Ninja Gaiden Sigma
We go hands-on with the PS3 demo.
Available now on the Japanese and US branches of the PlayStation Store, Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden Sigma demo is an intriguing first look at what could well become the PS3's most intense, hardcore action game.
However, initial impressions of the demo are somewhat underwhelming. In terms of content, you're essentially getting exactly the same taster level as Xbox gamers did way back in 2004 - an exploratory sortie through the ninja village with a token puzzle to 'solve' before facing off against a nunchuka-wielding end-of-level boss.
The biggest differences are in the visuals - while it appears that the basic geometry used to create the levels is all but identical to the original Xbox version, the PS3 code benefits from completely redrawn, absolutely gorgeous textures, and subtle but beautiful lighting. Just like the Xbox version, Ninja Gaiden Sigma also runs at 60 frames per second, but the demo suffers pretty badly from v-lock sync issues - particularly when the most spectacular special effects are employed. So much so that even though we tried to avoid capturing it in our screenshots, a couple of instances are still there in both 720p and 1080p galleries.

1080p
Speaking of which, Ninja Gaiden Sigma's 1080p support is somewhat odd. There's a touch more lag and more v-sync issues than 720p, but it's clear from the scaling artifacts that it's not a 1920x1080 game; chances are that Team Ninja are using one of the 'pseudo-1080p' modes added to the more recent versions of the PS3 SDK, where 1280x1080 and 1440x1080 support were added. Fewer pixels to render means faster frame rates, with the RSX GPU scaling up each frame to 1920x1080 before it reaches your display.
Gameplay is what matters though and despite the closeness to the Xbox version, Sigma plays beautifully - a hack and slash game with a control method so good to use, so wonderfully refined, that there's never been anything else quite like it. While it's still an extremely tough game (even this demo is no pushover), it merely illustrates that Ninja Gaiden requires time to master. There are few, if any, cheesy exploits or button-bashing shortcuts that'll prevent the need to fully master Sigma's control method.
The genius of this demo is its replayability. Completing it opens up additional difficulty levels along with the chance to get to grips with Sigma's second playable fighter, Rachel, who gets her own simple survival mode-style mission segment. An online ranking system is also in place which serves to show you just how bad you are at the game, and how much you have to learn. And if that doesn't do the job, the additional difficulty levels that are added (Hard, Very Hard, Master Ninja) brutally school you in what to expect from a game as demanding as this one.

720p
However, it is a little disappointing that many of Ninja Gaiden Sigma's PS3-exclusive riches are absent from the demo - the full game boasts a new four-mission Rachel-based campaign to enjoy, new bosses, additional weaponry and new fighting experiences (such as doing battle while running on water, ninja-style). And some of the latest screenshots to issue forth from Team Ninja's labs show a level of graphical brilliance far beyond what the demo offers.
Ninja Gaiden Sigma is released in June, but the playable demo is available now from the PlayStation Store - fire up your PS3, make yourself a US Store account and download away. The Japanese rendition of the demo is lacking the gratuitous decapitations found in the US code, but otherwise both demos are identical with English and Japanese voices and subtitles.
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Comments (93) Latest comment 5 years ago
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Yes i am bitter
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I downloaded the Jap version, might go get the US one.
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At least it was on the Xbox. And it would be hard to fuck up something that good.
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er..... i've not esperience any v-sync tearing what-so-ever.
weird.
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That was in the XBox version as well... unless you guys are referring to a new level?
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Blood splatters in mid air? In doorways? Halfway up stairs but strangely suspended in space?
Sorry, call me Mr Picky but c'MOAN we at least expected realtime blood physics from "the real next gen"
Peej
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How awesome is this demo? I already finished it on master ninja, but i dont feel quite done with the demo just yet.....i'm guessing i'll play it untill the game comes. Anybody knows when will it be released here? I might just import this one....
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Enjoy your port on Bluray-station 3...
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That was a really pathetic comment to make i'm afraid.
edit: Actually, both of your previous comments fall into the same category.
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Its down for June 30th on IGN for Europe I highly doubt that date though.
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Oh, and I also played it on 1080p and I DID get terrible v-syching issues.
I thought Phil Harrison said 1080p was a guarantee of solid 60 fps? It drops frames too.
Now, let me put that all into context. It still looks lovely. But somehow I did expect more.
ps And if you die on the boss it sends you all the way back to the beginning - AARGH!
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Also one small problem I ran into that I did not find a problem with the Xbox version. The Square button is used for attack and interact. I found myself in too many situations where i'm fighting only to get interrupted because I got to close to an interact object.
IMO not worth the $60 price tag.
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God, how much i love this game....
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Shit journalism. It is your job to inform the rest of us of how a games plays, looks like, and of any flaws. It is not your job to make the game look as good as possible. Are Team Ninja paying you PR money for trying to avoid the issue of screen-tearing in your screenshots? Didn't think so as you mentioned it in the article, so why try to hide it in the screenshots?
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Yeah, I had the exact same problem too... which resulted in me going through a door instead of fighting and that, obviously, resets the other room when you go back into it... a bit annoying really and something I hope they fix for the final game as it never happened on the Xbox version.
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Welcome to True-HD(c) huh?
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Anae Gayden Smegma more like
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That's no excuse.
Turn up the dificulty, otherwise all games are button-mashers!!
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godDDDAAAMmmmnn that's the kind of move SB would pay to see.
mmMMMMm mmmm
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you suck at trolling
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Unfortunately for sony, I'm broke at the mo.
We'll see how june works out...
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Well, it's the whole point of "next gen". Better graphics and... that's it :/
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you could run on water, but not fight at the same time.
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Yes, let's all judge the ps3's capability based on a DEMO, it's logical thing to do, isn't it?
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Anyway I love NG, this demo was awesome, the full game will be awesome too.
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yellow-bellied CHICKEN
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I can't wait for all those people who never played NG before to fight alma....on master ninja difficulty.
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but am looking forward to playing it and am hoping that it definitely has a lot more to offer than just a slight improvement in the graphics...
seriously when i played this demo, i got NGB out on the 360 and compared... really is surprising how powerful the original xbox was when a developer knew what they were doing pusehed it
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Christ on a bike, some of you are so precious, although I don't know why that surprises me.
Oh, and flOw and Tekken are all 1080p and run at 60fps without any frame or VS issues.
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Best to wait 2 or so more years.
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It would be really strange if, after bringing the first game to a different platform, the second game would be a platform exclusive again. But stranger things have and will happen...
Could of course also be that Sigma is just to test the power of PS3. Team Ninja loves to develop primarily for the most powerful system. Apparently that's required for properly recreating bouncing boops and plastic clothing...
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i am a graphic whore too, and its true that the game doesnt look much better then on old-gen, but in this case its hard to complain. its smooth, no frame-rate issues and that oh so perfect control system. I think that for pure action gamers, there is nothing better than this. GoW is great too, but sooooo much easier (yeah, on god mode too) it almost seems arcade. Now i never played DMC before, but if its anything like these two....i'm getting excited!
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I personally find all Team Ninja characters seriously lacking in appeal. They're just 1-dimensional plastic dolls. I really enjoyed the first DMC, Dante was an exceptional character. And like they say in the states "everything is better with cheese"...
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"just think how many great old games i could buy for ps2, xbox 1, cube instead of wasting Ł500 on a ps3."
Just think of how many great games you can play without shelling out 300 quid for an XBox360. Seriously, amazing argument. Gamestation sell great 2nd hand SNES games for a fiver. Theres always great old games out there, making the purchase of a Wii/PS3/XBox unnecessary. Some people like to go along with the times tho.
And you can buy a PS3 for 400, so if you bought it for 500 you got hussled.
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Doesn't the 360 upscale all Xbox games to 720p?
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no, it downscales from 1080i
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haha
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It does look nice but not that nice.
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I thought the PS3 was incapable of upscaling, and so if a game was 1080p then it was natively so?
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What's the story like in the Xbox version? Compelling or tacked on?
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Good God that's the most venom filled insult I've ever seen being thrown at computer game character.
Ohh and I completed Ninja Gaiden on the xbox, that makes me awesome. The flying bitch in the church could very well be the most annoying boss ever.
I remember reading 'reviews' where the person reviewing it would give it 1 out of 5 just because they couldn't get past the very first boss...Wankers.
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GPU doesn't scale anything. There is a separate scaler which does the scaling with zero hit in performance.
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So in short the game is constantly challenging (it's also massive for an action game), but you will get better. This was one of the best games of last generation so if you didn't have it on the Xbox get it on the PS3.
PS Sudden thought. I'm assuming the PS3 version won't have the giant Xbox statue in it.
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It's not tacked on but it's not great. It's not terrible either. Think average anime movie. The more you put into the game the more you get out of the plot.
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PS3 does indeed feature a hardware scaler. The scaler is pretty restricted, but does what is needed.
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Tearing and framerate issues all over the place. And since PS3 doesn't even have a PAL60hz mode..
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Gameplay-wise, both of them offer nothing new.
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DMC is completely awesome. Master Ninja Alma? Be sure to try Dante Must Die Mundus 2 then. Get hit and go straight to jail - you cannot pass start.
DMC 3 on the other hand completely shut me down right after the succubus. An Ee-lek-trik guy-tahr as a weh-ay-pon? And you deliver the finishing move with an all-out drop-on-the-floor power chord? Uhh - fits way better into all-out nuttiness such as God Hand if you ask me.
Merely observing.
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Not a game to buy when will the ps3 get some decent software?
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1) 1080 is only really useful on large screens and enough space to sit back to notice the difference (though don't expect to be a major leap).
2) Motor Storm runs a 720p not 1080p. Ninja Gaiden also runs/plays better at 720p, as do many PS3 titles.
3) Games run smoother and play better on a steady 720p rather then 1080p. Take 'NBA Street: Homecourt' for example, run this on 1080p and watch it stutter along...Ridge Racer on 360 look better and more detailed on 720p, then PS3 1080p display.
[link url=http://ww w.destructoid.com/ridge-racer-6...
]http://ww w.destructoid.com/ridge-racer-6...[/link]
4) Xbox 360 is now capable of displaying 1080p - just update your system by free a download from xbox.com, you also get to play Street Fighter III Third Strike. Panzaar Dragoon Otra in widescreen 720p too.
5) Very few games will able to use 1080p due to the processing needed. Games that don't require to much things going on at once or are heavy on graphics, sound, A.i..etc may be able to do it, such as: Virtual Tennis/Fighter 5...Games like Motor Storm/Resistance/Call Of Duty (all 30fps) probably can't, due to more processing needed for these types of games. This is main reason many games will be using standard 720/50p. This is the standard 90% of all games will be running. Oh! 1080p is already being surpassed by Super Hi-Def, you'll be seeing tv's that run these resolutions in approx 4+yrs. I think some PC's are able to run games in Super Hi-Def already.
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I fully agree with you that 1080p (any HD) is useless for gaming. Very nice of you to undermine your argument by sneaking in the point that your precious 360 can output in 1080p as well…
How much did your soul cost? Maybe we can start a fund raising here at EG and buy you out…
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