You might want to start envying iFester right about now.

A couple of weeks ago he got a special sneak peek at Ninja Gaiden II, the highly-anticipated action title coming out this June from legendary developers, Team Ninja. While the game’s launch is still almost two months away, we got iFester to dish about his early look at the title …

I was lucky enough to get a recent hands-on preview of Ninja Gaiden II, Team Ninja's sequel to the acclaimed Ninja Gaiden for the original Xbox. Greeted by Jade and Ryan Bidan, Games Product Manager from Xbox Canada, we proceeded to the viewing room for my latest venture into the Ninja Gaiden series since last playing it on the NES.

First was a visual walkthrough of one of the later levels. Gamers that have been keeping up with the game's progress may have downloaded the GDC video off the Xbox LIVE Marketplace where Ryu Hayabusa is fighting the Archfiend’s demonic minions in the Temple of Sacrifice. Those of you that have yet to view it, you are missing great gameplay footage and I suggest you download it.

Once the demo was over, the Start screen appeared and Ryan handed me a controller. While playing, I was informed the current build was about 70% of the final product, however the graphics and gameplay were quite fluid with minor glitches. Detailing on the environments and models were beautifully rendered and set the tone of the world quite nicely.

Being a first time player of the franchise in its modern incarnation was a real treat, as I’m a fan of these action-oriented games and there aren’t many playable for this generation of consoles. Being able to run, flip, block, and ultimately dismember your enemies with a flourish of your Dragon Sword was heart-pumping. (Here`s a warning though – you might find one of your wounded foes crawling to catch you from behind.)

There are plenty of enemies and plenty of blood in this game, yet as the developer so accurately pointed out; it’s brutally fun. The furthest in the game I was able to get to was the acquisition of the Lunar Staff, which was useful at keeping enemies at a distance. I was also happy to hear there will be four difficulty modes to play through. At the normal setting, I found myself at the losing end of a blade too often.

I downloaded Ninja Gaiden Black off the Xbox Originals section of the Marketplace. Comparatively, Ninja Gaiden II is a true sequel with graphics and gameplay given the HD overhaul. The controls are nearly identical and everything about the sequel feels visceral in the way you are able to humiliate your enemies. I have no doubt designer Tomonobu Itagaki has another hit on his hands and I look forward to playing the retail game.

Look for a demo coming in May. Ninja Gaiden II hits shelves June 3^rd.

iFester has been a gamer for ages, but only hit the Xbox scene in the past couple of years. You can find him online at www.ifesteronline.com.