
	Platform Playstation 3 Genre Action Publisher Tecmo Developer Team Ninja ESRB M (Mature) Released August 2007

- Incredible graphics - Very challenging - Game play is rewarding and re-balanced -

- The game play is still essentially last generation - It’s sometimes throw-your-controller hard - It’s great, but how about a real sequel?

Review: Ninja Gaiden Black (XB) Review: Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 (360) Review: Resistance: Fall of Man (PS3)
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Ninja Gaiden Sigma

Score: 9.0 / 10

If you played Ninja Gaiden back on the Nintendo Entertainment System, this game is quite different. If you’ve played either of the Xbox versions (Ninja Gaiden and Ninja Gaiden Black) then there is not a whole lot new here when it comes to the story but the graphics have been improved.

If you’ve never played this series before, you’re in for a treat. The game features a super ninja, Ryu Hayabusa on a quest to retrieve the stolen Dark Dragon Blade. Ryu is also featured in Team Ninja’s other title, “Dead or Alive”. On this quest, you are going to come across many challenging enemies who try and stop you on your mission.

After playing my first round with this game, I decided to boot up Ninja Gaiden Black on the Xbox to just remind myself what it looked like. I came to the

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conclusion that it’s not that the PS3 version is lacking in anyway, but I was amazed at just how good the Xbox version really looks.

Back to the present day. The first thing you will notice about this game is that the graphics and environments are stunning, especially in high definition. The game is responsive to you with the controller and the animations do

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not feel stilted or out of place. When you actually forget you are playing a game and feel like you are a part of the environment, you know that the game has succeeded in this way.

The controls work well, or at least the way you would expect them to. The camera is adjustable, as in the other versions, but like most games in the genre you will find the need to make those adjustments more often than you’d like.

The game is challenging, to say the least. Perhaps difficult is a better word to use. From the very first boss battle you face until the end, the game is not at all forgiving. This one is a little easier than Black, but primarily because the difficulty curve was been rebalanced to make it easier on you at the beginning. Note, I did not say easy. This game will make you want to throw that overly light controller across the room (watch out for the TV, this isn’t a Wiimote after all) but in the end, this is the game that will make you a better gamer if you keep at it.

Overall, it’s a wonderful game but part of me wishes that there was a new story and more new things to do. You do have a new character to play as – Rachael, who is non-playable in the original two releases of the game. The missions with her are passable and help fill in some of the already confusing storyline details here and there.

If you’ve never played Ninja Gaiden before, you definitely need to give this game a chance. If you’ve played through the original and are looking for a reminder of why this game is great, it’s definitely worth picking up. If you’re weak with a controller, and prefer to shoot fish in a barrel then you might want to stay away. This ninja is coming to get you.

- Syd Bolton

(October 17, 2007)

Syd Bolton has been collecting game consoles for over 20 years and has dozens of systems and over 5,000 games. Do you agree or disagree with this review? Make sure you share with us here.