It’s been a rough couple weeks for Ninja Gaiden fans. First comes word that the demo for the hotly anticipated game won’t be available until after the game’s launch (North American gamers are still waiting to try it out). Then we find out that Tomonobu Itagaki, father of the franchise, is not only leaving Tecmo, but suing the company to boot. Take heart friends: we are bloodied but not beaten, as Ninja Gaiden II is now available for the Xbox 360. Go forth, and maim until your screen drips red with the blood of your foes!

The new game features new weapons, attacks, a regenerating health system, and enough bloodletting to allow you to swim in a sea of red goo by the middle of the second level. There’s also some sort of story about vengeance, honor, and saving the world, but since Ninja Gaiden storylines never make sense anyway, I wouldn’t sweat it if I were you.

To further sweeten the pot, Microsoft has announced the "Ninja Gaiden II Weekend of Vengance" from June 13-15. However, rather than swearing vengeance on your enemies, the weekend is more about a sweepstakes where entrants can win a custom Ninja Gaiden II Elite Xbox 360 console and a Ninja Gaiden II Swiss Army Victorinox console/laptop bag. Other prizes include Microsoft point cards, 120GB hard drives, 12 month Xbox Live Gold subscriptions, Ninja Gaiden II t-shirts, and more. Thankfully, you can enter the sweepstakes by simply entering online, rather than silently killing 1,000 foes with your katana.