Note: The following preview is based on Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Demo which is avalible on Japanese PSN store.
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, is an exclusive title for PS3 and sequel to Ninja Gaiden Sigma which was an amazing treat for the PS3 users and a great success. Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 is a stunning and deep-down experience and it has an arcade-style of gameplay that one would expect from the third persion action-adventure title.
After trying out the demo (JPN version), featuring characters Ryu Hayabusa and Ayane and three difficulty levels. The game is absolute fast-pace executing on a spot deadly combos, doing a midair attacks that skyrockets your hits to the max. Ryu’s combos are flashy and elegant, overpowering moves like Ultimate Techniques and Obliterations are incredibly satisfying, bolstered stylistically by the flying limbs, as well as the rippling air and swirling winds that accompany charging. Ryu & Ayane have a few quite potent tricks up their sleeve. They can now unleash a flurry of automatic attacks called an "Ultimate Technique" simply with a few seconds charge (Which we can expect from the other characters aswell). Granted the enemies are quite quick on their feet and it can be hard to grab those vital seconds, but in combination with the absorption of nearby essences and timing, the average player can score whole chains of these within one battle. In addition to that are the new Obliteration moves, i.e. finishers.
The difficulty level is definetly toned down which the newcomers can be satisfied since the orginal NGS was a punishment for the noobs. What makes the enemies more interesting that they do a certain amount of grapple attacks or even suicide tactics such as pinning Ryu and featured characters down and planting an incendiary shuriken on them taking half of your life to the oblivion, so make sure that you finish off your enemies completey because you,ll be way sorry.
It needs to be mentioned that Ryu can swap up to different weapons as you play through the course of slice and dice combat. The d- pad selection system is nice as a shortcut, but NGS2 should really have put its best foot forward and allowed us true real-time access to multiple weapon combos.
Unfortunately the demo was bit of a short before witnessing the jaw-dropping moments what game has to offer especially trying out the new technique and finishing your opponents in delightly slow motion in the end only Ryu's demo offers the boss battle fighting against the Buddah large statue yes NGS2 and DMC4 applied the same boss battle method from God Of War 2. Demo features you with team missions including three stages and two characters to select which gives the picture how the team mission will work in this title, in team missions you fight for survival against the horde of enemies which is definetly a fun factor with your partner and when you,ll go Co-op in the final release of the game.
Game features, according to the Tecmo official release, include:
- Team Missions that allow for online co-op play with voice chat, 10 different stages, four difficulty settings for each stage.
- There are more than 30 unique characters in 17 levels and a total of 70 cut scenes to drive the stories
- Each level, even the ones you repeat, has variable AI, which means that you can’t stuck on the level playing out the same way it did the previous time
- Upgradeable weapons and new battle techniques; additionally, the weapons can be leveled up to improve their attributes
As mentioned, the game has an arcade style in it, including health meters but the action keeps the adrenaline level to the max so it is possible to forget about all that in the effort to block and counterattack the enemies that swarm towards your character. You can pause the game or from the d-pad you can pop a health herb to replenish your health, and then return to the battle.
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 is clearly one of those games that is immersive and pure action and others call "stylish action". By this I mean the game focuses entirely on its combat and its combat engine as the core of its gameplay and RPG elements might make an appearance in the form of weapon upgrades and stores, but make no mistake, this game is streamlined down to focus purely on the action. One of the most notable elements of the Ninja Gaiden series is its extremely old school presentation and design.
Ok, so it was only a small taste, but it was clearly enough to whet the appetite, and start to look forward to the end of September when this game will ship. While Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 may not be an innovative defining moment in the next-gen console games, it clearly has taken some of the best elements and personalized them to create a game that certain to please fans of the Ninja Gaiden series as well and newcomers to the franchise.
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