Shippin' Out June 2-6: Ninja Gaiden II, Lego Indy, Grid, red PSP

June begins with a bang, as headliners join film tie-ins Incredible Hulk and Kung Fu Panda, Bourne Conspiracy, Toki Tori, and more.

May was a long month, and not just because it contained the maximum allotment of 31 calendar days. More pressing to most gamers was the relative dearth of new releases--a few notable exceptions notwithstanding--after April went out with a bang and a pair of squealing tires.

However, June is poised to deliver. Leading off the month strong, fast, and just a bit sneaky is Tecmo's Ninja Gaiden II for the Xbox 360. The game's completion apparently couldn't come soon enough for Team Ninja lead and series creator Tomonobu Itagaki, who said this morning that he would be leaving the company as of July 1 over an unpaid bonus stemming from Dead or Alive 4. The exceptionally gory action adventure will maintain the series' signature level of difficulty, and continue on from the original Xbox Ninja Gaiden from 2004.

Although Jason Bourne makes it a habit of staying off the grid, Codemasters' Grid will appear alongside Robert Ludlum's Bourne Conspiracy this week. Codemasters' racer, which will surface on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and PC, is the third iteration of the game maker's long-running TOCA street-racing series. The game, which received its edgier moniker just as Colin McRae Rally was rebranded Dirt last year, features high-speed racing and a high degree of vehicle and environment damage.

Those looking for damage inflicted more by fists than telephone polls may be interested in Robert Ludlum's Bourne Conspiracy, appearing on the Xbox 360 and PS3 this week. Sierra Entertainment and High Moon Studios' action adventure draws both from Robert Ludlum's novels and the recent Tony Gilroy-penned, Doug Liman-directed films. The game features cinematic action and a combat system modeled after the Jeff Imada-choreographed fight sequences seen in the movies.

Movie-to-game tie-ins take on a past, present, future theme this week. Already faring better than the tepid critical response for Spielberg's Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Traveller's Tales' Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Trilogy sends up the beloved franchise with the same style of parody seen in Lego Star Wars. LucasArts will be hitting all the bases with the game, unearthing versions on the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 2, PSP, Wii, DS, and PC.

Addressing the week that is, Activision and Luxoflux will supply the tie-in to DreamWorks' Jack Black-led animated comedy Kung Fu Panda, which will drop-kick the 360, PS3, PS2, Wii, DS, and PC. As for the future, Sega and Edge of Reality will get a jump on Universal and Marvel's theatrical release of The Incredible Hulk next week by releasing the game tie-in this Thursday on the 360, PS3, PS2, Wii, and DS.

Kratos finds red both flattering and functional.

Portables will be getting more than just a handful of ports this week as well. From Atlus and Flight-Plan, Summon Night: Twin Age brings yet one more action role-playing game to the DS. Meanwhile, the PlayStation Portable sees red this week thanks to a new God of War PSP bundle. In addition to Ready at Dawn's God of War: Chains of Olympus, the $199 bundle contains a "deep red" PSP silk-screened with Kratos' glowering mug, as well as a UMD of the Seth Rogan and Evan Goldberg-penned juvenile comedy Superbad, and a voucher to download Syphon Filter: Combat Ops through the PlayStation Network.

Speaking of the PlayStation Network, Koei will at long last release the PS3 edition of Fatal Inertia this week through Sony's online portal. A redux of last year's release on the 360, the download-only PS3 game Fatal Inertia EX will run for $29.99. It includes a number of tweaks that Koei hopes will improve the racing experience. On the 360, Microsoft will offer for download Sierra Online's shoot-'em-up Aces of the Galaxy and SouthPeak Games' action puzzler Roogoo. Each Xbox Live Arcade game will run for 800 Microsoft points ($10).

Lastly, the Wii sees a trio of games added to the Virtual Console and WiiWare this week. As for original offerings, Two Tribes has completed its reimagining of the Game Boy Advance puzzler Toki Tori, whereas Ubisoft gets into the digital distribution game by publishing Sabarasa and Digital Builders' 3D shoot-'em-up Protothea. Both WiiWare games will run for 1,000 Wii points ($10). Originally appearing on the Neo Geo in 1990, Ninja Combat is a side-scrolling action game and can be downloaded from Nintendo's Virtual Console for 900 Wii points ($9).

This week's new releases are listed below (list taken from retailer information--actual dates may vary).

JUNE 2, 2008
Dracula: Origin (PC)
Ninja Combat (Wii VC)
Protothea (WiiWare)
Stronghold Crusader Extreme (PC)
Toki Tori (WiiWare)

JUNE 3, 2008
God of War PSP Entertainment Pack
Grid (X360, PS3, PC)
Hot Shots Golf: Open Tee 2 (PSP)
Kung Fu Panda (X360, PS3, PS2, Wii, DS, PC)
Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (X360, PS3, PS2, PSP, Wii, DS, PC)
Ninja Gaiden II (X360)
Robert Ludlum's The Bourne Conspiracy (X360, PS3)
Summon Night: Twin Age (DS)

JUNE 4, 2008
Aces of the Galaxy (XBLA)
Roogoo (XBLA)

JUNE 5, 2008
The Incredible Hulk (X360, PS3, PS2, Wii, DS)
Fatal Inertia EX (PSN)

44 Comments

  • itwiz90

    Posted Jun 8, 2008 9:27 pm PT

    I hope Ninja Gaiden PS3 is not too difficult to control, looking forward to it.

  • 1aRmAnDo1

    Posted Jun 8, 2008 8:03 pm PT

    I'd rather the Crisis Core psp than that red one

  • starfoxmcleoud

    Posted Jun 4, 2008 8:19 pm PT

    Surprisingly, Aces of the Galaxy is pretty sweet. And now all the people who do nothing but play the Grid demo will hopefully be playing the full version!

  • CADMAN_3

    Posted Jun 4, 2008 1:20 pm PT

    I'll be getting GRID, GOW PSP pack and Ninja Gaiden II. This is starting out to be a good summer.

  • e1337prodigy

    Posted Jun 4, 2008 11:39 am PT

    Grid has been out for the past week. I already completed it. lol unlucky America.

  • awarapanmovie

    Posted Jun 4, 2008 9:01 am PT

    Hmm NIce Up Coming Game Grid Its Better Then NFS Prostreet Keep it up CODEMASTER u Done a nice Job

  • antonioGamer87

    Posted Jun 4, 2008 7:12 am PT

    i was hoping NG2 got a 9.0 and up, but it did not so i pass, never really the adventure type games.

  • ferid84

    Posted Jun 4, 2008 7:11 am PT

    woot am not used to summer releases!!

  • Daveiops

    Posted Jun 4, 2008 5:56 am PT

    Bourne is heading my way!!

  • Rookie747

    Posted Jun 4, 2008 3:33 am PT

    lmao

  • gnbfd

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 11:50 pm PT

    Snake?
    Snake????
    SSSSSNNNNNNNNNAAAAAAAAAAAAAKKKKKEEE??????????

    Oh that's right. That game isn't out this week...

  • lozvil

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 9:37 pm PT

    I WANT GRID!!!

  • Pete5506

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 9:12 pm PT

    Ninja fighting

  • ColdfireTrilogy

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 9:12 pm PT

    Woot Grid for PC, loved Dirt this should be as good i hope !!!!

  • niteowl74

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 9:02 pm PT

    YES! NINJA COMBAT!!!

  • speedjunkie4

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 8:54 pm PT

    Seems like summer is gonna be better then it has been in years. Also, huzzah for Bourne!

  • normsta

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 8:24 pm PT

    SSNNNAAAKKKEEE!!!! Mofacko's

  • mjc0961

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 7:30 pm PT

    Too much ninja, not enough pirates.

  • cooldude03

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 7:17 pm PT

    Ninja Gaiden 2 awesome, It's Itagaki's last Tecmo game and hopefully it's the best. High Hopes.

  • BioShockOwnz

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 5:16 pm PT

    Got my GoW red PSP and now I'm waiting for NInja Gaiden II.

  • ocdog45

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 5:02 pm PT

    good week for gaming

  • akiwak

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 4:45 pm PT

    Getting the Lego Indiana and use my son as an excuse for having it.

  • zeeshan810

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 4:43 pm PT

    Kratos PSP is sooo sick!!
    : D

  • wilk25

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 4:01 pm PT

    hulk,grid.lego

  • GodOfSyn

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 3:40 pm PT

    Bourne could have been better, but I am sick of these fighting games attempting to simplify combat with just a few buttons. Fighting with crazy awesome looking moves, should be easy but not a button and direction press. I remember the wiener combos from the MK3 guide back in the day, those were just all out bad ass. Hope Fable 2 doesn't suffer from the lack of complex commands to execute attacks.

  • stevo_360

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 3:32 pm PT

    Its looking like a good month despite the fact that its the summer.

  • gandalf_storm

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 3:09 pm PT

    Just played NG2 demo, drool, damn this game is amazing.... Might right rent out lego indy as well, anyone reading this, for goodness sake do not and i mean DO NOT rent or buy bourne, want to know why ? - then play the demo, oh dear codemasters

  • Generic_Dude

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 2:56 pm PT

    Maybe I'll consider NG2 after beating NG Sigma, but I know the missus will probably be forcing me into getting Lego Indy.

  • deadstarr

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 2:52 pm PT

    Ninja Gaiden 2 please, forget the rest of that **** (except maybe the red PSP...gimme. )

  • Ranteal

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 2:51 pm PT

    Dont bother until next week. MGS4

  • 360player_eq12

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 2:10 pm PT

    Forget Ninja Gaiden 2 give me Ninja Combat!!!! ....

  • wooooode

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 1:58 pm PT

    Just one more week for MGS4.

  • kos1085

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 1:54 pm PT

    Yay for NG2....And why is the god of war PSP so late.

  • Immortalsaiyan

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 1:49 pm PT

    Pumped for NG2

  • SaintJotun

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 1:31 pm PT

    ...I want my NG2...

  • Rhen_Var

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 1:20 pm PT

    Fatal Inertia EX? What is that?

  • megamaster32

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 1:19 pm PT

    lego indy and ninja gaiden 2 wil be ship on the june 4th

  • combatsoldier

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 1:12 pm PT

    man this doesnt feel the same now that Mr. Ninja Gaiden has quit. This was his dream. LET US UNITE CITIZENS. oh never mind lets go play this thing and kill lots of villians.

  • FstBrk342

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 1:09 pm PT

    Sonylsh6Fotta, al i can say is..........well i cant think of anything because i am plain speechless lol

  • SonyIsh6Fotta

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 1:02 pm PT

    O.K. I'm officially retarded, I just git my GOW psp bundle right, anyway I go to put the Superbad UMD in and I'm sitting here strugglin to get the disc out of the lil plastic case, then it finaly dawned on me that it's not supposed to come out.

  • thewolf619

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 12:59 pm PT

    GRID, Lego Indy, and Hot Shots on the PSP. It's a good week.

  • ctg867

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 12:53 pm PT

    Metacritic doesn't have me convinced that I should spend my money on Ninja Gaiden over Metal Gear. Sorry, I'll wait till next week and drop the $60 elsewhere. Nothing else this week worth mentioning for me, though I'm sure a lot of gamers will be happy this week, since there's a good amount of variety.

  • hawaiiinsomniac

    Posted Jun 3, 2008 12:41 pm PT

    I want my LEGO!

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