Microsoft has announced a UK price and street date for the Xbox 360 chop-socky extravaganza that is Ninja Gaiden II.

That’ll be June 6 and a recommended retail wallet-slackening of £44.99. We reckon you’ll find at least a fiver cheaper if you shop around. Then again the high-octane and frequently gruesome action is probably worth the full price tag.

Looks awesome doesn’t it? There’s more to Team Ninja’s latest opus than mere visual splendour, though. NG2 boasts a revolutionary combat system that combines a massive array of devastating weapons with a dazzlingly gymnastic fighting style – including numerous ‘Obliteration’ techniques, that’ll finish your opponents off in fine style and doubtless frighten the moral guardians who worry about the effects of games such as this. Ooyah!

After that there’s a novel auto-healing system, a suitably dense storyline and the brand new “Ninja Cinema” feature, which lets players record Ryu’s best moves/most spectacular kills and share them via the magic of Xbox LIVE. Users can even apply a monochrome video filter, making their clips look like some kind of ancient kung-fu movie. How cool is that?

Plenty, is the answer. See xbox.com/ng2 for more info and a neat mini-game.