Ninja Gaiden Sigma [PS3]

Ninja Gaiden Sigma could well be good enough to justify buying a PS3. No, not just to make you feel better about the one you bought already, but good enough to buy one to play Sigma on. It looks absurdly beautiful, regardless of its "last-gen" roots. In addition to other new bits, three more levels have been added, bringing the total to a hefty count of 19. And if you've already put in countless hours honing your skills with the Xbox versions, the more subtle gameplay changes to the titular ninja are even more rewarding. I went into my hands-on with Sigma expecting it to drown under the wave of hype that's preceded it, but now? I can hardly wait for the final.

Sigma incorporates the content from Ninja Gaiden Black, adding in some gross particulars and some very fine ones as well. The easiest change to notice is the total graphical makeover, with every visual element of the game being revamped. Looking at this early build in motion, every element looks hand-crafted. Ninja Gaiden looked so good and so smooth that it was held up as a poster child for why the move to next-generation wasn't necessary. Sigma is looking good enough to be a poster child for why it may not be necessary, but it sure is pretty to look at.

Of course, high-res textures and self-shadowing in 1080p aren't enough for a game to look as good as I'm raving about. The fluidity, the way the characters move individually and with each other, is easily as important. With controller in hand, that speed and fluidity translates perfectly into combat options for the player. The classic character, Ryu Hayabusa, is faster than in the Xbox versions, striking like lightening around the screen. In contact with the armies of brown- and white-clad ninjas in the introductory chapter, it's easy to feel his strength as well. Ryu moves and controls as close to perfectly as I've seen in an action game.

The newly playable Rachel, in comparison, feels like a thousand pounds of pure power. Even sending her into a graceful faux pirouette to avoid a fiend's attack, she doesn't move or fight in the traditional light and fast role of female characters. Instead, clad in a Fiend Hunter outfit that would embarrass a cheesecake calendar model (even one with Rachel's copious qualifications for the job), Rachel sledgehammers through her enemies.

Her preferred tool, the Warhammer, is a bit quicker in her hands than Ryu's. Instead of shuriken or what not, her ranged attack is a grappling hook, Bionic Commando type of deal. It didn't seem half-bad for buying a second or two in a combo, but given the right environment it can do much more than a shuriken. Rather than trying to throw a ninja dart midjump to gain a few extra inches of height, Rachel can grapple onto hanging objects (like chandeliers, in the stage I played) and use them to rocket her even further into the air, opening up more aerial attack choices. Rachel, you might have inferred, isn't just a Ryu re-skin with boobs and carefully placed leather. She's a completely new way to play Ninja Gaiden, and the three story missions where you control her should be a blast. It doesn't hurt that she'll get her own cutscenes, either.