The super-violent and bloody follow-up to Ninja Gaiden will be released in Europe for the Xbox 360 consoles on the 6th of June 2008, for an estimated retail price of £44.99. Ninja Gaiden II, in development by Team Ninja, will follow the European release of Ninja Gaiden: Dragon Sword for the Nintendo DS. It seems that, finally, you will be able to choose your favorite ninja action game and never worry again. At least until a third title is announced, but it's still early to dream about that.

In Ninja Gaiden II, the hero Ryu Hayabusa returns with the mission to save his clan and, meanwhile, since he still has time, prevent the destruction of the human race. This never seen before original story will follow Ryu from Tokyo to Japan and to the netherworld as universal themes of honor and vengeance are played out to create the dramatic, yet again original story.

But, of course, we're not going to play Ninja Gaiden II for the sake of the story, but because we love chopping virtual heads and fill the TV screens with virtual blood. We will become one with the Force... erm... we will become the ninja, actually, utilizing a "revolutionary" (the developers' word) combat system that demands skill and mastery of a massive arsenal of weapons: together with the new weapons to be brought to us, we'll also have enhanced versions of old favorites, while Obliteration Techniques will allow us to finish off our opponents with speed and fashion. And lots of blood in between all we've said before.

Also, in order to make it a bit easier for you, Team Ninja decided to implement an auto-healing system featuring semi-permanent damage restored at save points. And if you see the art behind all the blood splattering, the "Ninja Cinema" mode will allow you to record Ryu's exploits and share your greatest achievements via Xbox Live. From here to becoming a little Uwe Boll creating samurai movies might not be such a big step, so be extra careful!