Jason tries some ninjitsu on the go
Thu, 17 August 2006
by: Jason
The Tenchu series has been, in my opinion, one of the often overlooked gems of the PlayStation line-up. The launches of new titles in the series never seem to attract major attention and the licence itself seems to sneak silently from development team to development team, much like the ninjas it portrays. Supposedly, it was only a matter of time before the series graced the PSP, while learning from the mistakes of others (Kojima can claim Metal Gear Acid was a hit all he wants to), they seem to have encountered a whole new realm of problems. It is a pity they couldn't solve them before releasing this game.
I will have to say, honestly, to begin with I found this game difficult to review. It is hampered by two very major flaws that are frustrating to the point of hurling your PSP at a wall. Problem number one is a combination of two smaller annoyances, the first being the very short draw distance and the second being that your character takes up a good third or more of the screen unless you constantly manipulate the camera. Okay, the characters do look nice, but in this instance I think setting the viewpoint further back would have been a smart idea. The second problem is the controls; these people are supposed to be ninjas, fast agile and stealthy. Well, it is kind of difficult to be agile when you move with all the speed of a house brick.
It was then that I remembered that all the games in the series (at least the ones I've played) have been similarly afflicted and if you grit your teeth and breathe deeply they can still be a somewhat enjoyable experience. A selection of 4 ninjas are available to begin with, all with their own story. You have mainstays of the series Rikimaru and Ayame, the doctor/ assassin Tesshu and newcomer Rin. Which of these you pick makes little difference, as the storylines are intertwined and the basic mission premise is the same for all of them, i.e. get from point A to point B without being discovered.
 | | Hopefully this dude will no longer be needing his head |
To assist you in your efforts, you have the standard arsenal of ninja tools: grappling hook, caltrops (pointy things thrown on ground to discourage pursuit, usually poisoned) and, for a change from fistfuls of throwing stars, sharp little buggers of knives called kunai. Along with these we have, at least in my opinion, less useful items like poisoned rice and coloured rice for marking your trail. Of course, one of the crowd pleasers of this series has been the stealth kills (for the uninitiated - if you sneak up on an opponent without being detected, your character will perform one of a selection of "stealth kill" animations, most of which are very brutal and satisfying). Well, the stealth kills are still there and will probably shock the living hell out of the older lady peering over your shoulder on the bus.
Another mainstay feature of this series has been a mission editor and while, like most of these mission editor type things, it isn't the easiest thing to get the hang of, mucking around with it will pay off eventually and give you something to post on the net with pride. Yep, that's right, you can create missions and share them with the world. The sound and effects are worth mentioning, even if only for their contribution to atmosphere and making you really feel a part of feudal Japan (that's if the feudal Japanese couldn't see very far and were all crippled).
Well, in the end, this one is entirely up to you. If you can put up with the problems I mentioned earlier, then give it a go. On the other hand, if you have the attention span of a goldfish, then steer clear of this one.
by: Jason
More articles by Jason
For only the most patient of stealth assassins. Anyone else may just want to assassinate the developer. | |
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