Ninja Gaiden officially slicing DS

Following a spate of rumors sparked by a fuzzy Japanese magazine scan, Tecmo has officially announced that Ninja Gaiden is coming to the Nintendo DS. Titled Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword, the game will ship in North America this October, several months after Ninja Gaiden Sigma ships for the PlayStation 3.

Unlike most DS games, Dragon Sword will have players hold the handheld on its side, book-style a la Brain Age: Train Your Brain in Minutes a Day. Players will be able to fight off enemies by using the stylus in an "intuitive" combat system.

"The Nintendo DS will allow gamers to control Master Ninja Ryu Hayabusa slash for slash with the use of the DS stylus in a way never possible in previous iterations of the game," said Tecmo marketing manager Yoh Watanabe.

Players can also combat enemies via Ninpo spells. Magic attacks are cast using the DS's touch screen, with players using the stylus to draw characters corresponding to a particular spell.

GameSpot will have more details on Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword as they become available.