A new Afro Samurai demo just ninjaed samuraied its way onto the Xbox Live Marketplace, bringing with it the potty-mouthed anime shenanigans the star vehicle is known for.

Listed at 454MB, the demo comes packed with a brief video introduction (voiced by Samuel L. Jackson) and a relatively small sampling of what Afro Samurai is all about. Our only advice for those who attempt the way of the samurai is to swing often, jump high and keep an eye out for invisi-walls.

[Via Major Nelson]

Namco Bandai has reportedly swiped the hockey mask out from under Splatterhouse developer BottleRocket Entertainment, giving the nearly-finished project to the publisher's internal Afro Samurai team instead. Sources close to the company say that Namco officials reclaimed all dev kits and Splatterhouse assets from BottleRocket last Friday, according to Kotaku, apparently leaving the California dev with nothing else to work on besides cleaning out its desks.

If true, it's unclear why Namco would wait so long to pull the project from BottleRocket, with the gory PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 action title set to go gold sometime in March. We've reached out to both Namco Bandai and BottleRocket for further comment, and will update once we hear more.

Update: We've heard back from both developer BottleRocket and publisher Namco Bandai – read their responses here. If you know anything about the specifics of this most unfortunate situation, be sure to let us know!

Namco Bandai, er ... we mean Surge rented out the Geisha House in Hollywood last night in order to throw a party for the launch of Afro Samurai, and Joystiq tagged along to check things out. The best thing about the night? Plenty of stations to play the game on both PS3s and Xbox 360s. Sadly, the sound was so loud in the place that you couldn't hear the hacking and slashing from the samurai with the gigantic hairdo.

Also puzzling was the fact that Samuel L. Jackson was listed as a co-host of this party and was a no show. That was a real surprise, since he provides both the voices of Afro Samurai and his sidekick Ninja Ninja and is a co-producer of the series. Either he didn't show at all, or he really does have ninja-esque skills and we just missed him. Update: he actually did show up, we just missed him. Plus he was dressed for freezing weather.

Check out the gallery below, and highlights after the break including a video performance by an afro-bedecked The RZA, who provides music both on the show and in the game.

If you're anything like us, your enjoyment of anything Afro Samurai instantly begins with the mention of Samuel L. Jackson. Let's face it people, SLJ is all kinds of awesome and his voice work in Afro Samurai is top notch. Watch this slow motion in game footage which stars the vocal work of Jackson as Afro screaming to hit a solid hand, as it were, in body part poker. Afro Samurai lands on the Xbox 360 this week with music from The RZA and Ron Perlman reprising his role as Justice. Jump in for another video of in game footage.

This week on the Xbox 360, you have a choice. You can choose between either Afro Samurai or MLB Front Office Manager. That's it. Pick one. You're done. Then again, you could make the third choice. You could choose to buy nothing at all. That's probably the most zen thing to do. Of course, you could buy both of them. That would be the capitalist thing to do. Trust us, the economy needs it.

Xbox 360:

• Afro Samurai
• MLB Front Office Manager

Take note, game publishers: There are two ways to take the featured slot on our weekly release list. 1. Be a hotly anticipated game or 2. Have your top competition be MLB Front Office Manager. Yes, Afro Samurai may have taken the road less traveled, but it's hard to argue with the results.

Also, we're not saying that we're going to go out of our way to play new series entry Iron Triangle, but we're compelled to point out that "Nobunaga's Ambition" is still one of the best names for a video game ever.

Namco Bandai has announced the formation of "Surge," a new studio and publishing label aimed at "providing cutting-edge, genre-defining games that are targeted at satiating the appetite of western gamers." Much like Square Enix's recent English-centric efforts, Namco hopes to tap into a wider market with several in-development IPs, the first of which are slated to arrive in 2009.

Andrew Lelchuk, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Namco Bandai Games America, dubs Surge a "creative force," one that promises to deliver "compelling content for the discriminating player who is looking for games that are not only groundbreaking but also push the envelope." Surge's first game that is not only groundbreaking but also pushes the envelope? Afro Samurai, due on January 27th, 2009.

Don't let the opening's falling teddy bears fools you, this latest Afro Samurai trailer is anything but cute or cuddly. It's more sharp, violent and musically beatbox'ified. Kinda a mix of Afro Samurai comic book art, thumping beats, bloody splatter, slow motion and big afro. Maybe watching the trailer for yourself would be the best description of what it's all about. Remember, it's beatbox'ified, yo!

Earlier this afternoon, Namco-Bandai made an announcement regarding the release date for their anime adapted Afro Samurai game-o-samurai-stuff. And even though a samurai is no ninja, Afro Samurai will be ninja sneaking into retailers early next year. January 27th to be ninja-exact. Hopefully, by then, the game's dismemberment technology will do Afro's samurai moves justice.

There are three things in this world for which we possess an unbridled, white-hot love: The warriors of feudal Japan, outrageously large disco hairstyles, and Samuel L. Jackson. As you can imagine, we've been fans of Afro Samurai since it made its American debut on SpikeTV in 2007 -- though we've been somewhat apprehensive towards the Namco brawler based on the stylish mini-series, which we got our first look at during last year's VGAs. However, the trailer posted above hits all the right notes -- amazing voice actors, attractive visuals, wicked acrobatic maneuvers, and a soundtrack by the Wu Tang Clan's RZA. With this latest trailer, and our brief time with the game at E3, we feel comfortable giving Afro Samurai the Joystiq Seal of Certified Freshness.

There's a new trailer out for the Namco brawler Afro Samurai and, to be honest, it looks pretty hot. The trailer introduces gamers to many of the series' main characters, all of whom will apparently be voiced by the original voice actors for the television show, which means we'll be treated to the likes of Samuel L. Jackson and Ron Perlman. The gameplay shown in the video certainly looks intriguing, featuring some very cool looking maneuvers, but it remains unclear exactly how much control the player will have over everything. At any rate, Afro Samurai has piqued our interest.

Most likely, my reaction to Afro Samurai is all wrong. The upcoming PS3/360 game from Namco Bandai translates Spike TV's anime series into a video game. After an eyes-on demo of the game, I walked away ... hungry.

Why's that? Afro Samurai's gruesome rendering of the frightening power of a sword has me craving for some fresh meat. When Afro swings his sword, he will be able to cut right through anyone. No matter where he hits them, the sword will cut cleanly. Hit an enemy's foot, and it will fall off. Cut an enemy's arm off with ease. You'll be able to cut off interesting pieces off your enemies' bodies and see the flesh and bone inside, slowly leaking blood. It's a fascinating sight, especially as you kill dozens and dozens of mindless opponents.

Ultra-violence isn't uncommon in this industry. But, although Ninja Gaiden II had no problem cutting off the limbs of everything that moves, it's strangely unsettling in this cel-shaded adventure. Is it the fact that Afro Samurai absolutely revels in its gore? Providing slow-mo zoom-ins to see the stylized cuts of muscle meat go flying off certainly whets the appetite.

It's hard to judge the quality of the game from such a short demonstration, but at least the development team's goal is clear. Hopefully, they take the violence one step further by ensuring the body parts that you shed off hapless victims stays active in the game environment. The ESRB-approved "tame" version of the trailer, after the cut.

Yes, new Afro Samurai images slice into our gallery ... and apparently into the poor fellow in the picture above. Poor guy; he is now nothing more than a pile of meat -- courtesy of our gaijin warrior friend Samuel L. Jackson Afro. These new screenshots are quite pretty and the art style looks most similar to that of Valkyria Chronicles. That's a good thing considering that we're also quite intrigued with the latter. So have a look at our gallery and prepare for the game this Fall.

"Hip hop infused action adventure" news now, with Namco Bandai announcing a Fall 2008 release window for Afro Samurai, a video game adaptation of the popular animated series starring Mr. Samuel L. Jackson. The Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 game follows the acrobatic Afro as he seeks revenge for the murder of his father and "fights to become the number one warrior." The game will stick to the storyline established in the series, while adding material and background that's sure to be appreciated by fans.

Of course, Samuel L. Jackson returns to provide dialogue, as well as the myriad of grunts sure to emanate as he kills enemies who are "affected by the beat of the musical score produced by RZA of Wu-Tang Clan fame." Lucky them.

A new gameplay trailer for Afro Samurai has arrived by way of the Namco Bandai Editor's Day 08. As far as we're concerned, the trailer spends far too much time showing off the game's locales and characters and not nearly enough time showing Afro hacking his enemies to bits. The trailer is rather stark all around actually, thanks to its exclusion of any sound effects or voices. Most notably absent from the video is Samuel L. Jackson's portrayal of Afro. Still, what's there looks pretty enough, and the gameplay looks decent. Keep your eyes peeled and you can see the real time dismemberment engine that was revealed recently. Overall, we're not quite sure what to make of the game yet. Here's hoping future media does a better job of piquing our interest.