What Did I Think of Sigma?

PS3 owners, go download Ninja Gaiden Sigma. If you’re not on PSN, get on PSN. If you don’t have an ISP, then get an ISP, and so on.

When Ninja Gaiden came out for the original Xbox a few years ago, it was a great game in it’s own right. Even today, it’s still one of the better looking games out there. Sigma takes all of that one step further.

Improved graphics You’ll see the biggest difference in the opening area at the start of the demo. What was once a bland rocky alleyway (with some strange square boulders) is now a vibrant mountain pass with a great view of the ninja village countryside. As this is next-gen, the picture is a lot sharper (1080p). Effects have also been improved. Blood splatters look much more realistic and even stick around after a battle. It really adds a lot to the look and mood of the game. Speaking of mood…

More music A minor complaint I had with the original was that sometimes you would have these encounters, and the music would just continue to play on as if there was nothing exciting happening. Sigma‘s background music in the demo seems to do a beter job. When the two ninja’s jump down and surround you for the first time, you really feel the difference.

Streamlined controls Potion usage was a bit tedious in the original Ninja Gaiden and involved actually pausing the game and selecting the health potion for use. I guess they weren’t integrated better because the original designer had only intended for people who suck to use them. Sigma‘s director seems to have realized that not everyone has mad skillz so now you can quaff potions with the direction buttons, breaking up the action a bit less.

Improved level design? This may or may not be the case. In the original, near the beginning of the first level, there is a place where a player can either take the high road, or the low road, except that the high road is the right way, and the low road takes you nowhere, yet. I recall witnessing some typical “where do I go? frustration back then. In the new demo, it seems much more obvious that the high road is the way to go. Now, this might be beacuse it’s a demo, but I think that they’ve probably taken time to fix some of these things to get players to the action a bit less painfully. Thanks, Team Ninja.

So go on now, enjoy. It’s free. Plus, you get four different weapons and difficulty settings to play with (if you’re good enough) and a taste of new playable character, Rachel’s moves. Can’t wait for July.