Naruto: The Broken Bond Announced for Xbox 360

Ubisoft have today announced Naruto: The Broken Bond, the sequel to Naruto: Rise of a Ninja. The game starts after that Konoha attack and leads to the leakage of Saskuke. Naruto, as well as characters like Shikamaru and Neiji are playable during the game. Naruto: The Broken Bond is scheduled for late this year.

Hit the jump for the press release.

UBISOFT® ANNOUNCES NARUTOTM: THE BROKEN BOND

Sequel to the Critically Acclaimed NARUTOTM: Rise of a Ninja Video Game arrives in time for Christmas 2008

London, UK – July 16, 2008 – Today at the Electronic Entertainment Expo, Ubisoft announced the development of NARUTO™: The Broken Bond, the sequel to NARUTO™: Rise of a Ninja and the second game under the licensing agreement with TV TOKYO Corporation and SHUEISHA Inc. NARUTO™: The Broken Bond, a game based on the world-renowned Naruto anime series, is exclusive to the Xbox 360® video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, and will be available in North America, Europe, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan for Christmas 2008.

Building on the success of Ubisoft’s Naruto™: Rise of a Ninja, this sequel features Naruto, who has now evolved into a well-respected Ninja, but his new status and abilities trigger the envy of his best friend and Ninja teammate, Sasuke. The enemy of the village, Orochimaru, takes advantage of the situation and convinces Sasuke to leave his friends and village in order to join his evil clan and become more powerful. With the help of his Ninja friends, Naruto goes on a quest to retrieve Sasuke and save him. NARUTO™: The Broken Bond is also the only Naruto video game, other than Naruto™: Rise of a Ninja that features an online multiplayer mode which allows players to compete against others in an online tournament mode.

“Featuring vibrant and imaginatively detailed settings, NARUTO™: The Broken Bond will take players on an epic journey through an accurately recreated Naruto world,” said Christian Salomon, vice president of worldwide licensing at Ubisoft. We’re excited to continue in the Naruto™: Rise of a Ninja tradition, boasting the only video game in the franchise that features an online multiplayer mode that lets players compete against their friends in tournaments over the Xbox LIVE®, online entertainment network, and also gives players the opportunity to relive genuine moments of the anime, while exploring the open universe of Naruto.”