The makers of Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: The Phantom Forest, CyberConnect2, are planning to unveil something soon. At the moment, we don't know what that 'something' is; however, we will know that info within the next four days when this countdown off the CyberConnect2 website runs out. It's interesting to note that since making the .hack titles for PS2, CC2 has shifted its focus onto Naruto titles for both the PS3 and PSP in 2008.

The impending revelation could be related to either Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm for the PS3 or Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: The Phantom Forest for the PSP (the only two titles from CC2 in 08'). It's possibly related to DLC for either title, or it could be something completely different. We'll keep watch. In the meantime, discuss.

[Thanks erico316!]

Update: Thanks for everyone that participated! The first twelve winners will be contacted via e-mail.

Namco Bandai's upcoming PSP-exclusive fighter, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2, is finally coming out in two weeks. Maybe you weren't able to secure one of these figurines for yourself by pre-ordering the game. Don't fret! The first twelve people to e-mail will the subject line "Naruto figures" with their name, age, address and telephone number will get one of these figures absolutely free. Not a bad deal, huh?

Once again, you must be a US resident, 18 years or older, to be eligible for this giveaway. Good luck!

Yesterday, we posted vids of Naurto's and Sakura's Ultimate Jutsu attacks from Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2. Today, witness four more characters and their Ultimate Jutsu attacks: Clone, Choji, Hinata, and Gaara. The character in the clip above is Gaara. See the rest of the characters and their special cinematic techniques after the break.

Excited for more Naruto? Perhaps you'll want to take a look at these two new vids of Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2. These vids showcase the ultimate Jutsu attacks for both Naruto and Sakura. IGN, where these clips originally came from, plans on taking a look at all the other characters and their Jutsu attacks in upcoming updates this month. So look out for that, check out the second clip after the break, and look forward to the game coming out this month on June 24 in North America. Don't forget about that pre-order bonus folks.

If you're planning to pick up Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2 on its June 24 release in North America, then make sure you put down a pre-order ahead of time. Why do that? Well, don't you want to snag for yourself a free figurine? You could be eligible to win one of these six figurines pictured above. There is one catch though; you'll have to do slightly more than just pre-order.

To get your figurine you'll have to register as a member of Hokage's Room -- the official Naruto website. Then you'll have to join a special "pre-order mission." If you've pre-ordered on GameStop's online store you could also win one out of ten Naruto PSP skins in addition to a guaranteed figurine.

This all sounds a little too much like a hassle, if you ask us. Anyway, if you're really interested make sure you check out the full details over at Hokage's Room.

For some reason, we're incredibly amused by this announcer's voice. There's something incredibly clashing about having such a deep-voiced narrator talk about the brand new jitsus of this Naruto game. It may not have a significant number of bells and whistles over last year's offering -- but it'll most likely be a decent addition to a genre that's sorely lacking on PSP.

No doubt Europeans have been following our recent Naruto Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2 coverage with frustrated anticipation. "That's all very well, but when's it coming out?" Atari has announced that Europeans can get their hands on the game in July -- a month after its release in America. Importing is obviously an option, if you're impatient for that extra month of play time. Be sure to check out our hands-on preview of the game from New York ComiCon for more info on the game.

[Via press release]

If you haven't read our other hands-on previews over at PS3 Fanboy, then you wouldn't have known that we were at the NY Comic Con this past weekend. On the PSP side of things we got some quality time in with Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2 which was one of the big draws over at Bandai Namco Games' booth.

We of course wanted to try out the all-new Mugenjo story mode, but the demo at Bandai Namco's kiosks didn't have the mode completely ready for play. We did dive into it anyway, and while gameplay wasn't ready, the story was already fully dubbed and can be listened to. The English voice acting was pretty much spot on with those from the anime. One very interesting thing about the voice acting is the option for Japanese audio. If you're an anime elitist who can't stand listening to English dub, this is for you.

The biggest addition to this year's Ultimate Ninja Heroes game must be the new story mode. According to a new press release from Namco Bandai's latest Naruto event, "A mysterious flying fortress descends upon the Hidden Leaf Village! It is up to you to battle through the each floor of the massive fortress to unfold the hidden plot!" There are over a hundred floors to explore, each with its own challenges, events, battles and quizzes.

Over twenty characters are promised to appear in this PSP-exclusive sequel, and like last year's offering, this too will offer the often underused Game Sharing feature, so that you can play against a friend with just one UMD. Nice!

Check out brand new images in our updated gallery here. Then, click after the cut to see a new video.

The upcoming Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2 for PSP is coming out just a year after its predecessor. Can a game get significant improvements in such a short time frame? Looks like the answer is "no," if IGN's hands-on is to be believed. According to their preview, "if you played the first Ultimate Ninja Heroes, this appears to be the exact same game from what we've seen." In fact, "a few modes appear to have been removed."

There are a few noteworthy additions, however. The biggest draw must be the new story mode "Mujengo." The titular Phantom Fortress is what's at the heart of this non-canonical side story. For hardcore Naruto fans, the inclusion of a Japanese language track will certainly come as good news -- but will the almost untouched gameplay hinder the experience? Let's hope Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2 isn't pulling a Ridge Racer.

You can always rely on anime games to come out with Madden-style annual updates. Namco Bandai and CyberConnect 2 have announced Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Herores 2: The Phantom Fortress for PSP this June. The fighter will feature twenty characters from the popular series. According to IGN, "Phantom Fortress' story mode will have Naruto and his pals battling through a flying fortress that has descended on Hidden Leaf Village." There will also be more than just fights: there will be quizzes and mini-games.

Just like the previous iteration of the franchise, the game will take advantage of ad-hoc multiplayer (no infrastructure, we're sad to report). Game Sharing returns -- a huge plus of the original. Stay tuned for more.

Namco Bandai's PSP-exclusive fighter, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes is getting a one-day price drop on amazon.com. Although $30 isn't the best bargain, that's still $10 cheaper than the norm. PSP Fanboy reviewed the game, noting that it's a pretty solid game for fans of the popular Shonen Jump series. "Fans of the anime will appreciate the amount of characters and their unique moves, the ninja-y fun of using substitutions and special jutsus, and the use of the original voice actors from the anime. Is Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes a worthy purchase for Naruto fans? Believe it!"

[Via CAG]

Why is Naruto so angry? That's because he knows a certain percentage of people out there are thinking that licensed games are sloppily slapped together and serve no other purpose but to milk the cash cow. Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes, published by Namco Bandai, is surely using the license to its advantage, but the game behind it is no slouch either. This anime fighter is fast-paced, frantic and fun, but some design choices may leave serious fighting genre fans looking for something more refined.

Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes is coming out soon -- real soon. In fact, it'll be gracing the PSP for the first time ever in two weeks. This US and Europe-exclusive game focuses on team battles between your favorite pre-teen ninjas. See brand new screenshots in our gallery below, and check after the cut for some videos of some of your favorite stars from the anime in action.

Gametrailers has a batch of new Naruto: Ninja Heroes trailers showing off the moves of some of the playable characters. Above, you can see a match with Chiji beating the hell out of Kiba. The clip ends with Chiji pulling off a mega move with a nice little cutscene of him rolling around as a reward.

The game is really looking pretty nice the colorful levels and nice amount of destructibility in the environments show off an impressive graphical flair. The gameplay looks true to the original PS2 game (which should be a good thing for fans). Naruto fiends won't have much longer to wait, the game pummels our PSPs on August 28th.