As Microsoft is set to announce at a pre-Tokyo Game Show press event shortly, Ninja Gaiden 2 is real, heading to Xbox 360, and -- in an unusual twist -- being published by Microsoft itself, rather than Tecmo. While still under development by Tecmo's Team Ninja, the publisher shift puts it next to games like Halo 3 and Mass Effect as part of Microsoft's first-party lineup.
Apart from potential adjustments in how the game's marketing plays out, it doesn't seem this change will have much impact on the game. Anyone worried that Microsoft would want to censor the series needs to do little more than look at the first screenshots released for the game to relax -- blood flows, splashes, and flies more than in pretty much any other game to date. In fact, at first glace, we'd forgive you for thinking the big new thing in Ninja Gaiden 2 is blood (or rather, the amount of it).
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