An enchanced addition of an already great game is done well on PS3, though, less gore and challenge might turn some off.
.Combat is still fast-paced, deep, slick and responsive
.Great new additions including characters, bosses, online and other things
.Graphical tweaks make this version look better
.Music and sound is still great
.Six-Axis is awesome :3
The Bad:
.Feeling of dismemberment feels gone thanks to less blood and limb disappearing
.The difficulty seems like Ninja Gaiden 2 on Ninja Dog
.Screen tearing issues
Ninja Gaiden is a series that I feel in love with as soon as I started playing the Ninja Gaiden 2 demo. It was fast, bloody, action packed to the teeth and when I heard about Sigma 2, I got excited. Sigma 2 adds new content including new characters with their own levels to play in, the addition of online play and a number of other things. Some people might find this version the definite version on Ninja Gaiden 2, though, there are some things that just didn't make me feel right and didn't have the wow factor that the Xbox version had.
The story itself is presumably unchanged for the most part. For those not in the know how, you play as ninja extraordinaire, Ryu Hayabusa, who is on a mission to stop the Black Spider Clan and the Fiends from resurrecting the Archfiend and blah blah blah. There are new cutscenes to tie in more things together and even a prologue that has nothing to do with the story, other than being really cool looking. Voice acting holds up, surprisingly well to give some arch to the story, though most likely, you won't be drawn into the story.
Graphically, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 looks great and even better than the 360 counterpart. The saturation of colors do bring some of the environments more life and even makes character models, such as Ryu and Black Spider Clan Ninjas look great. Though, there are some gripes I have with the color scheme. Some environments are kinda uncalled for with the saturation in levels like New York and some of the final levels and the Fiends in particular just don't seem to have the color scheme as well implemented as the Xbox version. There's even screen tearing to be had in this version, where the 360 version never had that (I suppose it makes up for it with more slow-down than PS3, though it was never to the point where it ruined the visuals) I would be lying if this version didn't look better, though. Everything animates superbly, visual effects like explosions and smoke are great and character models looks just as great as ever.
The gameplay holds up quite well and is what you would expect from a Ninja Gaiden game. It pretty much retains everything that Ninja Gaiden 2 had, but add some more. Now, you can play up to 4 characters, the others being Momiji from Dragon Sword, Rachel from the first Ninja Gaiden on Xbox and Ayane from Dead or Alive. They all come with their own level to play in during the campaign, have their own weapon, ninpo and awesome cutscenes. New to Ninja Gaiden 2 are two things, the addition of online multiplayer and chapter challenge mode. Online is great, having up to two people slicing up fiends and ninjas is great and you can choose any weapon, ninpo costume and character that you've unlocked, though, you basically need to beat the story mode if you want everything. Some connections were smooth and others were very laggy, though it's nice enough to tell you if you can have a good connection or not with them. Chapter challenge mode is basically and stage select mode where you can tackle the stage with all weapons, ninpo and is a welcome addition. The control is just as tight as the 360 game and what it really comes down to is personal preference for which one controller you prefer. Since I have a PS3 and not a 360, yeah. I still prefer the 360 remote, it's still basically the same. My major complaint though is the difficulty. While enemies are better at countering and dodging, they don't seem as aggressive and there are less of them on screen. Even some bosses themselves, mostly the new ones, don't seem like to much of a threat (Except Marbus from the first game) I just never thought the original was cheap and this was just too easy. Seriously, they give you unlimited projectiles and a auto-aim and there aren't many enemies in the sky. New weapons like the howling cannon and Enma's Fang are great but another problem comes into mind for what Ninja Gaiden 2 wanted to make you feel like doing; dismemberment. The toned down gore and limbs disappearing as soon as they're cut off just gets rid of that feeling. Doesn't it feel better when there's, like 50 limbs on the ground then none? But at least the camera is more cooperative than before, which is a major improvement. My gripes aside, it's still really fun to kill things.
Sound is basically more or less unchanged from the original. You'll hear ninjas yelling, fiends running and screeching all about, flesh being ripped and sliced off, all that jazz. It all sounds great if only the limbs would stay on the ground. Aw well. They did add some new songs and remixed a couple of the songs from the original, adding more to already great soundtrack. There's not much to talk about, so let's move on.
Overall, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 adds a whole lot more to what the original didn't have, making it more or less the definite version to have. My gripes aside, this is still one of the best action games you can have for your collection. If you want more of a challenge and more blood and gore, get the Xbox version. You you want all the additional content with characters and online, then by all means, get Sigma 2. It all comes down to personal preference.
Overall: 8.8/10