Ninja Gaiden 2

[heavenlyglory]

seems like NG games don't sell very well despite them being good. maybe it doesn't appeal to the casual market at all because of the difficulty?

I know they sold decent on Xbox (dunno about Sigma).
Obviously they wouldnt have made Black if Ninja Gaiden didn't sell well.

I think they could put out Black and Sigma due to the fact that the games aren't as high-budget as people would assume (based on the franchises polish).
So just selling or barely selling 1 million warrants another iteration (think Mortal Kombat..but without the suck, lol).

But now that MS is publishing it..I'm sure it will get the much needed marketing boost it deserves.

 

[idsn6]

Shadows are buggy right now - appearing and disappearing. But its early, so that's to be expected.

I don't think it's a bug. I think they turn off the shadows when the scene load gets past a certain point (some number of enemies, for instance) and they're in danger of dropping frames. Earlier DOAs did the same thing during tag throws with three characters onscreen.

 

[nintenho]

I think it was unusually popular among the xbox owners in japan. probably because it was one of the most important japanese xbox exclusives.

 

[valioso]

I think with the marketing budget that microsoft can provide it will sell much better. After watching the video, it already looks much much better than NG ever did. i personally can't wait as I loved the first one..

 

[TheChefO]

Looking at the gameplay vid it looks like the same old NG but on steroids.

There are still some things I'd like to see out of Team Ninja that would elevate the gameplay (and graphics/immersion) to another level, but it seems it won't happen for this title.

It will still be a great game though as NG was one of the best last gen and it seems to be extending and building on their already established great gameplay.

Day one purchase, but I expect more from them on ng3.

(destructable environments, better physics, better lighting/shadow, less monsters)

 

[scooby_dooby]

Downloaded the 720p gameplay video from XBLive yesterday, the gameplay looks awesome.

The graphics were nice in general, the special effects, character models, and limb severing where all sweet. The animations, superb.

The lighting needs work though, it's too flat. Day 1 purchase or me though regardless.

 

[dantruon]

i watched the 720p video and while it looks fun to play,i dont see anything in the video shown that makes other developers lose their motivation to develop their games.

 

[valioso]

there is a comparisson video between the NG2 released footage and NG Sigma on 1up. NG2 looks noticeable better imo. But the animations are better in Sigma right now.. although NG2 still has a way to go.

 

[djskribbles]

there is a comparisson video between the NG2 released footage and NG Sigma on 1up. NG2 looks noticeable better imo. But the animations are better in Sigma right now.. although NG2 still has a way to go.

i don't see how you can come up with that impression, especially since both clips are of different quality and are in completely different environments. i don't think you can draw any comparison from that video imho other than the animations.

 

[AlphaWolf]

i don't see how you can come up with that impression, especially since both clips are of different quality and are in completely different environments. i don't think you can draw any comparison from that video imho other than the animations.

how are the clips of different quality?

[gv]14795[/gv]

 

[djskribbles]

it looks fine there, but i watched the HD version and the NG2 footage almost looks like it was off-screen and the Sigma footage looks like direct feed. and still, they are in completely different environments. so imo, the only thing you can compare fairly in that video is the animations.

 

[AlphaWolf]

it looks fine there, but i watched the HD version and the NG2 footage almost looks like it was off-screen and the Sigma footage looks like direct feed. and still, they are in completely different environments. so imo, the only thing you can compare fairly in that video is the animations.

well the NG sigma vid looks pretty damned flat compared to ng2 stuff, but I can't speak for how the world looks through your glasses. I don't find anything particularly special about either myself.

 

[djskribbles]

well the NG sigma vid looks pretty damned flat compared to ng2 stuff, but I can't speak for how the world looks through your glasses. I don't find anything particularly special about either myself.

i didn't say the Sigma footage looked better, did i? all i said was i think the quality of the footage differs and the only thing (imo) that you can compare fairly is the animations. i guess you could say that in those particular levels, NG2 looks better. i agree about the Sigma footage there looking flat... that is one of the levels where they barely upgraded the environments from the original NG; some levels look amazing while others, not so much. i also don't find anything particularly special about both either from that particular clip. i'm sure, like Sigma, some levels in NG2 will shine though.

 

[D3B]

After Itagaki talking trash im not impressed at all, really Sigma that is a half port looks just as good imo.

Itagaki: I’d like to show everybody some of the new stuff that we’ve been working on in the near future. The only problem with that is that when the other developers see what we’re doing, they’re going to lose all of their motivation to create any game in the same genre, because there’s no way they can beat it."

 

[betan]

After Itagaki talking trash im not impressed at all, really Sigma that is a half port looks just as good imo.

NG2 looks better mostly because more enemies on screen and next gen environments.
But I'm not sure he was talking about visuals. In terms of gameplay, I think one needs to play the game in order to actually appreciate it. I wasn't particularly impressed by NGS videos either.

That said, I too, hate monster fighting in a martial arts game (even in Tekken).

 

[D3B]

NG2 looks better mostly because more enemies on screen and next gen environments.
But I'm not sure he was talking about visuals. In terms of gameplay, I think one needs to play the game in order to actually appreciate it. I wasn't particularly impressed by NGS videos either.

That said, I too, hate monster fighting in a martial arts game (even in Tekken).

Well even if he was talking about gameplay what in that video makes it so impresive that others should just stop, nothing imo.

I never thought Sigma was so great because of all the old ported stuff with hardly any upgrade, Heavenly Sword blows it away.

 

[archangelmorph]

The games' are visually comparable due to a pretty strong consistency in art direction..

From the videos it looks like NG2 environments seem to resonate more with people, purely because there's more detail (in terms of more geometry, stuff scattered around which lessons the feeling of emptiness in the NGS shots..)

The NGS footage seems to be alot smoother but i'm not sure whether this is a product of the framerate or animation speed balancing by design (maybe Itagaki actually wanted to action to be more snappy and speedy..?)

Other than that I don't think you can compare much from them, texture quality is marred by differing compression ratios and lighting seems separated by differing environments (outdoor vs indoor..)

To be honest I'm not blown away by the graphics of this game but to be honest I don't think I could be without seeing fundamental changes to the overall games' look and feel (which has traditionally been consistent across all Team Ninja titles..)

I'm interested to find out exactly what more has been added to the experience to enhance it far above wehat they did with NG1 but even if it is just more of the same in HD, I really don't care.. NG2 has been a day one purchase for me since that day it was announced..

 

[Rangers]

Well even if he was talking about gameplay what in that video makes it so impresive that others should just stop, nothing imo.

I never thought Sigma was so great because of all the old ported stuff with hardly any upgrade, Heavenly Sword blows it away.

Graphically I think it's the reverse..and I tested by loading up a same size gametrailer window of both games (NG2, HS) and switching between them.

HS has nicer lighting..but that's about it. The chars are very low poly in HS comparitively.

 

[Neb]

well the NG sigma vid looks pretty damned flat compared to ng2 stuff, but I can't speak for how the world looks through your glasses. I don't find anything particularly special about either myself.

+1

Graphically I think it's the reverse..and I tested by loading up a same size gametrailer window of both games (NG2, HS) and switching between them.

HS has nicer lighting..but that's about it. The chars are very low poly in HS comparitively.

I have to agree with you on that one.

 

[Dr. Nick]

The NGS footage seems to be alot smoother but i'm not sure whether this is a product of the framerate or animation speed balancing by design (maybe Itagaki actually wanted to action to be more snappy and speedy..?)

What is the framerate of the comparison video all together? I know the TGS video the game was running in 60 but the video is only at 30fps. That might explain it but the game is still a work in progress.

As far as the look goes I think a lot of people have a problem with the plastic look. It seems to be more of a problem with the materials that make up the models rather than the models themselves. I'm not quite sure if changing the materials on the character will ruin the art style in Ninja Gaiden is less anime like than DOA. I asked one of the devs here about the use of normal maps in some of the quality games that have been released and the fact that they are all running at 30fps with the exception of COD4,looking at close ups of the models you can tell that they are not as clean though. I wanted to know if there is a connection between the two. It would be nice to get an answer on this. One thing I do know is that at least with this game I doubt 30fps is an option.