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Leaked screenshots are one thing, but to truly experience the power of a ninja you need to see him in action. Fortunately, GameTrailers has footage from Tomonobu Itagaki's live demo of Ninja Gaiden II at Microsoft's pre-Tokyo Game Show press conference.
Itagaki says the "world's best action game" is "pretty far in development," as evidenced by the eight stages available on the demo's stage select screen (including one that intriguingly shows the Statue of Liberty). Only one level gets played in the live demo, though -- a Venice-style aqua city. Our favorite ninja is shown using a scythe-like sword, a pair of longswords and a set Wolverine-style claws against ninjas, military types and some green-blooded dragons. The action will be familiar to anyone who has played a modern Ninja Gaiden game, with plenty of bloody severed enemies and dramatic zooms for particularly vicious kills.
Unfortunately, the demo ends just before a battle with the towering red-eyed spider-beast shown above. Here's hoping we'll get some hands on time with the game when the Tokyo Game Show starts this Thursday.
According to a brief 1UP preview, the title will be published by Microsoft instead of Tecmo, so this one seems locked into a 360 exclusive. Look for the game in 2008.
Read - Live at the Microsoft Pre-TGS press briefing Read - Previews: Ninja Gaiden 2
There is a rather perverse enjoyment of reading bad translations at Joystiq HQ (which is located in France, of course). So it is with a hushed giggle that we inform you of a rumor stemming from GameSpot Korean that [nin] the guy to sleep 2 it is burnt, also known as Ninja Gaiden 2, will be shown on the Xbox 360 at this year's Tokyo Game Show.
A Japanese insider also reportedly said that a PS3 version is not yet detailed. Our Korean is a little rusty, so until we hear a confirmation in another language (Japanese, Spanish, German, Swahili, English or French, of course) and can translate in-house, consider this just a juicy rumor to sink your katana into.
Looking for more challenge with Ninja Gaiden Sigma? Eidos, the European publisher, has announced that the first of three planned content packs will be available for download on September 6. Tecmo has also announced the packs are due out in Japan, starting with the first on August 30. All three are forms of Survival Mode, where you battle an infinite swarm of enemies.
The first one to be made available will be Weapon Master. In each of the five challenges, you will be given a limited weapon set for survival. Other packs include Speed Master and Rachel Master, each with five challenges apiece. Those packs will be released at an as-of-yet unknown later date.
The first pack in Japan will cost 315 yen (approx. US $3). No word on the pricing of the European content or if we can expect similar release dates / pricing for the US.
Team Ninja's Yosuke "Itsygaki" Hayashi, director of Ninja GaidenSigma, told Pro-G that the development studio is not averse to developing a title for Wii, pending the title utilized Nintendo's more unique features. "We would make something for the Wii if we came up with something unique that would only work on the Wii," he said.
Given Ninja Gaiden's upcoming DS release and its unique control scheme, we can only imagine how Itagaki and co. would go about utilizing the Wii remote's pointer capabilities. Our curiosity turns into discomfort, however, when we think of Team Ninja making a Wii version of DOAX.
Hayashi further went on to describe the console preference demographic of the studio: "There are several groups within Team Ninja. The PS3 group, the Xbox 360 group, and there are Wii fans in Team Ninja." We've gone ahead and made a Venn diagram to help visualize the possible trichotomy.
The developers in Tecmo's Team Ninja don't much care for subtlety, not in their games and certainly not in their comments to the press. Ninja Gaiden Sigma director, Yosuke Hayashi, is fast on his way to becoming a miniature Itagaki (an Itsygaki, if you will) after speaking to Eurogamer in London yesterday. When the topic of developers noting difficulty in creating games for the PlayStation 3 comes up, Hayashi suggests, "if they think it's difficult, they should get out of the ring."
Hayashi explains that in being a creator of games and in position to receive money from players, Team Ninja "shouldn't complain about the difficulty." Outspoken he may be, but the man at least implies that he'll stick to his guns as well as the PlayStation 3. "As I said, people who complain about the difficulty of creating games for PS3 should get out, right? While I'm saying that kind of thing, if I get out myself, then what I say doesn't mean anything! So, I should stay - right?"
You be the judge of that when Ninja Gaiden Sigma gets out in a few weeks.
The upcoming Ninja GaidenSigma for PlayStation 3 will reward players with Yellow Essence, the game's currency, based on the amount of time you played the demo, currently available via the PlayStation Network.
With just under a month to go before Sigma sneaks onto North American PS3s (and even less for Japan and European gamers), Team Ninja is giving you a reason to play through the demo over and over again. The series has in all its iterations has attempted to up the ante in difficulty, so starting out with a bit of extra money for health potions couldn't hurt.
Team Ninja founder Tomonobu Itagaki has always been known for commentary and behavior that, relative to most of the world, is pretty out there. His latest outlandish claim comes from an interview with GamePro where he explains why we'll likely not see a Sony PSP version of Ninja Gaiden.
Itagaki said that the design philosophy for the PSP is akin to that of a home console as opposed to, for example, the Nintendo DS' design as a portable platform. In that mindset, he said, the PSP's goal would be to replicate the home experience. The clincher: "I think if I were to develop this game [Dragon Sword for DS] on the PSP, most of my fans would be upset."
Using his same logic, consumers who buy the PSP want games that replicate the home console experience for play wherever they go. So no, we don't think fans would be upset if Itagaki gave them a Ninja Gaiden title that felt and played like its home console brethren -- it's exactly what they would want, in fact.
Dragon Sword, with its stylus-driven control scheme, is due out this Autumn.
Revealed earlier this week, Team Ninja's Head Developer Corey Hart Tomonobu Itagaki took the stage today in Tokyo to demonstrateNinja Gaiden: Dragon Sword for the Nintendo DS. With the controls consisting almost entirely within the touch screen, a live demonstration of this ambitious action title is exactly what we needed after the initial scans left us somewhat baffled.
IGN, who was on-hand for the event, walked away fairly impressed with Hayabusa's moves as they say he "dart[ed] about the screen just like his Xbox and PS3 counterpart, performing all the expected moves, right down to leaping between walls to get to higher ground." A bold statement considering the pedigree the series has built on nigh perfect controlling action.
With single taps for movements, double taps for jumps and slashes of the stylus for attacks, we're still somewhat skeptical of just how well this will work out, but if anyone can pull it of it's Itagaki and company.
Captured in a blurry, poorly-framed celly shot are the first details of Ninja Gaiden DS -- er, "Dragon Sword." Rumor of this Team Ninja project has been lurking for years, last resurfacing during a 1UP interview with Itagaki this past October. Now Famitsu has the scoop.
The blurb indicates that Dragon Sword will play out with the DS oriented like a book, Brain Age-style. Another game gone digital comic? Probably not. Itagaki has suggested that Dragon Sword will be an action title; though Famitsu reports the game is controlled on the touch screen (except for blocking). So much for a classic 2D Gaiden... (Perhaps the dual-nature of the touch screen -- simple, yet limitless -- provides Team Ninja with a better shot at perfection.)
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?
Microsoft is ushering in the (Lunar) New Year with a pair of discounted Xbox 360 game packs. One set includes Project Gotham Racing 3 and Ridge Racer 6; the other, Dead or Alive 4 and Dead or Alive Xtreme 2. The 'Year of the Boar' branded bundles are being sold in Taiwan, where Xbox 360 launched last March. At $1,490 TWD (about $45 USD) a pop, the festive fun-packs aren't screaming "buy me" -- at least from our perspective. We're looking at three launch titles that have since been bargain-binned and a virtual peep show. This the best Microsoft could scoop outta the over-manufactured heap? Or do these hit the "target"?
A fifth Dead or Alive is in development -- no surprise. That DOA creator, on-the-job drinker, and overly-friendly coworker Tomonobu Itagaki made the announcement at the DOA 10th anniversary party among a throng of supporters made us giddy. After all, after the sexual harassment charges we weren't sure whether he had been demoted or somehow shuffled in the background. But there he was, wine glass and sunglasses in tow.
Not much was revealed, except that Itagaki has a few ideas circling in his head, he's planning on axing the Tag Team system, and he already knows how the opening cinematic will begin. No console was mentioned, but we're placing our bets on another Xbox 360 iteration. After five of the most recent DOA titles (including two softcore simulators) have been Microsoft exclusives, we think the odds are in our favor.
Team Ninja's latest Dead or Alive Xtreme 2 trailer (available on Xbox Live Marketplace) has been called "too bouncy." Indeed, if you care to watch, you'll be transported to a fantasy island where unreal beauties frolic and dance, wrestle and massage, read and relax -- and bounce.
Big boobs and bikinis are enlisted to sell all kinds of products, from magazines to music to beer. But can they sell games? Should we consider DOAX2's gross exaggeration of the adage "sex sells" to be pioneering?
1UP reports that a pair of
DOA4 updates (focused on Xbox Live play) has been posted for download. The patches address frame rate issues
and adjust damage levels for more balanced fighting. Team Ninja also threw in some new attacks. And, if you're not
happy with your current rank, the first update will let you reset to "C". No excuses now...
