Ninja Blade slices into 360

Already topped by Nintendo and feeling the heat of a surging Sony, Microsoft is increasingly looking at scoring the bronze in a three-man race for this console generation. This week, however, the hardware maker made its most aggressive move yet to stay competitive. Solidifying long-standing rumors, Microsoft slashed the price of all three Xbox 360 models in Japan--and then made a similar move in North America--so that its lowest-tier SKU undercuts Nintendo's best-selling Wii by $50.

However, it turns out that wasn't the only announcement to be skulking through the shadows of Microsoft's Japanese press conference earlier this week. Along with announcing the price cut in its home territory, Microsoft Japan also revealed Ninja Blade, a new Xbox 360 exclusive from From Software. Today, Microsoft released an English-language release detailing the action-adventure game, which will arrive on the console in 2009.

Details on the title are relatively light, but the plot will follow a modern-day ninja serving the side of humanity as he works to find a cure for a genetically mutating disease in Tokyo. To accomplish the ninja's goals, players will be afforded a variety of ninja-appropriate accouterments.

Along with officially announcing the game in North America today, Microsoft released a batch of screenshots for Ninja Blade. The in-game shots depict an armor-clad ninja--not entirely unlike Ninja Gaiden's iconic Ryu Hayabusa--posing in various downtown Tokyo locales. Judging from the screens, the ninja will have a variety of ways to navigate the city, including scaling walls, swinging from rooftops via grappling hook, and riding a motorcycle.

GameSpot will have more details on From Software's Ninja Blade as they are revealed.