By Billy Teo, a freelance writer who enjoys flinging his game controllers in frustration

FOR the benefit of gamers who enjoy keeping abreast of cutting-edge games, yes, Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 flaunts bosomy female characters.

And yes, shaking the PS3's motion-enabled controllers vigorously during gameplay elicits jiggles.

Now to the game: this expanded port of an Xbox 360 title from game developer Tecmo last year is an addictive fight fest-cum-platform action game.

As heroic ninja Ryu Hayabusa, you perform miracles: walk on water, scale walls like a bird, unleash magical attacks and vanquish demons with weapons that let you slice and dice in style.

In this PS3 version, female characters like Rachel and Momiji have individual stages on which to show off their Victoria's Secret outfits and killer moves. Another bonus feature is that you can play co-op missions online with any friend who owns the game.

Casual gamers, do expect much cussing and controller flinging even on the easy mode.

Slaying the likes of spider ninjas and werewolves requires the mastery of complicated combo button presses found in fighting titles like Dead Or Alive. This is important because even the lesser beasts can kill you in some instances if you do not block or evade their attacks in time.

When the big bosses like the Statue of Liberty or a dinosaur skeleton attack, it takes endurance and finger dexterity to survive.

Occasional screen tearing - visible streaks across the screen - is a small hiccup for the otherwise sharp graphics. Beautiful locales such as Venice and New York City are brought to life.

Thanks to ample checkpoints to save the game and a generous supply of health items, Sigma 2 is slightly more forgiving compared to the original game that catered to the action experts.

So, it is fun not just for casual gamers but hardcore folks too as they can unlock higher difficulty modes to ramp up the challenge if only to fling their controllers in frustration.

This story was first published in The Straits Times Digital Life.

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