|
Tenchu went head to head with Metal Gear Solid when it was first released on the Playstation and gained a fair number of fans even though the production values weren't as high as Konami's masterpiece. It certainly had some elements that were ahead of its rivals at the time. Subsequent versions and Xbox iterations didn’t do so well as the series became quite stale but my hopes are quite high for the Xbox 360 version which is released in the US this May. Last year a demo was made available to the Japanese and the game is already available there. After some more extensive play and goofing around with the one level available in the demo I think for stealth fans at least Tenchu Senran (1000 battles) or Tenchu Z as it will be known for its western release could be a breath of fresh air.
To begin, players are asked to choose their character and whilst I assume that the characters are the same from previous games; players can now choose from a number of face types for both female and male ninja. For the females at least some are quite ugly looking and in some respects quite comical but considering you won’t be viewing them that much outside of cut-scenes it is welcome to be able to choose a face and costume to suit your tastes. The demo only really provides a glimpse of the characters costumes but in my opinion some of them are really very cool indeed, especially the ones which cover the face in true ninja fashion.
Players are also able to customize their characters’ attributes in the demo and I’m not sure due to the Japanese text what these are. There are three bars which relate to specifics of the character which I’m going to go out on a limb and say health, awareness and combat strength. Now these might not be correct but you get the idea. How the full game will utilize this I am not sure but perhaps players will be able to tweak these fully between missions?
One of the cool features of past Tenchu games was the option to choose which equipment to take along with you on missions, sadly the demo doesn’t allow this but again I am going to assume that the full game will. There were plenty of items to choose from in previous games including lures and other ninja like items such as caldrops, stars, smoke bombs and attribute enhancing items. Giving the player a choice in what items to take is very welcome in my opinion as it caters for a broad range of playing styles.
So, you’ve chosen your ninja and outfit and are ready to tackle the game. The demo is purely in Japanese and so understanding the plot is a little difficult. From what I can gather the objective is to board a nearby ship at the dock and investigate. Now here is where the game and the series as a whole comes into its own. Rather than focus on a linear route to the ship like you would expect in a Splinter Cell game, Tenchu offers an entire dock area to roam freely. What is also very cool and present in all Tenchu games thus far is the ability to use a grapple hook to jump up onto rooftops. This really does open up the 3D space on offer and makes navigating the area very personal as players can risk being spotted up high or decide to stay low in the shadows down below to reach their objective.
The level in the demo is not simply an empty map as there are numerous armed guards patrolling the streets. With ninja senses players are able to tell not their exact location but sense how close they are near enemies which are indicated by an on screen counter with 1 being far away and 99 being literally on top of. The indicator also helps provide a clue as to the awareness of enemies such as, neutral, suspicious or fully aware of your presence. Sadly when discovered enemies will eventually return back to neutral status rather than being kept alert once you have been discovered but I guess the full version will either rectify this or just keep it that way for game play sake. Either way I’m sure with the numerous items available in the full game players will be able to have some fun messing with the guards.
Stealth is the name of the game with Tenchu, despite the option to go all out and tackle foes directly. Remember the way of the ninja is such that enemies who have seen you must die and although this isn’t forced in any way it’s an ideal worth sticking to when playing. Tenchu Senran offers some really great ways of killing foes stealthily as not only can you now grab foes from behind and then drag them to a dark corner before killing (remember that other guards will become alerted if they see a dead body lying in a pool of blood) but also you can go for those all important stealth one hit kills. Timing is crucial and as you wait in the shadows observing enemy movements you can then either run or creep up behind them for the kill. It’s not all plain sailing though as noise is now a big factor in the game and even things like unsheathing your weapon will create a sound which can make guards suspicious. With the right trigger held players can move more silently however speed is restricted here and so the timing has to be right when creeping up on foes. For the purists, players can enter a true stealth mode by holding the right bumper which allows players to lower their profile and move without making any sound at all. Again movement speed is restricted but with rolls and dives being made available means that creeping up on a moving enemy is quite easy to accomplish.
I think the best part of the stealth kills is the ability to drop down from the rooftops behind an opponent and simply slice him to bits before he or she realizes what’s going on before jumping back up onto the rooftops to make your exit. These moments are very satisfying and really do make you feel like the predator rather than a weak one man army. With lures these moments have been excellent in past games and I assume the lures will make a return in the full version. In the demo I found that the level included a trap which was a wooden cover on the ground. When the players character steps on this it breaks sending them plummeting not to their doom but into what I can assume to be sewerage. After entering this smelly pool the players’ character becomes smelly which is indicated by a darkish colored mist around the character. This isn’t just a cosmetic effect as enemies can become suspicious if they smell you. I found this rather intriguing and whilst the demo only really hints at the possibilities here I do wonder how it will be incorporated into the full game.
The game’s AI seems to be average at the moment as it is sometimes hard to tell whether you will be seen or not especially when you are in direct sight of enemies. I think some tweaks should be made here although I’m not certain if this will have been done for the full game. That said, it is rather neat that determined enemies will pursue you across rooftops!
Controlling the on screen character is a little tricky at first as it seems every button on the controller has a use and with slightly over sensitive controls when aiming especially, it could be a little tighter in my opinion. However after half an hour of playtime I am pretty confident that most players will become well accustomed to the control scheme and find them quite easy to use despite their fiddly nature such as when holding the right bumper and right triggers down at the same time whilst moving and jumping.
Graphically Tenchu Senran looks like a much higher resolution version of previous games and I have to say doesn’t look as good as it could do on Xbox 360. The character models are quite basic and certainly not a patch on Splinter Cell’s offerings. That said the openness of the play areas is a huge bonus and a contrast to Splinter Cell games and when you couple this with the fact that the demo level at least is set in the daytime rather than at night means that you can see everything clearly. I will assume that the full game will feature plenty of variety in terms of missions and will include night and day missions.
The demo can be beaten quite quickly as players can simply hot foot it to the ship and take on a shadowy figure in a one on one all out sword fight. However there is much fun to be had simply stalking enemies and going for stealth kills. One of the really neat aspects of past Tenchu games was the option to choose different layouts of guards as it is all too easy to memorize guard patterns in games of this type. Hopefully this feature will return. If my memory serves me correctly there was even a debug cheat available for the first Tenchu game which featured a level editor allowing players the choice to create their own guard patterns if this is also included then it will certainly add an extra layer of depth, especially if these can be shared with others via Xbox Live. Maybe this is wishful thinking on my part but who knows? I assume that the Live play will also make a return as players should be able to complete co-op missions as seen in the Xbox version. I’m not sure if any head to head modes will be available
The Tenchu Senran demo has been an enjoyable playing experience for me because it seems to portray the ninja gameplay very well. The game is quite basic on many levels but just seems to capture the stealth element really well. I am looking forward to the full game once it launches despite the fact that for Europeans there is no fixed date as yet but I will assume it will come eventually. Maybe Ubisoft or Activision will secure the publishing rights for European markets? Either way keep your eyes peeled for this game if you are a stealth fan as it’s looking like being a very cool title indeed.
|
