It's been a while since Zero Punctuation's Yahtzee has loosed his venom on an unsuspecting Xbox 360 game. It's been far too long, really. Thankfully, Yahtzee's latest review is for none other than the Xbox 360's would-be premier action game, Ninja Gaiden 2. Expecting the worst, as we tend to do with ZP reviews, it turns out that he actually likes it ... to a degree, citing strengths (gameplay) and weaknesses (glitches and uneven difficulty). Frankly, we think it's a perfectly rational way to feel about the game (except for his preference of the claws, which pale in comparison to the double katanas). Check out the review after the break.

Thanks to some Xbox Live Marketplace advertising, we've already known about the latest Ninja Gaiden 2 downloadable content headed our way this month. Well, today Microsoft officially confirmed its existence and some DLC details announcing a new NG2 Mission Mode pack of DLC.

The Mission Mode DLC will release later this month on July 25th and include 25 various mini-challenges where players are tested to stay alive the longest, kill with certain weapons and other tasks. And, of course, all high scores will be tracked via online leaderboards. The new game mode will not come cheap though, as it's slated to release for an "ouch" inducing 800 Microsoft points. Then again, NG2 fanboys should be used to expensive DLC by now anyway.

Just as was promised a few months back, the Itagaki-less Team Ninja and Microsoft Game Studios have partnered to release three chunks of new Ninja Gaiden II downloadable content to the XBLM. Content that we've previously compared to Oblivion's legendarily overpriced horse armor, because for comparative purposes, that's what it is. The NGII DLC comes in the form of three costume packs that allows you to cloth Ryu in five color variations of either Biometal, Shadow Walker or Fiend Hayabusa duds (all viewable here). The rub, each costume variant will cost you 200 Microsoft points. Ouchy! Ouchy indeed.

• Biometal Hayabusa Costume Pack - 200
• Shadow Walker Hayabusa Costume Pack - 200
• Fiend Hayabusa Costume Pack - 200

[Photo via GameSpot forums]

This is the last day of our 3 day Microsoft Point extravaganza. Today we're really upping the ante. Today we have ten 1600 MS Point codes to giveaway and we're also throwing in Ninja Gaiden 2 for our grand prize winner! In honor of Ryu and his ninja skills, we thought it fitting to also giveaway his would-be nemesis, Kung Fu Panda, to our second prize winner (at least it has achievement points, right?). For your shot at one of the ten codes, Ninja Gaiden 2 and Kung Fu Panda, follow the instructions below.

• Leave a comment on this post telling us what you would buy with 1600 Microsoft Points. We don't care if it's actually on the Marketplace or not.
  
• Only one comment per person will be accepted. Posters of multiple comments will be disqualified. We'll accept entries until 6:00PM Eastern time today, June 20, 2008. You must be at least 18 years old to enter. This giveaway is open only to residents of the U.S. and Canada (excluding Quebec).
  
• Later today, we'll pick 10 winners via a random drawing
• One grand prize winner will receive a redemption code for 1600 Microsoft Points and a copy of Ninja Gaiden 2, worth a total of $80; one second place winner will receive a redemption code for 1600 Microsoft Points and a copy of Kung Fu Panda, worth a total of $60; and eight third place winners will each receive a redemption code for 1600 Microsoft Points, worth $20 each.
  
• Complete giveaway rules can be found here

Hopefully you've perfected your ninja skills playing the Ninja Gaiden II demo, because the ninja lessons you've learned will be tested come Friday when Xbox Live hosts a Weekend of Vengeance.

Celebrating the release of Ninja Gaiden II, this Weekend of Vengeance which runs from June 13th through June 15th will feature an Achieve and Win sweepstakes where a few NGII themed Xbox 360s will be up for grabs as well as three XBVM ninja movies (Ninja Hunter, A Life of Ninja and Ninja in the Deadly Trap) will be available for download. For free! Finally, if you haven't been keeping track, all seven Live exclusive Ask a Ninja episodes will be downloadable as well. This weekend, be vengeful, be a ninja and be deadly ...

After one too many broken promises, the previously Japanese exclusive bloody ninja demo goodness has finally made its way overseas and not a moment too soon. Today, U.S. and Canadian Xbox Live members are being treated to a new'ish Ninja Gaiden II demo that's available for download right this ninja-second via the XBLM. You'll also be excited to hear that the demo comes complete with the option to view Japanese or English subtitles! W00t! And, for those of you who'd like to view our take on what the demo has to offer, be sure to check out our Ninja Gaiden II demo impressions video while waiting for your 858MBs to download. Miss you Itagaki ...

The reviews for Ninja Gaiden II are in and thus far they paint the game as a solid action affair, though it doesn't come without its share of problems (and some . Mentioned in every review we scoured was the camera, which Eurogamer declares "awful - really, speechlessly awful." Still, while the reviews scrape together a pile of negatives -- poor plot, annoying camera, occasionally cheap bosses, steep difficulty -- they all agree that Ninja Gaiden II excels at what it does best, action.

• IGN (8.7/10): "It's challenging and rewarding. It looks great in motion and it feels great to know you're the one at the helm, directing this bloody dance. It has its foibles and doesn't feel as rich as the last Ninja Gaiden, but this sequel still offers up a great ride.
• 1UP (B-): "[The camera] drags along behind you like a wounded dog and wanders off on its own when you need it most. When fighting multiple enemies that are more than a sword's length away, it's a chore to constantly pull the right trigger (which forces the camera to face the same way as Ryu). When those enemies come armed with unblockable projectiles, it becomes damn annoying."
• Eurogamer (7/10): "NG2 doesn't even need a map to guide you around, because the section you're looking for is clearly signposted by the absence of blood, gore and limbless torsos, which are strewn and caked all over everywhere you've been."
  
• Team Xbox (9/10): "One thing you won't hear us complain about with Ninja Gaiden II is the difficulty. This is a tough game. Deal with it, or go play Devil May Cry."

A little bird told us Ninja Gaiden II was coming out today. Actually, that bird was more like a note attached to a shuriken with a flower on it, but the message was all the same. In honor of the series milestone and in memory of the now-former Ninja Gaiden designer Tomonobu Itagaki, we present you with a series retrospective we're affectionately dubbing A History of Violence (hey, we thought it was clever). Click here and be educated.

As we eagerly await our chance to experience the Ninja Gaiden II demo we just caught wind of a VERY juicy announcement coming from Mr. cool shades, Ninja Gaiden creator and Team Ninja member Tomonobu Itagaki. Simply stated, Itagaki is suing Tecmo and just announced plans to leave Team Ninja ... ZOMG!

According to 1UP who received an official letter from one of Itagaki's aids, Itagaki reveals that he is suing Tecmo for 145 million yen due to "unpaid completion bonuses" and because Itagaki claims that there were "unreasonable and disingenuous statements made towards me" by Tecmo's president Yoshimi Yasuda which caused "significant emotional distress." The letter goes on to say that the lawsuit is based on a "strong intent to question the social responsibility of Tecmo Co., Ltd." and that Itagaki will resign from Tecmo effective July 1st. Ending his letter, Itagaki addresses his fans, saying that Ninja Gaiden II "will be the last Ninja Gaiden I will create", mentions that he will never "be able to make Dead or Alive 5" and, for that, Itagaki regrets "the disappointment this will cause" those who have enjoyed his work.

Wow ... we're speechless. Itagaki leaves Team Ninja, leaves behind franchises that he helped bring to life and leaves both his fans and the industry, well ... speechless. We can only assume that Itagaki's battle with Tecmo will be hard fought and is going to get very, very ugly.

After playing a few hours of his pre-release copy of Ninja Gaiden II (come one Microsoft, where's our love?), Godfree of Gamertag Radio found a shiny Xbox Easter egg. Hidden behind some wood paneling is what looks to be the prototype for the original Xbox, the shiny metallic box that never came into existence and was instead replaced by the big black Xbox we've all come to know and love. And seeing that we were unsuccessful in our attempt to Google for an image of the original Xbox prototype, we'll award +5 fanboy points to anyone who can find and link to a legit shiny Xbox image. Go! Go! Go! Thanks for the image DBoyFlex. You get +5 points!

Don't ask us how, but we managed to lay our hands on the coveted Ninja Gaiden II demo today. Sure, we could have used it solely for selfish purposes. We could have kept it to ourselves to play over and over again (which, come to think of it, we already have). But no! Rather than hog the demo, we've encapsulated our impressions in a new episode of X3F TV. Check out our impressions in the video above (hint: Ninja Gaiden fans will be pleased).

[iTunes] Subscribe to X3F TV directly in iTunes.
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[M4V] Download the M4V directly.

A demo for the ultra-violent Ninja Gaiden II is due out today for the approximately 14 people in Japan who own an Xbox 360. Chris Paladino of Micorosft's Gamercore blog confirmed the news via NeoGAF earlier this morning, adding, "Looking for details on rest of world, haven't found anything other than 'soon,'" followed by a colon and a capital P.

Since March, the NGII page on Xbox.com had a message that said, "Get your hands on the free demo coming to Xbox LIVE Marketplace in May," but that was quietly removed sometime this week. Ninja Gaiden II will paint the wall with blood in North America and Europe next week.

[Via X3F]

After the demo news disappeared from the game's official site, many of us were worried that there would be no Ninja Gaiden 2 demo at all. Fortunately the demo does exist, and it should be online shortly. In Japan. Only.

Now we know that the 360 is no big success in the East, so why not just release the demo everywhere at once? No one knows. Posting on NeoGAF, Chris Paladino (Hi Chris!) of Gamerscore blog confirmed that the demo would be hitting in Japan, and that there would be a demo release in the other territories "soon". Whether the demo would have helped sales of the game pre-launch or not is going to be a moot point soon. Microsoft better get it online!

Those crazy cats at Gamerscore Blog are at it again. This time they've set their sights on the upcoming Ninja Gaiden II. It seems that Ryu Hayabusa, main character of the Ninja Gaiden series and all-around badass, has given up his ninja way of life in favor of a cushy job at Microsoft. At least, we think he has a job there. The trouble is that no one at the Gamerscore Blog office can seem to find him and believe him to be a lazy bum. Of course, we know Ryu better than that. Looks like they'll have to learn the hard way though. Check out the video to see just how dangerous it is to meddle with a ninja.

Good news fanboys! Ninja Gaiden II pre-order offers are super plentiful! Between Circuit City offering a free Legendary Map Pack download code, HMV giving away MS points and Best Buy giving out a ninja wall cling, the pre-order bonuses just can't get any better ... or so we thought.

Behold Walmart's Ninja Gaiden II pre-order goodie, it's a wall scroll! You read correctly, Walmart is giving anyone who is willing to slap down a pre-order on Ninja Gaiden II an exclusive free 22"x32", fabric ninja themed wall scroll. And as any ninja in training knows, if you decorate your gaming sanctuary with a ninja wall scroll, you gain a significant boost to your ninja-cred. Now go, be as sneaky as a sneaky sneaker and get your pre-order on.

[Via SlickDeals, Thanks Krichmar]