The ? Factor
Psst! The ? in Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 stands for boobs. Wait, no, sorry. Huge boobs. Lot of 'em.
Published: October 11, 2009
When it came time to inject something completely new into things the newly Itagaki-less Team Ninja didn't mess around, and the Team Mission Mode really is an interesting way of tackling co-op without it completely wrecking the flow of the main game. Essentially set up as a series of bite-sized challenges, you can hook up with a friend (or stranger) online (or pair up with the AI offline, but where's the fun in that?) then jump into everything from boss battles to semi-lengthy challenges, all graded by difficulty (which are fairly accurate; have fun with the harder ones).
Though you can opt for specific Ninpo magic (and can cast dual Ninpo while in-game if you coordinate with your partner), costumes and weapons (along with the character, naturally). Once in the game, things quickly get hectic and it's actually rather fun to call out groups or coordinate strategies, and if one of you eats it, simply touching them will bring them back into the fray. These modes will absolutely test your skill, and I have a sneaking suspicion that the core game was made a bit easier so that some of the hardest challenges here could be the true test of one's ninja mettle.
Visually, things are more mixed. While the animation, fluidity and texture detail are all absolutely fantastic, they can came at the cost of some dropped frames and an ever-present bit of screen tearing, neither of which are so game-breaking as to ruin the experience, but they're prevalent enough to be annoying. The game's re-tooled lighting and bump up in particles really does show itself in bits of heavy weather or in sections of levels where there are cherry blossoms flitting to the ground. The funky, stark, future-swept versions of the world that exist in the game really are cool, but that may be my inner cyberpunk nerd talking. I definitely dug some of the contrasts that were introduced, what with hovercars, massive skyscrapers and tranquil water channels all existing alongside one another.
Aurally, things are a bit more even. The music, still cranked out with the kind of cruchy, max tempo guitar riffs keeps everything going, and the game's ridiculous pace means sword clashes meld into swipes which bleed into cries of agony almost in an instant. The whooshes and thumps of mounting Ultimate Techniques, the fleet little footfalls, all of it sounds very, very nice indeed. And then of course there are the bosses, which are appropriately massive and, when coupled with a nice sound system and beefy subwoofer, will do plenty to annoy the neighbors -- or, uh, other people in your office building that are usually rather nice.
The pessimist will say that Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 is little more than some new modes, new characters and added content that barely scrapes together parts of the game that were stripped out, that Itagaki's original vision was sound enough that no amount of fiddling will make it that much better. Personally? There's no question that Sigma 2 is a better game than the original release, and though your mileage with the additions will be intrinsically linked to how much you buy into this world and the zippy, challenging combat that it offers.
I'll fully admit that either version of Ninja Gaiden 2 didn't really grab me like the first game did in its various incarnations, but if you're going to go with one version of the game, it should absolutely be the PlayStation 3 version. There really isn't a game with this kind of speed and whacked-out imagination out there, and Sigma 2 is absolutely a better version than the original release. Huh. I guess that pretty much qualifies it as "definitive" status after all...
