Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2: PS3 Gets Visual Boost Over 360

By Richard Leadbetter Published 26 March, 2009

Initial media for the PlayStation 3 rendition of Ninja Gaiden 2 suggests that the game has undergone significant retooling since its launch on Xbox 360, but the full extent of the improvements aren’t quite as far-reaching as we might have hoped for.

The Xbox 360 code was interesting in that ran at a sub-HD resolution - specifically 1120×585. This resolution was chosen in that it allowed Team Ninja to cram a 2x MSAA processed image into the Microsoft console’s 10MB of EDRAM that’s attached to the Xenos GPU. What is curious is that based on the media released for the game so far, it looks as though the PS3 version of the game is running at the same sub-HD resolution - interesting in that the Sony console does not have EDRAM. We can only surmise that this is a fill-rate issue instead. Bear in mind that we need to double-check our measurements with clean captures once we have code, but we’re fairly confident for now that this is the case.

On the plus side, take a look at the two comparison selections below, and it’s clear to see that the new Sigma edition is the version of the game you’ll want to play. There are additional shader and bloom effects, for starters, plus check out the lighting on the tiles on the centre tower in the first shot. On the second screengrab, pay particular attention to the superior lighting on the cobbled ground on the PS3 version...

'Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2: PS3 Gets Visual Boost Over 360' Screenshot 1
'Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2: PS3 Gets Visual Boost Over 360' Screenshot 2
'Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2: PS3 Gets Visual Boost Over 360' Screenshot 3
'Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2: PS3 Gets Visual Boost Over 360' Screenshot 4

The original Xbox 360 version on the left, PlayStation 3 on the right. It’s clear that the new Sigma edition has the edge, but the jury is out on whether it will improve upon the sub-HD resolution of the 360 code.

Picture of Richard.

About Richard Leadbetter

Rich has been a games journalist since the days of 16-bit and specialises in technical analysis. Commonly known around Eurogamer as the Blacksmith of the Future.

Read more articles from Richard by visiting the Richard Leadbetter archive page.

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