Ninja Gaiden 2 gameplay video on XBLM

Hot on the heels of the official announcement of Ninja Gaiden 2 comes the first gameplay demonstration video. Currently available on Xbox Live Marketplace, the video was taken during the Microsoft Tokyo Game Show press briefing last week. The gameplay demo shows off some of Ryu's new weapons, enemies, and magical abilities. Suffice it to say, the game looks hot. Throughout most of the demonstration, Ryu (the game's ninja-tastic protagonist) utilizes a new scythe weapon. Judging from the video, it seems the weapon's sole purpose is to dismember enemies completely. On more than one occasion, a hapless baddie is beheaded only to find his torso severed one second later. Overkill never looked so good. The demonstration also gives a brief glimpse of dual-wielded katanas and the claw weapons seen in the leaked screenshots. One particularly nice touch is that blood and gore accumulates on Ryu's weapons as he fights. once the fight is over, he shakes the blood off the weapon and puts it away. It's a neat idea, because it both looks cool and lets you know that you're in the clear. Oh, and did we mention that Ninja Gaiden 2 has real time weapon switching? Obvious Playstation 3 jokes aside, it's a nice upgrade.

Also seen in the demo is some new magic, which looks more or less like revamped versions of previous spells. Wind magic will now eviscerate opponents, causing limbs to fly in all directions. Fire magic is much the same as it ever was, both protecting Ryu with a ring of fire and launching a fireball towards one unlucky opponent. Speaking of opponents, they look even meaner than before. The demo features several different enemies including ninjas, soldiers, and some large, bat-like demons. The enemies are mean too, barely giving players even a moments rest. The soldiers seem particularly nasty, and aren't shy about slamming you in the ground and following it up with gut full of lead while you're down.

Finally, there is the new health system. More or less, you have one full bar of health, which ha a pink tone to it. When you take damage, the pink bar goes down but will slowly recharge over time. The catch is that part of the damage will stay, marked by a red portion on the health bar. The red portion increases as you take damage, so you can't fully heal until you reach a checkpoint. We were skeptical about the health system earlier, but the enemy encounters seem tough enough that even a recharging health bar isn't giving players an overwhelming advantage.

Overall, everything about Ninja Gaiden 2 is looking pretty damned good, and fans of the first should be excited. One more thing to be excited about, the demonstration shown at the TGS briefing looks like a perfect candidate for a downloadable demo. We wouldn't be surprised to see this exact demo pop up in the future (maybe even the near future). But enough talk! Watch the video already. If you're not interested in hearing Tomonobu Itagaki blather on about his game, the actual demonstration begins at 6:04.

[Thanks to everyone that sent this in]