Ninja Gaiden Hurricane Pack Vol. II coming

Anyone who's tried to defeat Alma in Ninja Gaiden knows that the game is one of the year's most challenging. But that didn't stop Team Ninja from making it even harder with the Hurricane Pack Volume I, a downloadable expansion that revamped the entire game, adding new enemies and boosting existing opponents' strength.

However, Microsoft, Tecmo, and Gaiden developer Team Ninja think the game could be even tougher. Today, they announced plans to release Hurricane Pack Volume II, an expansion that will bring Gaiden's gameplay up another notch. Like the first volume, it will become available on Xbox Live concurrent with the next phase of the Master Ninja Tournament. That phase is the world championships, which will be held in Tokyo later this month.

According to Tecmo, Hurricane Pack Vol. II "will focus more on enemies and less on weapons," referring to the new bojutsu weapon included in the first expansion. "The enemies in this new challenge have evolved--they are more fierce and have their own new weapons," a Tecmo rep told GameSpot. "Old techniques will no longer help you with these new enemies."

Tecmo also released more than a dozen new screenshots from the Hurricane Pack Vol. II, showing off many of the new foes hero Ryu Hayabusa must face. Among them are a cyclops with claws, an Alma-esque female demon, a hellion with a spiked back, and a portly winged male boss who throws fireballs. It also appears Hayabusa will get some new duds, as he sports a black-and-red body suit with a complex metal face mask in several shots.

GameSpot will have more details on the Hurricane Pack Vol. II as they become available.