flaws keeping this from a perfect 5 star grade. For one thing: the story could've used a little tweak. You get a slight indication of this, around the tenth time you run down an identical corridor with the same enemies coming at you, over and over. Though this is particularly apparent around the time you are sent to New York City and for some reason the bad guys keep you busy by cursing...the statue of liberty. Yes; you're actually asked to "defeat" the statue of liberty in this game, which actually tries to attack you with its torch or whatever. While the moment is admittedly graphically stunning: the statue of liberty? Really?

Yet even the Statue of Liberty moment is just plain fun, and that's all that matters in a game such as this. While I love games that take careful consideration to story ---example: inFamous' brilliantly intertwined multiple story arcs of good and evil--- I also like the campiness of a game that unabashedly has you fight giant animated statues until they crumble into the sea below. In addition: what these villains lack in story or plot, they more than make up for in AI, with battles that never seem like more of the same. Many later bosses have additional skills and completely different battle strategies, making this game an enjoyable challenge.

In the end, it's saying volumes that a game like this would need to be placed next to inFamous or Uncharted 2 before a gamer could possibly ignore it. In fact; if you're looking for a new PS3 game after buying those two games, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 is more than worth a look. Granted this implies that this game is #3 on a list of awesome PS3 games in 2009, though when the first two games mentioned are so incredibly awesome, what better compliment could ever be given?

	Final Rating : Large Crater. To say that it takes Uncharted 2 and inFamous to top this game is the best compliment any Playstation game can hope for.
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Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2

A Techtite Review