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Beware the deadly shadows...and the poor quality gameplay
Publisher: Sega/THQ
Mon, 18 July 2005
by: Australian Ninja
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Ninjas are totally cool. You may think otherwise but then you’d be totally wrong. Trust me, I’m a ninja and I know these things.
Tenchu: Fatal Shadows is the fourth game in the Tenchu: Steal Assassins video-game series. This sequel is clearly for the fans. There is little on offer for anyone who has not played any of the previous games. I enjoyed the original Tenchu on PS1. At the time it was an original and highly creative game, with many horrible flaws. As much as I tried I just never had the same enthusiasm for Fatal Shadows.
What was obvious is that the Tenchu series is basically the same game made over and over again with very small changes. If you like the games, no big deal. But when the PS2 games have some of the same problems that the original did, that’s really not a good thing. Adding flashy new moves, improved voice acting, prettier graphics, and okay music is no way to hide the fact that Tenchu Fatal Shadows is yet another flawed game that people will probably buy because it "looks kinda cool."
 | | Never ask a ninja to play hide and seek, or you will end up with your throat cut |
There are a lot of abilities and items available in Fatal Shadows. Unfortunately I never got to see even half of them, even after finishing the game.
Obviously it is designed to be played through multiple times. But even then you need to get exceptionally good at the game to earn the unlockables. Or just keep playing it forever. But why anyone but the most hardcore would bother is beyond my comprehension. A shame, because some of the abilities sound great; why not make them easier to obtain? At least let us see them in the training mode.
The character models are nicely animated and look lovely. As lovely as murderous revenge driven ninja get anyhow. The environments can at times be quite intoxicating (immersing). A pat on the back to From Software for getting these elements right. For example; you may find yourself perched on a rooftop, patiently stalking your next kill. Sweat on your brow, the night air is almost alive. In the distance you see a wooden bridge, flowing water. Below you a lonely guard paces pausing to tap his foot on a stone path. You silently leap landing behind him. Drawing your blade you carve into the mans flesh, he dies without screaming or ever seeing your face. A good kill.
What I did like about the game: The clothing and weapons are lovingly detailed, the swords in particular really stand out and scream "attention to detail." The sparkly sheen of a razor sharp blade, the tough scabbard and ‘chink’ sound as it slides into its home after felling another victim. The stealth kills rock; perhaps too much attention was spent on these to the detriment of the rest of the game. The music suits the game adequately. While it’s never bad, there’s only a few stand out tracks and nothing compares to the hauntingly beautiful melodies that featured in the original Tenchu. It's unfortunate because the music has previously been a strong point in the games. Some areas (stages) are quite stunning; others are bland and lacking in defining features. The 'cliffs' stage is beautifully ambient, dense while spacious. The enemies blend into the foreground plants wonderfully. A real sense of claustrophobia and danger is felt in this area, if only more stages were of this quality. Overall the atmosphere created in the game is impressive and definitely one of the stronger elements.
What I didn't like: The nonsense story. Truthfully it's no better or worse than most old Samurai / Ninja Asian martial art films about 'revenge' containing bloody battles to the death. Getting trapped between two enemies or an enemy and a wall, then basically dying – this was not fun. Giving the NPC’s a cheap throw move that is unblockable, and then having them use it over and over again on your character - not fun. Giving certain enemies (normal enemies, not bosses) the ability to kill your character in one hit, even on the easiest difficulty – all I can say is why? Dear lord, why? Finally, enemies 'seeing' you from around a corner – or worse – literally seeing you through solid walls. This was excusable in a first generation PS1 game, when 3-D was new for consoles and rather tricky to create. Today, in a late generation PS2 game, it’s just sloppy.
The next Tenchu game could do with a "Quest" mode as well as the story mode. In quest mode there would be multiple objectives (like Medal of Honour.) Some optional objectives for bonus points to earn new abilities. Buy the abilities of your choice with the points you earn in quest mode. Which could then be used in the story mode. Add to that a "fully baked" stealth system (like Metal Gear), and some quality voice acting. How about guttural gravelly voiced Japanese voice-actors? Have them speak in English or otherwise in Japanese with English subtitles. Like all those crazy films that the game emulates. Then and only then would Tenchu live up to it’s inherent potential and graduate to being a triple-A title.
 | | See? I Told you so! |
I sincerely thought this game would be better. That the series would be better by now. To be honest I pulled out the old PS1 Tenchu original while playing Fatal Shadows to see if I was lost in nostalgia. Sadly, I had a grand old time playing it for several hours, and it was painful to come back to the PS2 game. This really shouldn’t be. I’m confident many would disagree with my comments. Do people really care that much about ‘flash’ and ‘bling bling’ over substance and real gameplay? The bottom line is that Tenchu is great in some aspects. Wonderful design and art, some fun concepts and ideas (stealth kills, zip line that the Activision Spiderman games stole) and others that are still half-baked. Which is a damn shame because Tenchu is a unique series that deserves better by now. Remember that Tenchu featured ‘stealth’ before the 32bit Metal Gear. Somewhat original in its day, this modern version is a slow lumbering dinosaur of a game. For people who enjoyed any of the previous games it’s worth a look, for people who have never played Tenchu – you have been warned.
by: Australian Ninja
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