One thing that gamers love to complain about regarding PS3 games is the system’s need to install content before playing – but if more developers took the Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 approach, maybe it wouldn’t be such a pain anymore
Now the PS3 has a lot going for it – it’s powerful, it’s finally got a library of good games under its belt, and it can cook a lean cut of hamburger and get rid of all the grease – but one thing that it’s had going against it since the beginning has been the install times. Before you play a PS3 game, you have to go through the install process, whereas the Xbox 360 just lets you plug in and play. The new iteration of the PS3 may reduce these install times, but it hasn’t eliminated them entirely.
Naturally, developers try to hide these with cool graphics like Solid Snake having a smoke break in Metal Gear Solid 4, or suggesting that gamers go make a sandwich and have a drink (or learn Sanskrit – bitches love Sanskrit) for Devil May Cry 4. But in this video posted on PlayStation Blog, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Producer Yosuke Hayashi walks us through some of the game, including an interesting take on the PS3 install: How about actually doing something with it?
When you install Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2, you get… well, the game’s Prologue, titled “The Vampire War.” It’s a digital comic that takes place immediately before the game’s story takes place. For fans, it’s a look at the characters of Sigma 2 being badass, and for people who haven’t played the first games (like yours truly), it’s a quick way to bring them up to speed on the characters and events of the series thus far. So rather than just rolling their eyes at another loading screen, the gamer gets something actually useful and relevant (and cool)!
There’s ten minutes of Ninja Gaiden in the video beyond that look at the install, and it’s what you’d expect: Awesome ninjas, ridiculous enemies, and bouncy breasts that can be controlled with the Sixaxis. But really, if the industry takes anything away from this video, it should be this: “Do something with your damned install times.”
Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 ships worldwide two weeks from now.
(Via CVG)
