I remember when Ninja Gaiden 3 came out and received horrible reception. At the time, I wanted to see how bad it really was, so I downloaded the demo off the PlayStation store. After playing that, I really thought it was just like the other Sigma games and that - at least the gameplay - was fine. Granted, it was just a demo, and I have not played the full game. So, tell me, what was so wrong with Ninja Gaiden 3?

http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/03/19/ninja-gaiden-3-review
http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-3/ninja-gaiden-3/critic-reviews
Enemies begs for their lives, only 1 weapon, camera is horrible so you cant see what is happening, and gameplay is simplified for mainstream and not challenging for the hardcore fans (just mash the attack buttons and he will attack automatically, no skill needed; sometimes the game pauses and tells you what buttons to press). Razors Edge version fixed things, I heard, but i have only played the original NG3.

The fuck does that mean? As in the enemies literally get down on their knees and beg, thus the game sucks? I would find this hilarious.

Look at this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C46XPdP0n2w&feature=player_detailpage#t=456
Enemies also SAY "I don't want to die" when you fight.

Yea, you can tell from that video that they do. However, I'm not so sure that would be a major deal breaker for me, as - at least in the section I watched - it doesn't seem very intrusive. That reminds me of when Sigma 2 came out and there was an uproar over the amount of gore the came had. Specifically: not enough. I thought at the time, and still do, that the those comments were not well founded and simply criticizing for the sake of being critical. Not just that, but the people who made those comments were not discussing what could be a more legitimate discussion point: cut or altered content. For example, I've read about changes made to Sigma 2, such as using items immediately instead of being able to hold them like in the original, among other changes or complete cuts to the game (although, I will say that altering the cover for the Playstation 3 release was a solid idea). On the other hand, I think some alterations, such as offline Team Mission mode, seems like a good change.

My point is that I think these little annoyances (which, in my case I wouldn't even think about to be honest) are getting magnified. I'm sure it happens everywhere, but I've noticed it a lot with Ninja Gaiden in particular. The amount of gore in a game isn't a purchasing factor for me, but the cut content in Sigma 2 potentially could have been - at least when picking between the two versions, as opposed to a game like Yakuza 3 - which wasn't likely to come to North America and by some miracle when it did, there were extra side quests that were removed from the game - which only had one NA release. For a title like that, the only way to actually play that extra content would be to import the game from Japan.

I've only played Ninja Gaiden 3 for a very limited amount of time, and I already expected it to be horrible based off of the reception it received, but I thought that the game wasn't bad, but that's probably due to the amount of time I spent with it. I definitely want to go back and spend a little more time with it at some point - I wouldn't doubt that most of those problems you mentioned, like camera issues and whatnot, would probably become major problems for me.

This also happens in The Punisher, just before you torture them. This also happens in Red Faction, where the Ultor guards shout "Don't shoot, I'm unarmed!" whilst shooting you with their guns. Does this somehow make the game unplayable?

The main reason I don't like NG3 is that they broke the gameplay, killing the strategical deapth it used to have.

The "tone" of the game is just yet an other reason I don't like it. I prefer DMC3 "it is party time, so let's rock and go crazy" tone, than in NG3 where it is more like "I'm a monsterous killing machine" or God Of War 3's "I'm on a depressing revenge killing spree".

I guess it is just me, but I love what DMC3 was. In addition Ninja Gaiden Sigmas controls felt so "tight" and "right", where it it up to you if you will kick ass or get raped.

On metacritic:
Ninja Gaiden Sigma got 88%
Ninja Gaiden 3 got 58%
So most agree on that the former is better. Then it is up to you if you want to give it a shot or if you rather only play the best games the system has to offer. NG3 is not a hit, but it is above 50% so it is playable, but don't expect to much. If you are hardcore you are better off with NGS, but if you are not, maybe the easier NG3 is for you.

How do you feel about other hack n' slash games, like Bayonetta or Revengence? In addition to Ninja Gaiden, I do enjoy playing them, but I think Sigma is better, at least from the ones I've played.

I will say though, hack n' slash as a genre is hard for me to get into. I can play them for limited amounts of time, but any kind of extended playthrough of a hack n' slash game isn't my cup of tea.

I've got similar feelings about Rockstar games, to be honest. I love playing friends' files for limited amounts of time, but I cannot bring myself to put in the time to actually finish one. I did not finish Bully and I disliked Red Dead Redemption. Even LA Noire, a game I consider to be one of the better made games of this generation (and included it on my Honorable Mentions thing in the other thread), I have not yet finished and I'm not sure if I will pick up again anytime soon. It's a sharp contrast with games like Valkyria Chronicles, which I cannot get enough of.

Interestingly (despite my love of ZOE, which is technically a hack 'n slash), I've never been a fan of the genre. They're generally all style, no substance, and never interest me past the first playthrough. Rising would last me purely because it's an MGS game.

Hack n' slash is my favorite genre. So I like Bayonetta and MGR too.

I have problems with the combosystem in Bayonetta were you are supposed to combine short pauses to trigger certain combos. So I ended up playing the later half of the game with easy automatic. And i havent played the later half more than once. I like that Bayonetta is sexy, but it gets old after a while. Therefore it is number 4 on my top 5 list.

MGR is number 5 on my top 5. I liked fighting RAY. Tho I don't really care for the story in that game. I also find it frustrating that some enemies can shoot while you don't have any quick weapon like somekind of suriken or handgun, only bazooka-like subweapons.

DmC reboot and NG3 are lower on the list.

All in all, I like the NGS and DMC3 formulas better, so therefore I hope that games like that will come to the PS4.

EDIT:
Until then I'll play Infamous: Second Son, when it comes. Is anyone else intrested in that game?