New Ninja Gaiden download features new episode

Tecmo's Team NINJA is planning to unveil the second Hurricane Pack of free downloadable content for Ninja Gaiden later today for release in late September, but Tomonobu Itagaki has already indicated that the second volume of content will provide a smaller self-contained adventure rather than rejigging the original game once more.

Hurricane Pack Vol. 2 is a whole new scenario "that can be completed in 30-40 minutes," according to its creator. "The reason for keeping it short is to stimulate the competitive nature of the players who seek challenge," he told IGN.

This time the focus will apparently be on enemies rather than weapons - enemies will be tougher than before, enemy ninjas will have new weapons, and old attack strategies will not avail you against some of the new additions. "This new monster will bring fear and excitement to the gamers on this earth for the third time this year," Itagaki said of one particular inclusion.

The pack will be released in late September, presumably to coincide with the third and final round of the Master Ninja Tournament - the finals for which will be taking place at the Tokyo Game Show, which runs for three days from September 24th. However Itagaki indicated that the pack was probably finishable for anybody who had cleared the first Hurricane Pack, which was no mean feat in itself.

Finally, Itagaki also hinted he might be interested in rounding off the year with a "Director's Cut" version of the game for people without Xbox Live, to help them take advantage of the downloadable content they're missing out on. "To not disappoint those hardcore fans of Ninja Gaiden, I'd like to think of something for them," he said.

Expect to hear more about Hurricane Pack Vol. 2 very soon.