After a quiet gaming release week, we're going to have a jolly good time decapitating enemies and chopping off limbs in the release of Team Ninja's Ninja Gaiden 2. Some of you golfers might want to take a swing at the handheld Hot Shots 2 for the PSP, while adventure fans will also have a jolly great time smashing enemies up in The Incredible Hulk (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP) or make their own platform hero in Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP, PC). Check out the entire list in the full article.

 

Heads up, Wii owners in Europe - it's that time of the week again when Nintendo sends over some delicious retro action via the Virtual Console feature of your motion-sensing consoles. Slap on your rose-tinted glasses as you get a dose of awesome ninja action, with a little bit of professional ball play on the side.

First up is the North American version of Ninja Gaiden, originally published on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Step into Ryu Hayabusa's sandals as he cuts a bloody swath across the USA in search of his missing father. Be forewarned, this is a game that will challenge the hardness of your core as a gamer, all the while wowing you over with its famed cinematic style. Ninja Gaiden is available for 600 Wii Points.

Next is the 1985 Japanese Famicom title Ninja JaJaMaru-Kun. The odds are heavily piled against you in this quirky little platformer that has you battling your way to the top across multiple stages, taking out hordes of enemies with your trusty ninja stars. It's up to you to help the determined little ninja save Princess Sakura from the evil Lord Namazu - or else, all hope is lost! Ninja JaJaMaru-Kun is yours for only 600 Wii Points.

Finally, cool down and settle your nerves with a friendly game of baseball - against the world's most brutal teams ever in World Class Baseball. Plow through the competition to face off against the legendary Turbo Tigers, or even play head-to-head if you've got a friend handy. World Class Baseball will run you for 600 Wii Points.

What a haul for Europe Wii owners! Thank goodness it's Ninja Week!

For those of us who couldn't get enough of Tecmo's Super Swing Golf PANGYA for the Nintendo Wii, here's some very, very good news courtesy of the people over at JeuxFrance: a scan of Famitsu that reveals the existence of a SECOND game titled Pangya Second Shot. The scan also reveals two of the new unlockable costumes - namely those of the two main characters of Ninja Gaiden Sigma, Ryu Hayabusa and Rachel. Awesome.

Looking at the scan, the outfits themselves are looking to be pretty faithful to the original. Ryu has the Dragon Blade firmly strapped to his back, Rachel has that gold sickle thing she probably uses to bash people's heads in (probably golf balls, too, but that's just wishful thinking).

Information gleaned from the scan also tells us that the game is 60% complete - that's just 40% more to wait patiently for, if we want another healthy dose of cute golfing action. Updates as we get them!

Team Ninja recently mentioned that it will try to silence the PlayStation 3 critics with the help of real-life Rachel video game title Ninja Gaiden Sigma. The Nintendo Wii, to be quite frank, also has a lot of critics (ranging from weak graphics to lack of hard-hitting games).

When asked if Team Ninja is also willing to silence them Wii haters, producer and director Yosuke Hayashi gave a rather ninja-esque answer. Gaming site Pro-G was at the recent Ninja Gaiden Sigma event in London and met up with Hayashi.

The exact question was if the title is going to make an outing on the Wii. Just imagining playing as Ryu Hayabusa, or Rachel for that matter, using the Wiimote sends shivers down our spine. However, Hayashi's answer was quite vague:

We would make something for the Wii if we came up with something unique that would only work on the Wii. There are several groups within Team Ninja. The PS3 group, the Xbox 360 group, and there are Wii fans in Team Ninja.

Pro-G mentioned that Hayashi told them something more but the site didn't divulge it. The only Ninja Gaiden action Wii fans can have for now are the ones coming from the Virtual Console.

Three more games are headed for the Wii Shop Channel this week. First off is Pac-Man. Since pretty much everyone knows what this classic NES game's all about, we'll just give the skinny on the cost. Pac-Man can be downloaded for 500 Wii Points and supports up to two players.

Next up, the original Ninja Gaiden. This NES title is for one player and costs 500 Wii Points. Players take on the role of Ryu Hayabusa, who travels to America to seek vengeance for his father's death. There are 14 challenging side-scrolling levels to get through using the deadly Dragon Sword, ninja skills and Ninpou.

Finally, we have Ninja Spirit. At 600 Wii Points, this two-player side-scrolling TurboGrafx 16 title is the most expensive game in this bunch. Again, ninjas take the spotlight in this title, with players taking the role of Moonlight who, coincidentally, also wants to avenge his father's death. Players can also choose between the original Arcade Mode and PC-Engine Mode, which includes a life gauge.

All three games will go live Monday at 9 a.m. Pacific Time.

It seems like the classic title NES Ninja Gaiden will soon be appearing on the Nintendo Wii's Virtual Console. This is the precursor to all those Ninja Gaiden titles the younger generation has been playing on their newfangled next gen consoles. With some luck we could get the whole original trilogy released on the VC in the future.

Aside from some side-scrolling Ryu Hayabusa action, the ESRB also lists Konami's Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game as another classic title that's headed for the VC. This title is the NES port of the original arcade game released by Konami in 1989. Oh, and here's a factoid: this game was released as Teenage Mutant Hero Turtles in the UK due to some censorship issues involving the word "ninja."

We'll bring you more news on these two classic titles as more details surface.

According to Next Generation, the Nielsen Media Research will announce plans to add videogame metrics to its line-up of entertainment offerings sometime in mid-2007.

The service, named Nielsen Gameplay Metrics, will establish new metrics for the buying and selling of advertising in videogames. The data from the service will be provided to subscribers on a weekly basis and will show gamers' activities across other media platforms like TV and the Internet. Why does George Orwell's 1984 come to mind?

Anyway, the service is set to provide advertisers, agencies, hardware manufacturers, and game developers demographic data for negotiating for in-game and around-game advertising. It's reported that the new data will allow the videogame industry to develop an "advertising business model" to offset the steep development costs of new titles for next-generation consoles.

Now the around-game advertising we can handle. We really like the Coca-cola advert that was GTA based. We also like all product ads that use WoW characters. It's just that we can't seem to wrap our heads around the possibility of seeing Ryu Hayabusa (in the game mind you, not on a TV ad) chug down a Pepsi before he (luckily) gets to fight those scantily clad Ninjas.

Now more on the creepy 1984-ness of all of this. They say that the metrics will give advertisers a greater level of precision for targeting the digital consumer. The companies will get access to comprehensive analysis on how video game play affects or complements the use of other electronic media. For example, the data will show what television programs gamers watch when they're not playing games.

It just feels wrong for all the wrong reasons. We know that this has been common practice already for TV land, but for gaming? Isn't it already obvious what shows and genres and things gamers really like? It's like having someone with the omniscience of Big Brother watch hamsters turn a hamster wheel.

Anyway, as weirded out about this as some of us here in QJ are, we can see the good things that can come from this development. For one thing we'll see more media that's tailor made for us gamers. That's always a good thing right?

Master Chief vs Samus Aran

Why the fight?

They're both genetically altered superhu[wo]man soldiers possessed of powerful suits of battle armor to help bring on the pain. Someone's got to give, come on in and find out who.

Follow the full match after the jump!

Ryu vs Liu Kang

The second match in our ongoing series, "The Great Videogame Versus", pits the might of the foremost characters in two of the most influential fighting games against each other. We hope you'll join us in finding out who emerges victorious!

Read the full article after the jump!