And just like that, Capcom made my year. As if releases like Bioshock, Halo 3, and Portal weren’t enough Capcom went and did the unthinkable, they announced a new Bionic Commando game.

Hardly one of the premiere titles back on the NES, Bionic Commando was one of my personal favorites. I sunk more time into that game than any other that I can recall. It’s gameplay was simple, yet difficult and it drew me in time and time again for more punishment.

The storyline of the original title had you on a rescue mission looking for fellow agent Super Joe. The new game takes a more modern twist as our grappling hook enabled hero is framed by his superiors and sentenced to death. A terrorist weapon changes his fate and leaves him as the government’s only hope in a city in ruin.

Bionic Commando is slated for release on the Playstation 3, Xbox 360, and PC. For the project, Capcom is teaming up with Swedish studio GRIN, best known for their work on the PC conversions of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter and it’s sequel.

No word yet on a release date for this title, but you can bet we’ll be following it’s development very closely.

As a kid, Ninja Gaiden II was one of my favorite games. Nevermind that it was insanely hard, we still loved it. Nintendo is throwing me a nugget of nostalgia with this week’s VC releases as Ninja Gaiden II is now available for a mere 500 Wii Points. Also making “history” as the first CD-ROM based game for the TG16 to hit the Shop Channel is Gate of Thunder. Last, but not least Metal Marines for Super NES rounds out this weeks releases.

Hit the jump for full details on this week’s titles.

Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos (NES, 1 player, rated E for Everyone – Mild Violence, 500 Wii Points): In Ninja Gaiden II: The Dark Sword of Chaos, a new villain, Ashtar, is revealed. Take on the role of Ryu Hayabusa and rescue Irene Lew, a former CIA agent, from Ashtar. Destroy the Sword of Chaos, a weapon of great power forged from the bone of a demon. Use techniques such as the Fire Wheel or the Windmill Throwing Star and attack while holding on to walls and ladders. Use the most innovative technique of all – the ability to create Shadow Clones, orange shadow versions of Ryu that will constantly follow him, repeating previous actions (moving or attacking) in a delayed cycle. Once again defeat henchmen, creatures and bosses with new fighting techniques and even more weapons as you progress through multiple stages on your way to destroying Ashtar, Jaquio and the Realm of Chaos.

Metal Marines (Super NES, 1 player, rated E for Everyone – Fantasy Violence, 800 Wii Points): Set in the near future, most of Earth’s land has been disintegrated in the chaos of the Anti-matter War. This real-time strategy game portrays the Colonies’ Allied Force – the Metal Marines – in their epic struggle against General Zorgeuf and the Imperial Federation, who are bent on world domination. Commanding the Metal Marines across a series of battles, the player must strategically allocate resources, ready supplies, manage funds and move troops in an effort to outwit and outmove the opponent. The real-time battle system rewards split-second decisions and adaptability in the struggle for military superiority. Unlike most turn-based strategy games, Metal Marines engrosses the player in a fast-paced and frantic battle in which both sides advance simultaneously. A constant eye must be kept on enemy movements to maintain a formidable defense and not miss the perfect chance to strike. Strategic foresight and quick judgment hold the key to victory.

Gate of Thunder (TurboGrafx16, 1 player, rated E for Everyone – Fantasy Violence, 800 Wii Points): The legendary sci-fi shooter is back! Gate of Thunder is a horizontal side-scrolling shooter that places you in control of special undercover agent Hawk, whose mission is to stop the deadly army of Obbellon fighters. Jump into the action as Hawk gets aboard his ship, the Hunting Dog, and heads out toward the enemy. Blast through stages while effectively using all three of the weapons at your disposal and receiving support from ally Wild Cat ships. Switch through equippable power-up options on the fly to change the direction of your attack. You’ll have to blast in front of and behind you to survive all seven stages. Hard-core shooting-game fans looking for a challenge can select HARD or DEVIL mode to experience even more intense action!

It’s been a big few weeks for gaming. Halo 3 was finally released and now The Orange Box is out with 360 owners getting a taste of TF2. Which title is getting most of your attention now? Is Halo 3 still that dominant or is TF2 going to carve out it’s own following? Are you not playing either one and enjoying something else? Let us know.

EA has announced a deal that will have them acquiring VG Holding Corp., the company that currently owns both Pandemic Studios and BioWare Corp. The deal is worth an estimated $775M, with $620M of that being in cold hard cash and another $155M in equity for certain VG Holding Corp executives I would guess.

BioWare is currently on track to complete Mass Effect, which is being published by Microsoft in November with an MMO of some sort on the horizon. Pandemic is currently hard at work on Mercenaries 2: World in Flames and Saboteur.

The 2 studios currently have more than 800 employees worldwide with studios in 4 locales; Edmonton, Canada; Los Angeles, California; Austin, Texas; and Brisbane, Australia. The new acquisitions will be under the EA label run by Frank Gibeau.

This is yet another stepping stone in EA’s work to solidify themselves as the #1 3rd party developer after being bumped aside by Activision for top honors in 2007.