In its time, Tomonobu Itagaki's reinvention of the classic Ninja Gaiden franchise made for a masterclass in third-person action gaming. Its punishing difficulty made such unrelenting demands on the skill-set of its players that there were those who simply couldn't stomach the frustration it seemed, at times, to actively engender. Those who overcame their gag reflex long enough to learn from their mistakes, however, found Ninja Gaiden, particularly in its later, reinvigorated incarnations, to be a firm but fair taskmaster; it simply required from its players a more complex, involved approach than the button-mashing they had learned from superficially similar experiences. Not to name names, but Kratos and Dante have nothing on the Dragon Ninja Clan's Ryu Hayabusa, whose skill with a blade - not to mention a scythe, a flail, a staff and a hammer, and that's just for starters - is simply without parallel. That is, should you be man enough to harness it.

A year after the events told and retreaded to death in the first Ninja Gaiden and all its subsequent re-releases, everyone's favourite martial artist arrives in Tokyo just in time to rescue CIA agent Sonia from the evil Black Spider Clan. Sonia informs Ryu of an impending attack on his village, which rather rankles young Hayabusa, who has only momentarily touched down in Tokyo with an eye to taking a few touristy days away from the grind of ninja academy, and perhaps, one imagines, hitting up a maid café of a night. But the mind wanders - much as it's wont to do whenever Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 feels the curious need to indulge in a cut-scene or what passes for in-engine exposition. Ryu returns from Tokyo hoping to safeguard his home, only to find the haven that was Hayabusa village in flames and his father fallen in battle. Worse still, a wicked witch by the name of Elizebet has stolen the Demon Statue, an artifact of such terrible power that Ryu cannot rest until he has recovered it.

And so begins a jarringly jet-setting adventure in massive damage and double-dealing demons that takes Ryu from the streets of Tokyo and a jungle in South America to the fiery slopes of Mount Fuji, a neon-lit New York and beyond. It's nice to see such environmental variety, and the areas you'll explore are at least aesthetically appealing, but by and large they're a deceptive lot: some uninspired design will have you relying too often on a navigational win button added to this PS3 remix of last Spring's supposed 360-exclusive; invisible, inexplicable barriers restrain Ryu at every turn; apparently extensive levels are over before they've begun to mine the ripe promise of secret areas and hidden collectibles. Of course, the various locations are just gravy, scenic backdrops for the 100+ hit combos you'll spend the vast majority of your time stringing together. That said, much of Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 boils down to a simple equation that has you fighting for a few minutes followed by too few seconds of respite before the vicious cycle repeats - a little exploration here and there only goes so far to break the unfortunate monotony of battle after battle.

Thankfully, the battles are mostly brilliant. Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2's combat mechanics are deep enough that you'll see your combos climbing continuously throughout the 10-hour single-player campaign as your grasp of the various systems in play tightens exponentially. Ryu can wield any one of a number of weapons: one- or two-handed blades variously effective in long-range encounters as well as when you've gotten up close and personal with the gruesome demon legion; blunt instruments slow to strike but stupendously powerful when you do; a bow and arrow - and later a flintlock - for picking off distant stragglers. The list goes on. It's a pleasant surprise to see so many weapons, and what's more, they're each as finely balanced as the next. You can pick a single strategy and set to learning its ins and outs, swap out your weapons tactically or simply switch between styles to your heart's content.

When a simple sword won't cut it, Ryu can always call upon his ninpo - magical ninja arts, obviously - which range from a hellish fireball storm to a defensive swarm of flaming birds. It costs blue essence to cast ninpo, but there are chests secreted around each level to replenish Ryu's supply, as well as no shortage of combo-fodder who, as luck would have it, explode into a rainbow of orbs that also serve to fill up your health and wallet. Rare demonic jewels allow you to level up your ninpo of choice, and you can upgrade each of your arms at least twice by visiting Murasama's shops, which is to say, strange statues scattered across the schizophrenic selection of art assets Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 counts as its environments. The statues also allow you to resupply Ryu on healing items, although the Dragon ninja's inventory is rigorously limited - by all means, slip as many heavy weapons as you please under that skintight bodysuit, but you'll only ever be able to carry three health potions at once, and let me stress that there are times, and no shortage of them, when you'll find yourself wishing Ryu's spandex were just a little more flexible in terms of its unlikely storage capacity.

Of course with health in abundance, the nigh-on insurmountable challenge Ninja Gaiden games are famous for would hardly be practical. How strange, then, that though you'll find yourself facing boss after boss and plowing through battalions and entire armies of darkness, the allegedly enhanced PS3 version of Ninja Gaiden 2 never tests the limits of your skills in the way its predecessors did. Your choice on first boot is between the outright easy Way of the Acolyte and the Way of the Warrior (read normal mode); two harder settings unlock upon completion, but even these, although they more closely resemble Ninja Gaiden as we know it, fail to match the hellish trial that has been this storied franchise's stock in trade. There are now save points after every few encounters, as well as checkpoints which directly precede each of the twenty-something boss battles. Demons and greater fiends alike seem to have fewer hit-points, and it's really far too easy to dismember one limb or another, setting the stage for one of Ryu's flashy finishing moves.

Progression is still tough at times, but the difficulty curve of this second installment in the Sigma series has been flattened dramatically, and while that will surely reassure some inexperienced new players, we were each of us new to Ninja Gaiden at one point; as the relentless hand-holding, pop-up suggestions and comprehensive hint systems of modern Western games have become more and more prevalent, to learn the tricky systems and understand the many mechanics of battle in this one game was an accomplishment, something to be proud of. And don't misunderstand me: this isn't a case of sour grapes. It's simply that, without such a steep difficulty curve, the experience is oddly flat, even unrewarding.

Sadly, there are a host of other problems that stop Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 from surpassing the original, the larger part of which stem from a user interface as ugly as it is unhelpful. There's quicker access to your items and ninpo techniques this time out, but most of the game's menus are cluttered and difficult to navigate, not to mention torturously slow. Simplistic in-game tutorial screens have the cheek to load in and then load out; there's no way to change difficulty without starting over; you can't quit to the main menu between stages; and you'd be quicker looking at the manual than reminding yourself of the controls during play. From confirming dialogue selections to bringing up an innocuous menu, just about everything in the user interface chugs for long enough you begin to fear for your PS3's health and wellbeing. Even the trophies have been carried over half-cocked from the Xbox Original: one particular telling trial congratulates you on having "Learned to The Counter Attack!"

Ninja Gaiden Sigma was a significant step up from Itagaki's original; this second Sigma edition is sadly more port than remake. To call it an enhanced edition, even - as the publicity fluffers would have us do - still gives the game more credit than it's due. That said, aside from some minor screen-tearing, it looks great, the gratuitous gore's gone, and with 10 bonus co-op missions and a lengthy campaign to its name, it represents excellent value for money. The toned-down difficulty is a deal with the Devil if ever I saw one, but if you've the patience to play through a second time, there is, at least, something more closely resembling the heart-stopping experience Ninja Gaiden has come to be synonymous with. Series stalwarts might find this glorified port a bitter pill to swallow, but Itagaki's swan-song was a great game, and in the end, it's in here - that's enough that I feel just fine recommending Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 to PS3 owners who haven't had the chance to defeat the Archfiend yet, as well as anyone who'd like a good fight. In game, I mean.

And I should note, before I go, that you can jiggle breasts with the Sixaxis. Finally, right?

Right?

Reviewed by Niall Rough for AceGamez (All Rights Reserved).