Just a quick reminder, as we mentioned, July 15 will see the release of 25 new mission for Ninja Gaiden II. Apparently it is equivalent to a whole new campaign mode. The download will cost 800 MS points.

MS has plans to release a new downloadable mode for Ninja Gaiden 2 on July 25, it seems. All the turmoil that is currently affecting Tecmo apparently will not be hurting the add on content at all, which is a great thing to hear. The mode is a mission mode that contains 25 mini-challenge stages in which gamers strive for high scores. It will be a mix of things like using different weapons in different ways, or staying alive as long as possible, etc. Sounds great for those who have finished the game already.

According to 1UP, as many as 36 additional members of Team Ninja may be leaving Tecmo along with Tomonobu Itagaki. It is rumored that they are ready to file suit and leave the company over unpaid bonuses.These lawsuits, as we told you, target Tecmo president Yoshimi Yasuda. It also seems Team Ninja is lost with its illustrious leader. More info when we have it, this one is not over by a long shot.

The demo many of you have been waiting for, and have even tried to grab from Japan, is finally available on the Xbox Live Marketplace. The Ninj Gaiden 2 demo weighs in at only 858mb, so grab it now, before the rush.

Even though major Nelson promised us the Ninja Gaiden II demo today at 2pm PST, it seems the demo will not be on the marketplace until after tomorrow's release, June 5th to be precise. Oh well, now you have to decide before you try.

Yes, the 800mb or so Ninja Gaiden 2 demo is out on the Japanese Xbox Live marketplace, but unless you live in Japan, you can forget about getting it. If you try to download the demo from outside the Japan region, even with a Gold account, you get a message that says "this item is not available from your current location." Smarty pants MS locked everyone out. We will just have to wait, it seems! You can see the error message at the link.

CVG spoke with the legendary (and eccentric) Tomonobu Itagaki (DOA, Ninja Gaiden), about all things Tecmo. Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden are coming full circle, and he claims he has reached a crossroads in his career. Sad news that both DOA and NG will not see sequels for a while, but hopefully his next project will be just as good. Deciding what to do next is what he is all about now. Oh, and, Ninja Gaiden II will never hit the PS3, apparently.

Does that mean we'll never see NGII on PS3?

Itagaki: No because it's a 360 exclusive.

Looks like the new Ninja Gaiden isn't impressing people across the board like number one did. NextGen posted their preview of the sequel, and they had some complaints. Firstly, the camera seems to be a big issue this time around. Also, they claim that the enemy AI is flawed as well. Check it out.

As you can see below, Ninja Gaiden 2 is coming along very nicely. The game looks great, but then again, the original NG looks absolutely amazing, so this sequel will only look better to a degree.

Ninja Gaiden 2 will be hitting retail shelves in Europe on June 6, 2008, just three days after the US release. As you know, there will be a demo on the marketplace next month, according Tecmo. Click read more for the full info.

PRESS RELEASE

LONDON - 24th April 2008 – Microsoft today announced the release date of the highly anticipated Ninja Gaiden II, designed by revolutionary game designer Tomonobu Itagaki of Team Ninja. Exclusive to Xbox 360™, Ninja Gaiden II will be available across Europe from 6th June for an estimated retail price of £44.99.