Face-exploding manga and anime Fist of the North Star is to be recreated in 'Hokuto Musou' for on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, KOEI has announced.

"Like a hammer of justice," surly Kenshiro will beat his way through a post-apocalyptic wasteland in search of his lady love Yuria, with a fighting technique so powerful it can "bring down whole buildings" and cause enemies to "violently explode on screen."

KOEI says producer Hisashi Koinuma--previously producer on Dynasty Warriors: Gundam--"promises to be faithful to the spirit of the original manga," with the story mode following the series then a "completely new storyline" arriving in a separate mode.

Hokuto Musou is scheduled for a Japanese release in 2010. KOEI has yet to announce a release elsewhere, though we hope they will consider Malcolm McDowell when casting voice actors, to reprise his role from the awful, awful 1995 live-action movie.

Tecmo, publisher of the Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive series, has successfully negotiated a merger with fellow Japanese publisher Koei, and the two will join forces to form Tecmo Koei Holdings, which goes into effect on April 1, 2009.

Koei, the larger company, will hold three quarters of the newly combined publisher, according to Reuters. 20 billion yen ($207 million) in stock will be infused into the holding company at its launch.

Tecmo Koei has put forth a business plan aiming for a profit of 16 billion yen ($164 million) in its fiscal year 2011. Last year, the two added up to a combined profit of 8.5 billion yen ($87 million) each company's fiscal year 2007.

The move was actually started by Japanese publishing giant Square Enix, which made a "friendly" buyout offer to Tecmo in August after the publisher hit a rough patch between employee lawsuits and the departures of president Yoshimi Yasudami and famed designer Tomonobu Itagaki.

Tecmo, to the surprise of many, rejected Square's offer and instead entered talks with the Dynasty Warriors publisher. Koei also found itself in difficult times as the company struggled to transition out of developing PlayStation 2 games.

Japanese game studio Tecmo, publisher of Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden, turned heads last week when it turned down a buyout offer from Final Fantasy maker Square Enix only to enter merger talks with publisher Koei.

Now, Tecmo has emerged to publicly respond to failed suitor Square Enix. In a statement translated by Kotaku, Tecmo acknowledged Square's questions which previously had been ignored and added: "To answer Square Enix's proposal within the time frame of one week provided little room for negotiation and discussion."

Tecmo also credited Koei for a better negotiating situation. "Conversely, regarding the proposal from Koei, there is time for management to consider how to integrate and most likely arrive at ultimately raising our corporate value. This is why we have begun talks with Koei concerning corporate integration."

Koei, perhaps best known for its battlefield hack-and-slash Dynasty Warriors series, has found itself in a difficult situation after the peak of the PlayStation 2. In Japan, it's now "very tough for third parties like us to do our business," said Koei president Kenji Matsubara to Gamasutra.

In a more diversified Japanese market, Koei sees itself stretched thin, a problem Matsubara implies may be solved by a merger. "[The market's] in a transition situation ... these days, we have to spend resources on handhelds, popular consoles like the Wii, and high-performance consoles like the Xbox 360 and PS3."

Square Enix, which recently made "a friendly offer" to buy a controlling stake in Japanese publisher Tecmo, has withdrawn its proposal following a rejection from the beleaguered game company.

The Final Fantasy-producing giant isn't done hunting, however. "We are talking with quite a few companies in and outside of Japan. We are routinely in such talks," said Square Enix president Yoichi Wada as relayed by Reuters.

Tecmo, best known for its in-house Team NINJA creations Dead or Alive and Ninja Gaiden, rejected Square Enix's offer yesterday and instead entered negotiations with Koei, the Japanese publisher known for its battlefield hack-and-slash Dynasty Warriors series.

Square Enix publicly asked Tecmo to explain itself, but was ignored. "Followed by the notice, [Square Enix] immediately requested TECMO for explanation of some issues to receive no response to it, even reasons of the rejection," read a Square Enix statement issued today.

The attempted merger was the latest in a string of acquisitions from the mega-studio. Square merged with Dragon Quest developer Enix in 2003, forming Square Enix, and then purchased Space Invaders owners Taito in 2005.

Japanese game developer Tecmo today rejected the buyout offer from Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest owner Square Enix, instead opting to pursue merger talks with Dynasty Warriors veterans Koei.

Both Koei and Tecmo "have excellent financial positions, strengths and the ability to take advantage of each other in order to improve profitability and solidified the foundation of a worldwide leader," according to a Tecmo statement translated by Kotaku.

At the time of the "friendly" buyout offer, Square Enix noted that it would not further pursue the Tecmo buyout if the proposal was rejected.

Whereas Koei is best known for the battlefield-slashing Dynasty Warriors series, Tecmo has been recently defined by its fighting series Dead or Alive and action-heavy Ninja Gaiden games. Both of those franchises were helmed by Tomonobu Itagaki, who recently left the company and sued for unpaid bonuses.

Tecmo's once Itagaki-led studio Team NINJA is still at work though, with three new titles said to be revealed at the Tokyo Game Show.

Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2 will come to North America next year for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 2, publisher Namco Bandai announced today.

The Omega Force-developed sequel will send players back into space in the Gundam universe's robotic "mobile suits" for more Dynasty Warriors-derived battlefield hack-and-slash gameplay. The new game will feature new suits, new weapons, new moves, and online multiplayer.

Gundam 2's first screenshots accompanied today's announcement as well as some concept art.

Koei's long-developed futuristic racer Fatal Inertia EX is hitting the PlayStation Network next month, MTV Multiplayer reports.

Fatal Inertia was originally slated to be a PlayStation 3 launch title, but has since been delayed multiple times. The game was released on Xbox 360 in September 2007.

Denoted by an EX, this version of the game will come with new features and gameplay changes, including a training venue with eight new tracks.

Expect Fatal Inertia EX to be released on the PlayStation Network in late May, for the price of $29.99.