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This week’s Zero Punctuation has Yahtzee Croshaw slashing through the stew of blood and boobs that is Ninja Gaiden 2. As usual, he’s bringing his regular wit and humor to essentially ripping the game apart. Let’s face it: when you’ve got a game about a ninja teaming up with a scantily-clad CIA agent to fight more ninja that are summoning demons, there’s plenty to make fun of. Out of all of it though, it seems like he actually likes the game, which is kind of a rarity.

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Those who downloaded the the mission pack DLC for Ninja Gaiden 2 last Friday likely ran into a number of things they weren’t counting on their $10 to provide them with — namely, achievement problems and freezes.

The DLC was taken off the Marketplace following reports that it was causing issues for those who purchased it. It’s back up on the Marketplace although apparently the freezing issue has yet to be resolved, which makes me wonder why they would release it back onto the Marketplace.

From Gamerscore Blog:

I know many of you have been waiting patiently for an update to the two problems experienced with the game itself and with the achievement weirdness. The Mission Mode pack is now back up on Marketplace.They are going to need a little more time to figure out the freezing issue.

For those who downloaded the pack when it was available last week but didn’t unlock achievements before the fix was posted, you should be good to go. For those who ran into problems with unlocking achievements, we’ve seen that many have had luck fixing things by either clearing the cache or recovering their gamertag. This removes the first update and allows the fixed one to be downloaded instead. (Please note that by clearing the cache, you will be prompted to update any game that has receieved updates in the past. Not really such a bad thing - at least everything will be up to date.)

The few times I’ve had to deal with recovering gamertags has been nothing short of hellacious, so if you’re looking for a fix, I’d highly recommend trying to clear your cache before resorting to it.

It took much longer than some would have liked, but the first wave of Greatest Hits game for PlayStation 3 have finally arrived. Starting today, this line of budget games can be picked up in extremely ugly red boxes for the price of $30, which puts it $10 higher than the PS2’s Greatest Hits, but also $10 less than where Microsoft tends to discount its first-party 360 titles.

The nine games are Warhawk, Motorstorm, Resistance: Fall of Man, Call of Duty 3, Fight Night Round 3, Need for Speed Carbon, Rainbow Six Vegas, Assassin’s Creed, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and Ninja Gaiden Sigma. Not a half-bad assortment, but which ones are worth buying?

PS3 Fanboy has assembled a buyer’s guide for the nine titles, giving you a quick rundown on what to expect from each game and which ones are worth buying. Unsurprisingly, Warhawk and Oblivion get a thumbs up, while Motorstorm should be avoided with the sequel, Pacific Rift, not that far off.

They do however refer to Ninja Gaiden Sigma as “THE definitive NG experience,” something that I think Itagaki-san would disagree with.

Nevermind all that Tecmo and Itagaki soap opera nonsense — there’s more Ninja Gaiden 2 to be enjoyed, even if you’ve already completed the game, collected all the crystal skulls, and unlocked all of the achievements.

A new mission pack has been released today for 800 Microsoft points ($10). There are 24 new missions in total, split up into two different mission sets: Karma and Survival. In Karma, you’re trying to get the highest score possible, while Survival has you fend off as many enemies as possible with a single weapon. You’ll get 10 new achievements along with the missions for those of you who are infatuated with your gamerscore.

800 points seems like a lot for something that could very well have been released as free DLC, so I don’t think I’ll be buying this until I feel like I’ve truly gotten my money’s worth out of NG2.

More drama has unfolded in the Itagaki/Tecmo suit.

Supposedly, according to various sources (notably Kotaku) Itagaki was fired on June 18th and did not quit as he has alleged. According to Tecmo, he was fired just a few weeks after he announced he would be leaving and suing the company- so either way you look at it, he was out the door.

Itagaki is suing Tecmo over “special incentives” for Dead or Alive 4 that he was never paid. According to Tomonobu Itagaki, he was to receive 6.66% of profits generated from the sale of the game, but Tecmo president Yasuda says that those incentives were never approved. Itagaki was also supposed to receive his summer bonus and yearly incentives, which he left the company without being paid.

Now comes evidence presented by Ninja Gaiden II producer Yoshifuru Okamoto, which is an actual tape recording of Yasuda calling Itagaki a “money grubber” and saying that Itagaki was owed incentive money after all - which was in reality approved by the Tecmo board despite his claims to the contrary.

Okamoto recorded the conversation with Yasuda because he was continually harassed by him, was called  names and and told he had no class. Great way to motivate your employees there Yasuda.

Itagaki has since decided to increase his claim from 148,000,000 yen to 164,000,095 yen thanks to that wonderful bit of evidence produced by Okamoto (providing it holds up in court, which Japanese courts may differ greatly from ours).

You know, Itagaki may rub people the wrong way sometimes, and while I personally detest people who blow their own horn constantly, it is no matter. If he is owed the money, just pay the guy already.

Thanks: CVG [via Kotaku]

We just got the E3 trailer in today for the new DS game Prince of Persia: The Fallen King.

To be honest with you, when I heard that they were making a DS version of PoP I was not very interested in the game, but I have to say that after watching the trailer it does look like it will be pretty fun. Of course, I felt the same way when I first heard about a Ninja Gaiden game for the DS and ended up loving it.

Prince of Perisa: The Fallen King is expected to hit stores in November.

As if the hardware numbers didn’t clue you, Metal Gear Solid 4 dominated the software charts for last month here in the United States. The game sold 774,600 units, but if you combine that number with how many Metal Gear Solid 4 PS3 bundles were sold (which include a copy of the game), the NPD estimates that about a million copies of MGS4 were sold last month. I guess people really wanted to know whether or not Snake and Otacon would have that dreamy ending they’ve been wanting since the end of the original Metal Gear Solid.

There are a few other easy-to-predict things in the top ten, such as Guitar Hero On Tour selling quite a few copies, as did Wii Fit and Wii Play. Battlefield: Bad Company (on 360) and Ninja Gaiden 2 both had strong sales, as did Mario Kart Wii.

But the major surprise — aside from GTA IV’s disappearance — is just how well Lego Indiana Jones sold. With the new movie being released, it was assured a good number of sales, but the Wii, PS2 and DS versions of the game combined for 822,600 copies sold, or in other words, straight cash money.

Kris Pigna over at 1UP made a good point regarding On Tour, suggesting that the game’s sales may have been much higher if the DS bundles were included in the figures. It’s worth keeping in mind, but I’m sure Activision is happy with selling 400k copies of a game that will likely have legs.

June 2008 Software Sales

1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (PS3) — 774,600 (Roughly 1 million including bundles)
2. Guitar Hero On Tour (DS) — 422,300
3. Ninja Gaiden II (Xbox 360) — 372,700
4. Wii Fit (Wii) — 372,700
5. Wii Play (Wii) - 359,100
6. Battlefield: Bad Company (Xbox 360) — 346,800
7. Mario Kart Wii (Wii) — 322,400
8. LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventure (Wii) — 294,500
9. LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventure (DS) — 267,800
10. LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventure (PS2) — 260,300

Downloadable content for Ninja Gaiden II has been revealed and will be released via XBL on July 25 and will cost you 800 MS Points

Available for the Xbox 360, the DLC is basically a Mission Mode and includes 25 self-contained high-score and survival stages. Some tutorial guides showing the locations of the crystal skulls will also hit XBL sometime around July 11th - which is tomorrow in case you do not own a calender or are date confused like I am.

Details:

Mission Mode, a brand-new gameplay expansion for Ninja Gaiden II. In this all new game mode, challenge your skills in self-contained missions featuring trials and tribulations not found in the standard story mode. Karma Attack missions task you with obtaining the highest score, while Survival missions give you a single weapon to fight off as many enemies as possible. Take your high scores online with Xbox LIVE and compete with players around the world on the mission leaderboards.

Skull Videos

30 videos that reveal the locations of hidden in-game skulls. Will split up into 3 packs and each contains 10 videos and they are free.

• Skull Video #1: This video shows the location of the first third of the skulls.

• Skull Video #2: This video shows the location of the middle third of the skulls.

• Skull Video #3: This video shows the location of the last third of the skulls.

Thanks: Shacknews

Channel Flip has a video review of Ninja Gaiden II up for your viewing pleasure. The host Katharine will lead you through the pros and cons of the game illustrating points with game footage from the Xbox 360.

Ninja Gaiden is notoriously difficult and gory. Fans of the series should not be disappointed. Here’s Katharine’s take on Team Ninja’s final Ninja Gaiden title under Itagaki.

via Channel Flip

And the Tecmo vs. Itagaki drama just keeps on rolling. Tecmo recently filed for a gag order in the Tokyo District Court against Tomonobu Itagaki, former employee, creator of Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden, and the man leading a new class-action suit against the company by other employees. The order prohibits Itagaki from:

• Disclosing or leaking information regarding Tecmo’s game software, sales, development or any other company secrets
• Using newspapers, magazines and the internet to criticize company software and company employees
• Obstructing the company’s business through slanderous remarks to third parties
• Do not accept interviews regarding Tecmo or talk to the press about the company

Seems a little for this though, since Itagaki’s already said just about everything he wanted to say already. I have a feeling this is going to get real ugly before it gets resolved though.

Via Kotaku

If you thought Tomonobu Itagaki’s motives for leaving Team Ninja and suing Tecmo were selfish, prepare to be proven wrong — 1UP is reporting that upwards of three dozen key members of Team Ninja’s staff will be following suit by leaving Team Ninja and filing a class-action lawsuit against Tecmo for unpaid bonuses for completed games.

While Tecmo has fired back, stating, “Tecmo would like to assure its loyal fans that Team Ninja, known for its top-selling and critically acclaimed Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive franchises, is intact and, as a matter of fact, has several new projects already underway,” one has to wonder just how many people are left that truly constitute the development group known as ‘Team Ninja.’ Journey was never the same after Steve Perry left, but imagine what it’d be like without the whole band. Yes, Tecmo still owns the IPs and can freely make all the Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive games/ports it wants to, with or without Team Ninja (Dimps, we’re looking at you), but what will these games be without the people who made them hits?

That’s well put; I’d say most people realize that not every Call of Duty game is the same with Treyarch and Infinity Ward trading off releases. 1UP also points out that Tecmo faces further complications with this matter — “in Japan, any lawsuit filed against a publicly-traded company must be immediately reported to its shareholders on the same business day.” And that’s not something Tecmo did, as Itagaki filed his complaint on May 14, yet Tecmo didn’t fill in shareholders until as late as June 2.

As if the loss of Itagaki wasn’t bad enough, things are looking rather grim in the wake of Ninja Gaiden 2’s release.

Those of you who are looking for a reason to tear yourselves away from MGS4, GTA IV or Ninja Gaiden II, some of the offerings headed your way next week should give you plenty of excuses.

The following games are scheduled to be released:

June 16

• 1701 A.D. Gold Edition (PC)

June 17

• Arkanoid DS (Nintendo DS)
• Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard (Nintendo DS)
• Imagine Rock Star (Nintendo DS)
• Petz Dogz Fashion (Nintendo DS)
• Secret Agent Clank (PSP)
• Space Invaders Extreme (PSP)
• Space Invaders Extreme (Nintendo DS)
• Spore Creature Creator Complete (PC)
• Tamagotchi Connection Corner Shop 3 (Nintendo DS)
• Wacky Races: Crash and Dash (Wii)

All release dates are subject to availability, so some may be in stores on the day listed, the day before, or the day after so check with wherever you purchase your games because shipping times vary.

If you were somehow clinging to the hope that Tomonobu Itagaki might return to Team Ninja, I think we’re pretty much past the point of no return between the lawsuit against Tecmo and their subsequent response. But, that doesn’t mean we have to enjoy any of Itagaki’s games or appreciate his work any less. With that in mind, Xbox 360 Fanboy put together a look back at his body of work — from the original Dead or Alive to the present day.

Page 11 is my personal favorite, as it recounts some of Itagaki’s most memorable quotes. Itagaki on Tekken: “I no longer can figure out what the hell they’re trying to do with the numbering, and I don’t know which one is which. I don’t know what they’re trying to do with all of these spin-offs, so this includes Nina: Death by Degrees as well. I don’t think it even needs saying, but people should stay away from Tekken. Nothing left to say. I just don’t want them to disappoint me any more. It’s so annoying. Please don’t annoy me any more.”

He’s also taken shots at Devil May Cry 4 and Heavenly Sword, both of which you’ll find in the story. But don’t forget the comments he made about Ninja Gaiden Sigma recently, when he claimed the game was “no good.”

As a fan of Itagaki’s, I’m upset to see him go, but hopefully we’ll see him do something radically different now that he’ll be working elsewhere.

Once again, Friday is bringing us a new episode of The 1UP Show, kicking off a brand new season for the series. This week, the gang takes on a barrage of top-tier releases with Ninja Gaiden II, Soul Calibur IV, and Penny Arcade Adventures. Naturally, Soul Calibur IV is the one that elicits the most excitement (before it’s all dashed against the rocks at first, that is). Apparently, some new gameplay elements are making this a very different Soul Calibur than past games. There’s also a heavy debate over whether Ninja Gaiden II’s non-revolutionary feel is due to the game’s difficulty or just poor design choices. Finally, there’s a discussion over the new Penny Arcade game, a generally good, but slightly flawed, title.

As always, you can download the new show using one of the links below:

• QT M4V (Podcast)
• WMV 640×360
• QT 640×360

June is shaping up to be a pretty decent month in the way of gaming releases. Already we have been handed Kung Fu Panda, LEGO Indiana Jones, Ninja Gaiden II, The Bourne Conspiracy, The Incredible Hulk, and Summon Nights: Twin Age. But what else does the month leading into Summer hold for us?Plenty, and I have next week’s releases listed for you right here:

June 9

• Don King Presents: Prize Fighter - Xbox 360

June 10

• Deadliest Catch: Alaskan Storm - PC, Xbox 360
• Dragon Ball Z: Burst Limit - PS3, Xbox 360
• EVE Online: Empires Age (Expansion) - PC
• Jake Hunter: Detective Chronicles - Nintendo DS
• Looney Toons: Cartoon Conductor - Nintendo DS
• My Fashion Studio- Nintendo DS
• NASCAR 09 - PS2, PS3,Xbox 360

June 12

• Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Regular and Limited Edition) - PS3

All release dates are subject to availability, so some may be in stores on the day listed, the day before, or the day after so check with wherever you purchase your games because shipping times vary.

After a whole lot of uninteresting game demos lately, it’s nice to see a couple games show up on Xbox Live that I’m actually interested in. Right now there are demos available for both Civilization Revolution and Battlefield: Bad Company, two games that people might actually be curious about. Civilization Revolution is a new installment in the popular Sid Meier RTS franchise that was built for consoles from the ground up, while Battlefield: Bad Company is new single-player focused edition to the popular FPS franchise. Again though, where the hell is the North American release of the Ninja Gaiden 2 demo? Yeah, I know the full game has been released, but I’m still on the fence about that one.

Via Major Nelson

Gamers looking for a console RTS fix (all two of you) can look forward to test driving a new demo for Civilization Revolution on the Xbox 360 and PS3 tomorrow. Unlike other console strategy games though, this one has been built for consoles from the ground up. The developers are promising that the game will play perfectly fine with a controller, but we’ve heard that before. Guess we’ll have to find out tomorrow if the game is any good. Now…where’s the US demo for Ninja Gaiden 2?

Via GameStooge

Ninja Gaiden II was released today and already an easter egg has been revealed in the game.  As you see in the picture above, a big ‘X’ can be found in one of the levels in the game.  What is it?  What does it do?  Where can I find such an awesome easter egg?  All of these questions can be answered after the break.  Those of you who are worried about spoilers can rest assure I won’t ruin anything for you with my explaination.

Read the full article

Microsoft and TECMO/Team NINJA announced today that Ninja Gaiden II is now shipping to retailers throughout North America.Featuring a new and improved game engine, developed from the ground up exclusively for Xbox 360, in Ninja Gaiden II gamers must guide Ryu Hayabusa on a mission to avenge his clan and prevent the destruction of the human race. Armed with an assortment of ninja weaponry, players must help Ryu skillfully maneuver through a world fraught with peril. An all new auto-health regeneration system has been introduced, along with exciting new levels, adventures, enemies and thrilling combat. The newly added “Ninja Cinema” feature will allow gamers to record Ryu’s combat exploits as movie clips on their Xbox 360 and the ability to upload their clips to Xbox LIVE for everyone to download and view.

Fans are also encouraged to participate in the “Ninja Gaiden II, Weekend of Vengeance” from June 13-15. There will be an Achieve & Win sweepstakes where one lucky fan will win a Ninja Gaiden II Custom Elite Xbox 360 Console and a Ninja Gaiden II Swiss Army Victorinox console/laptop bag. Other prizes include 1600 Microsoft Point Cards, Xbox 360 120GB hard drives, 12-month Xbox LIVE Gold Subscriptions, Ninja Gaiden II T-shirts and much more.

Gold members must register and then play Ninja Gaiden II during the June 13-15 Vengeance Weekend. Also that weekend, to help celebrate ninjas, Gold members can watch free classic ninja movies, including “Ninja Hunter,” “A Life of Ninja” and “Ninja in the Deadly Trap.”

Finally, all seven hilarious Ask A Ninja episodes and the hour-long documentary “Way of the Warrior: Ninja Gaiden II” will also be available as free downloads to all Xbox LIVE subscribers, Silver and Gold.

Via: Press Release

When Tomonobu Itagaki announced last month that Ninja Gaiden II would be his “swan song” for the series, may speculated that the infamous mastermind behind the series was talking just to hear himself as usual and did not take much stock his words. Yesterday though, he announced that he was leaving Team Ninja which seemed to give credence to his previous statement.

Today however, we have learned that not only is he in fact leaving Team Ninja, but he is suing Tecmo for unpaid completion bonuses. Here is the fully monty via Itagaki’s own mouth:

“I, Tomonobu Itagaki, hereby announce that on the 14th of May 2008 I filed a complaint in the Tokyo District Court against Tecmo Co., Ltd. for unpaid completion bonuses, and against the President of Tecmo, Yoshimi Yasuda, for such unlawful acts as unreasonable and disingenuous statements made towards me, claiming damages in total of 148 million yen. I also announce that this complaint was delivered to the defendants on May 22nd of the same year.

In addition, I hereby announce that I have today submitted a letter of resignation to Tecmo Co., Ltd. stating that I will resign as of the 1st of July, 2008.

Before the start of development on DEAD OR ALIVE 4, Tecmo Co., Ltd. had agreed to pay a completion bonus to me for this Xbox 360 title, which I produced. However, when the time came for the actual payment, Tecmo Co., Ltd. went against its previous agreement and refused payment. President Yoshimi Yasuda chose not only to violate this agreement, but also turned defiant, telling me ?if you are dissatisfied with the decision not to pay the bonuses, either quit the company or sue it.? In addition, he made demeaning remarks about me to my subordinates and colleagues, causing me significant emotional distress and worsening my personal relationships and work environment. Thus, I have no choice but to resign from Tecmo Co., Ltd.

The conduct of Tecmo Co., Ltd. and its president Yoshimi Yasuda towards me has been unbefitting of a publicly-listed company.

I have filed this lawsuit with a strong intent to question the social responsibility of Tecmo Co., Ltd. and its President Yoshimi Yasuda, as well as condemning them for their unjust acts. Today, in addition to announcing the reasons for this lawsuit, I make clear my reasons for resigning.

To All Game Fans,

I truly feel sorry to all the fans of the games I have made. NINJA GAIDEN 2, which will launch on the 3rd of June will be the last NINJA GAIDEN I will create. I will also never be able to make DEAD OR ALIVE 5. I regret the circumstances that have forced me to leave Tecmo, where I had worked for so many years, and I regret the disappointment this will cause my fans.

However, I can no longer continue to work with President Yoshimi Yasuda, a man who chooses not to honor promises even when he is able to do so.

I truly hope that nothing like this happens again in the future.

Tecmo Co., Ltd. Creative Officer
Leader, Team NINJA

Tomonobu Itagaki”

There ya have it - straight from the horse’s mouth. Much speculation as to where he is headed next is expanding across the internet like John Goodman’s waist line, but as soon as something more is announced we will be sure to inform you.

Meanwhile, the demo for Ninja Gaiden II should be up on XBL later on as it is already available in Europe - so if you are a Ninja Gaiden fan you better get your fix now because this is the last time you will get to walk in Ryu’s stealthy footsteps.

Via: 1UP