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.
[Zune] Subscribe to the X3F TV directly (Zune Marketplace link coming soon).
[RSS] Add the X3F TV feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.
[M4V] Download the M4V directly.
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.
As the reviews slowly roll in and decisions are made about whether or not to purchase the game, Ninja Gaiden 2's demo has yet to see release to the Marketplace. For some time now, the game's xbox.com page had a message for its readers, telling them to: "Get your hands on the free demo coming to Xbox LIVE Marketplace in May."
While it is true that May isn't over until the end of the week, the xbox.com page no longer has the message promising the demo's arrival, and instead points readers to the Ask a Ninja videos. This could mean a host of things really: the demo has been held up, or it's not coming at all, or it's coming but the page has been changed early. In all honesty we hope for the latter, because after getting our hands on it we can't wait to do it again!
We have yet more glorious Ninja Gaiden II video love for you, kids. Today, it comes to us in the form of four new videos from the fine folks at GameVideos. What's that you say? You want to see more obliteration techniques? Done. You want to see some crazy pink demon things? Sure, we got that. Essence attacks? Yup. How about a big, mean King Kong mutha'ucka? Oh yeah, we've got one of those. Check out all the new hotness after the break.
Microsoft and Tecmo today announced that the whirlwind of blood and errant body parts known as Ninja Gaiden II has gone gold. In other words, the game is completely and totally finished and only awaits pressing and packaging before copies are whisked to retailers everywhere on June 3. The press release also announces that the remaining promotional Ask a Ninja episodes will arrive on Xbox Live Marketplace on May 27, June 3 and June 10, so keep an eye out for those. Finally, a documentary entitled The Way of the Warrior: Ninja Gaiden II, which will air on Cablevision IO Digital on May 30. The documentary will also be made available on XBLM starting June 10. The documentary focuses on "the history of the ninja and how it impacted the game" and purports to feature "members of Team Ninja, historical areas of Japan, real life ninjas and exclusive looks at behind-the-scenes footage."
Strangely absent in the press release is any mention of the playable demo that's supposed to drop sometime this month.
After a solid year for the Xbox 360 in 2007 many thought the system could never showcase the same amount of quality exclusives in a single year.
In the 2008 Microsoft Game Studios Yearbook, we've compiled a list of this year's graduating class with a detailed account of each title's current status and the stories surrounding them.
From heartbreaking cancellations, surprise feature announcements and expected sequels, the 2008 MGS Yearbook is filled with fun facts and information on your soon-to-be favorite titles. Also included in the yearbook are special joke awards given to each title that releases in 2008 that poke fun at the details most commonly argued about in the comments.
From Ninja Gaiden II to Alan Wake, the 2008 Microsoft Game Studios Yearbook will have something for everyone.
Being the rather "meh" Thursday that it is, we couldn't help but share with you a Japanese Ninja Gaiden II commercial that we just came across. A commercial that will make you raise an eyebrow in confusion due to the fact that it does not transcend the cultural void. Just watch the embedded video above and just try to tell yourself that you don't want to play a game that'll make you moan like a moose in heat, distort your face in pain or make you squeal like a sugar high eight year old. Oh yes, Japanese commercials sure are "interesting".
Posted May 20th 2008 3:45PM by Dustin Burg
Filed under: News
To prepare ninjas and wannabe ninjas across the globe for the release of Ninja Gaiden II, Xbox.com will be celebrating Ten Days of Ninja. Ninja-kick!
The Ten Days of Ninja Ninja Gaiden II countdown kicks off on Sunday, May 25th when, each day of the countdown, Xbox.com will post a ninja related event including a Family Game Night, GamerchiX game night and even a Game with Developers session on May 26th with the crew who brought us that other XBLA ninja game, N+. So, keep one eye on the Ten Days of Ninja website, keep your ninja-stars polished and increase your ninja skills before June sneaks up on us all ninja-like. And yes, we used the word "ninja" thirteen times in this post.
Not all previews of the soon-to-be releases Ninja Gaiden II have been glowing. According to impressions from Next Gen: Edge the game is cursed with a major design flaw, a bad camera.
"This isn't a problem with it getting caught on a corner occasionally, nor the odd confusing switch of perspective. It is a constant problem: obscuring foes, breaking up combos, losing track of Ryu, and flicking back and forth between positions."
While this isn't the first preview we've read citing the camera as an issue, previous impressions came from older builds of the game, however the most recent build shown at press events was the final code. So are we in for heartbreak when Ninja Gaiden II drops next month?
While the preview does praise Ninja Gaiden II for being one of the best 3D fighting engines ever made, they wonder how Team Ninja got the basic design of camera control utterly wrong. Remembering the original Ninja Gaiden had camera issues, is this something you'll be able to deal with or did this just break the deal for you and cancel that Ninja Gaiden II pre-order?
Love 'em or hate 'em, it's impossible to say that UK retailer HMV doesn't offer some good gaming deals. Their recent GTAIV offer is proof of that. So, it should be no surprise that HMV is offering up a pretty convincing Microsoft points bribe to customers who are interested in Ninja Gaiden II this June. A 1000 Microsoft point bribe. That's right, anyone who ends up fulfilling their Ninja Gaiden II fix at HMV will score a redemption code for 1000 free MS points to use however they choose. And get free shipping too. Love 'em or hate 'em ... 1000 free points is a 1000 free points.
If you're not familiar with the Ask a Ninja podcast, you really should be. As the title implies, the premise is fairly simple: ask the ninja a question, and the ninja answers it. It is the delivery of the answers that makes the podcast so great though. In a genius bit of marketing, someone at Microsoft decided to team up with Ask a Ninja to produces some special episodes of the podcast sponsored by Ninja Gaiden II. The first two episodes are available now on Xbox Live Marketplace, so feel free to download them at your convenience. For even greater convenience, you can watch them right now, as we've taken the liberty of embedding them in this post (how we did this shall remain secret, though we will admit that Ninpo was involved). Find the second episode after the break.
Sitting down with Team Ninja head (and snappy dresser) Tomonobu Itagaki, Joystiq (along with some people who aren't from Joystiq) got to dig up some info regarding Ninja Gaiden II. For example, gamers looking for something a little easier than the first game are in luck. While the Ninja Dog mode found in Ninja Gaiden Black essentially went out of its way to make fun of lesser players for choosing an easier difficulty, Ninja Gaiden II's Path of the Acolyte mode will do no such thing. Not that we had to worry about that. No, that fact is much more important for certain Joystiq bloggers (who shall remain nameless). Head over to Joystiq for the full interview.
In our continuing effort to bring you fresh and interesting content, X3F presents Would You Rather ... a weekly feature that asks you the hard questions. The point? If you had to choose one or the other, which would you go for?
This week in WUR we're taking a different approach. With so many demos playable at Mircosoft's press event for upcoming Xbox 360 titles, we wanted to know which one you craved the most.
If Microsoft was to release only one demo today for you to play, which one would it be? Remember, this list only includes items that were playable at Microsoft's San Fransisco event so Gears of War 2 and Fable 2 aren't options. While Ninja Gaiden 2 might be the favorite, we wonder who out there is anticipating more hot Piñata action.
Feel free to share the reasons for your vote in the comments. We'll share the results of the poll during the next edition of Would You Rather ... which hits X3F every Wednesday.
Last weeks WUR results can be find after the jump ... take a look!
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.
