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Ninja Gaiden Sigma demo coming in four-ish weeks
There's nothing like downplaying poor calendar/mathematical skills with the addition of -ish. Addition, get it? Oh, arithmetic, you have so many applications. That aside, there's some good news coming for those demo-starved individuals hopelessly scanning the PS Store for something new to nourish their next-gen gaming needs. The news is thus: Ninja Gaiden Sigma demo -- April 27th. This is no "play the first half of the first level" demo, either. Worldwide scoreboards will dictate your mastery of the ninja arts. The level is completely unique and new, not in the final version of the game. You are graced with a multitude of weaponry to play around with. Does this not sound like a lot of fun? Maybe not, but we know it will be. For those skeptics of the game, you can now at least give it a shot! Let's get ready for some ninja fun!
Ninja Gaiden Sigma -- more details to chew on
So, we got a lot of ridiculous flack for posting a comparison of what Ninja Gaiden was and what Ninja Gaiden Sigma has become -- a whole new, gorgeous gaming experience for those who did not get to enjoy the titles on the XBox. Now, don't complain about how it should stay on the 'Box (technically it should stay on Nintendo if that's a concern), you'll probably get this iteration eventually. Possibly bundled with a, gasp, sequel? With that in mind, we're going to present some new details about the game, as told by director Yosuke Hayashi. About graphics: "we more or less are recreating Ninja Gaiden with the most up-to-date graphic techniques in order to take advantage of the hardware...One of the best ways to do that was to have a game that runs at a 1080p with a constant 60 fps, and utilizes real-time self-shadowing. No other game as accomplished all three of these goals at once." About enemy AI: "it's about making sure they have goals they are fulfilling and that they can work together with existing enemies. That's really our philosophy. As far as A.I. goes people have played our game before will see that we've made some subtle improvements. A lot of it has to do with using all the Cell's SPU processors." New dual-wield swords? "We've succeeded in making a weapon that has a ton of moves and is as useful as the single sword you start the game with. We wanted the dual swords to be the second standard weapon. You don't start out with them, but acquire them early on." Difficult to develop for PS3? "The developers that say it's too hard to develop for and complain about it are missing the point. It sounds like an excuse to the consumer to us...If we can do it then other people will be able to do it as well." Online features? "Karma ranking, which is like a leader board for your score. That's something we had back on Xbox but we're going to expand it more to include more detailed statistics on how you played." Working with PS-HOME? "If you wanted to wait for the game to come out for a few more moths we'd be able to, but I don't think anybody wants that." Whew. It's shaping up to be a completely awesome experience -- one that few action-game lovers should pass up. If we can get our mitts off of God of War 2, which is awesome. Haven't laughed maniacally as I kill a boss in ages (Theseus, on the Steeds of Time). Awesome.
Ninja Gaiden Sigma > Ninja Gaiden, true or false?
Ah, perfection. Is it truly attainable? The pursuit of an answer has apparently become the obsession of Itagaki and his merry band of ninjas, who are currently polishing their third incarnation of Ninja Gaiden. Perhaps you're not seeing the "real" difference between PlayStation 3's Ninja Gaiden Sigma and the Xbox original in the embedded version above, but this video does give us some sense of the layers that have been added to the 2004 foundation. But is perfection through repetition a noble pursuit for Team Ninja? While most studios recycle their molds to churn out sequels, Team Ninja simply recycles the product of its mold to offer us more finely detailed versions of the same game, again and again. What is the meaning of this odd discipline?
Ninja Gaiden Sigma PS3 vs. XBox/360 comparison
We've actually scored an HD comparison of the PS3 title Ninja Gaiden Sigma with the original Ninja Gaiden on the XBox (in both 480i on the original XBox and the not-very-different simulated 720p on the 360). Obvious graphical advances aside, it's fairly obvious that the two games are completely, completely different as far as gaming experience goes. Sure, the moves may be familiar, the territory and enemy AI may not be that much different (how much further can one go than "really frickin' hard"?), but the experience of playing the game will be a world of different.
Ninja Gaiden Sigma motorcycle mayhem!
Yeah, we're taking a short break from European launch news. We know, we know, it's important and probably relevant, but no one wants to read solely that stuff all day. So, we're going to present you with this Ninja Gaiden: Sigma gameplay movie where our lovely ninja gets the crap beaten out of him by motorcycle-riding ninja... guys. It's a treat, so enjoy... if you're over 18!
Ninja Gaiden Sigma... stick it on your PS3
The latest PlayStation Magazine fell into my lap yesterday (well, my mailbox) and I perused it briefly. Seems there was some news on Ninja Gaiden Sigma and since we try to keep up with that game here, I'll post what appears important from the article. Resolution is slated at 720p at a constant 60fps. The SIXAXIS will be used to quickly summon up some Ninpou magic (that might actually be annoying... I hold the controller wonky, you see) Normally, there would be about 16 chapters in the game... Sigma is floating on 19. Finally, you get the option of storing the entire game (or parts of the game) directly onto the PS3 -- which would be great. Or you can do the whole disc-inserting thing. Whichever. Hooray for magazines! We'll stay on top of this thing, since it's shaping up to be a real killer title. Now, if only my camera and laptop would get along, I'd upload a scan of the article. Alas. Next time.
New Tecmo IP is in the works -- maybe Pirates instead of Ninjas?
With the impending release of Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden Sigma, a lot of people have left comments here saying thing along the lines of "rehash" and "milking a single game for all it's worth"... stuff along those lines. Well, today we're here to tell you not to worry! Tecmo's Team Ninja boss Tomonobu Itagaki has come out and said that an all new IP is in the works. No rehashes, no sequel... something completely unique and original. According to Itakgaki, the new game is a type of game he has never worked on before. He'll be announcing the title a little later on this year. Our vote? Pirates. Why? That epic struggle of Pirates vs. Ninjas has still yet to be resolved. If Team Ninja can create a fantastic game about the adventures of a badass pirate, the only logical thing to do after that is to pit the two titles against one another. Where do your loyalties lie? Be ye a pirate, or a ninja?
Ninja Gaiden Sigma screenshots and stuff, minus the stuff!
Just as a sort of teaser, there's not much going on today other than a game delay and a few posts we'll be doing about screenshots. Screenshots are an interesting topic only because of the debate they spawn over their authenticity -- gameplay or cinematic? Real-time or cut-scene? Game developers only spurn such argument on by adding "gameplay menus" to these screenshots -- sometimes these are tacked onto cinematics to give the illusion of something the final product simply can't deliver. Other times, it's really gameplay. The latter is, of course, much more rare. Rarer? Nah, that looks dumb. Anyway, I think the screenshot shown here is actual gameplay because of the clipping visible from the bow going into our lovely ninja's arm. Ever seen clipping in cinematics? Maybe last-gen cut-scenes. Back on topic, here are a fresh batch of Ninja Gaiden Sigma screenshots. It should be noted that the clan at Team Ninja rebuilt the graphics engine for this game on the PS3, so it may start to look a bit different from the prior installments on Microsoft's systems. The difficulty? It'll still be hard. How hard? This daring blogger will attest that, while difficult, it's not "controller-throwingly" difficult like a certain Devil May Cry 3. Still need to beat that one on "Normal"...
TGS videos attack! Pick your poison... or wine... whichever
A gameplay video of Coded Arms Assault is now available for your viewing pleasure. It looks all right. It doesn't seem like too much of a separation from standard FPS titles, but it's worth a look if you're an FPS junkie. There's also a gorgeous Ridge Racer 7 gameply video. It looks better than all right. Mostly awesome. Just look at that gorgeous car go around that gorgeous track... and rear-end that other car. It's pretty sweet. Also, a Ninja Gaiden Sigma trailer is up and running. If you guys were right, those who've played Ninja Gaiden Black won't see too much new here. But then again, maybe so. Let us know. Here's a gameplay video of Lair also. What can we say? Dragons, flying, destruction... it's something special, to be sure. Lastly, there's a gameplay video of Devil May Cry 4. Besides the fact the person playing it has no idea what he's doing (sorry, but it's true, unless the controls have changed completely), the game looks astoundingly good. Bias? Sure. But it does. If you mention the cape/sword clipping, that's true, but that in no way should detract from your enjoyment of the game. Anyway, we'll keep you informed of other game videos and other stuff as we get our news from the Joystiq staff that had the honor of being there.
Some Ninja Gaiden Sigma scans... that was fast!
Well, just as soon as we reported on Ninja Gaiden's roll onto the PS3, there are already a large portion of scans to check out. Granted, they're small. Granted, they're blurry. But this does point out a few things: the game seems further along than a "just announced" title. Unless, of course, the scans are not of gameplay (some clearly aren't, others are harder to discern). There have been conflicting reports that this game is either a) a whole new Ninja Gaiden chapter or b) a port of Ninja Gaiden Black with added content. It's been confirmed there is a Ninja Gaiden 2 in the works, but is this it? Only a true veteran of the previous games could know -- what say you, veteran ninja of awesome? Do any of these scans look overly familiar? Let us know!
Ninja Gaiden hacks its way onto the PS3
Dubbed Ninja Gaiden Sigma, the next installment of the Ninja Gaiden series is coming to the PS3. There's not too much known about it yet, but you'll probably get some play time (gameplay, we mean!) with the lusty Rachel, a scantly-clad female who has appeared in other Ninja Gaiden titles. The thing that haunts these games the most is the supposed difficulty -- meaning, it's very, very hard. Those who played the Xbox iterations can attest: the game was darn tough! The addition of Ninja Gaiden Black didn't help too much, but it gave Xbox owners a taste of Devil May Cry meets Shinobi minus stupid aggravating falling-into-a-pit deaths. If you tried Shinobi, you know what we mean. Well, if any details surface about this new title at the Tokyo Game Show, we'll bring it to you right away. [via Joystiq]
Next Ninja Gaiden goes PS3
According to the latest issue of Famitsu (conveyed by CVG), the next installment of Ninja Gaiden is PlayStation 3-bound. Entitled Ninja Gaiden Sigma, the game will let you play as Rachel from Ninja Gaiden Black. Although a drunken Tomonobu Itagaki revealed in early July that Ninja Gaiden 2 is in the works, there is no confirmation that this is the same project. As CVG hypothesizes, the title could be a remake of Ninja Gaiden Black with some bonus content and spiffier visuals. There is no indication that Sigma will be exclusive to Sony's console. In recent years, Itagaki has focused exclusively on Microsoft's console. Is this a sign of a waning relationship between Microsoft and Team Ninja, or is the house that Dead or Alive built hoping to attract a larger Japanese following (if you didn't know, gamers in the Land of the Rising Sun hate freedom shun Microsoft consoles like the Black Death). Famitsu lists no release date for the project; we'll let you know if any more details should spill at the Tokyo Games Show.
