Ryu Hayabusa battles baddies in a screen shot from "Ninja Gaiden Sigma".

PlayStation 3 owners finally get some thumb-splitting action with an exclusive game in the "Ninja Gaiden" series. But not all is what it seems with "Ninja Gaiden Sigma."

"Sigma" (Rated M, $59.99) may be the only title in the classic action series for the PS3, but it's actually a remake of 2004's "Ninja Gaiden Black" for the original Xbox.

"Sigma" does just about everything better than "Black," however, and that's saying a lot considering how uniformly excellent this action franchise originally was.

An important note: This game is hard — brutally, unforgivingly hard in a way that only a true game junkie can appreciate.