Tenchu: Return From Darkness Preview

Tenchu: Return From Darkness is the upcoming Xbox incarnation of developer K2's PlayStation 2 installment in the popular series of ninja games. Though the core PlayStation 2 game is in the Xbox game, developer K2 has done more than just port its work from the PS2 to the Xbox. Tenchu: Return From Darkness for the Xbox is actually more of a director's cut than a straight port, thanks to a number of improvements. We had the chance to check out the single-player and Xbox Live components and have come away pleased by how the game is shaping up. Tenchu: Return From Darkness looks to offer a solid mix of old-fashioned ninja stealth action and Xbox Live play.

As we mentioned, the core of Tenchu: Return From Darkness is last year's PlayStation 2 game. Like previous games in the series, this version features two main playable characters. If you're feeling manly, you can play as the strong and disciplined Rikimaru, or, if you want to get in touch with your feminine assassin side, you can choose the lithe and lightning-fast Ayame. If you're a longtime fan of the series or are familiar with last year's game, you'll find that K2 has put some work into making the story in Return From Darkness more structured and coherent. You'll be treated to some new cinematic sequences and dialogue between characters that help make the characters' stories easier to follow. You'll also tussle with some new bosses and new enemies, which keeps the action fresh. And, as in the PlayStation 2 game, once you go through the game with Rikimaru and Ayame, you'll gain access to Tesshu, everyone's favorite doctor, who has his own unique campaign to go through and some of the best methods of stealthy killing in the game.

Tenchu: Return From Darkness has the same mission-based structure the earlier games did. After being briefed on your mission, you'll be sent to an inventory screen to stock up on a few supplies before heading out. You'll notice some new items, which have been added to beef up the experience on the Xbox. As usual, it's important to remember to be quiet and stealthy, though this can be challenging. All the characters are proficient at dealing swift, painful death to their enemies. If you're good and can sneak up behind a foe without being noticed, you can perform a stealth kill that rewards you with an instant kill. If you're spotted, you'll have to take the enemy out the old-fashioned way--that is, by charging them head-on with a sword. While engaging in standard combat is a decent-enough option, it can also be a one-way ticket to death, since you'll almost always be outnumbered.

The basic gameplay mechanics are pretty much the same as in the original PlayStation 2 game. You'll have your assortment of inventory items to use during a mission--everything from a grappling hook to shuriken, which are very handy. You'll have the expected attack, jump, crouch, and use actions mapped out on the Xbox controller, and they all work well. However, you'll now be able to drag bodies, which is a welcome addition to the mix. The ability to drag and hide the bodies of your victims helps reduce the danger of alerting the patrolling guards. Another key addition to the gameplay is a much more aggressively tuned AI that sets guards on you pretty mercilessly if you're sloppy.

While the tweaked single-player game is good, the most promising mode is the Xbox Live multiplayer mode. You'll find the standard Xbox Live suite of functions, including quick match and optimatch. The Xbox Live component lets you play with or against a friend in several different game types, such as co-op or versus. We've noticed that voice chat is invaluable for working together to get through a level. Whether you're trying to get a feel for where your enemies are or just trying to coordinate when to take out foes quietly, voice is an essential part of the experience. Team stealth kills will yield brutal and satisfying animations. The co-op mode is a series of missions that will challenge you and a friend to work together to complete a task. The catch is that on some levels you'll instantly fail the mission if you or your partner is seen, which is challenging and more than a little frustrating.

Other levels are exercises in pain as you and a pal face off against bosses from the game, two at a time. The versus mode is a straightforward one-on-one battle that lets you play as Rikimaru, Ayame, Tesshu, or a number of other characters, including ninja dogs, robots, and boss characters. You'll fight in one of several arenas that are variations on the game's main levels. Some arenas will let you and your friend sneak about, trying to collect items and get the drop on each other, while others will be populated with non-player characters you'll have to avoid or take out.

Sneaky players may find a way to use non-player characters to their advantage. For instance, you can let your opponent get into a fight with a non-player character and then swoop down and attack when the character's attention is focused elsewhere. Overall, the online mode is shaping up to be the best addition to the game on the Xbox. Though there are still a few kinks to iron out--we experienced some incidents of lag and garbled voice during a few games--there's still plenty of fun to be had here.

The graphics have been beefed up for the Xbox game. While there isn't a quantum leap in the game's appearance as a whole, there's quite a bit to catch your eye. The most striking improvements can be seen in the character models for Rikimaru, Ayamee, and Tesshu. The polygon counts have been bumped up significantly and look very good. The environments have also seen some improvements in lighting, poly count, and texture quality. But whereas the original levels looked good, the new Xbox-only levels are noticeably better. Plus, the game's frame rate is speedy and fluid. The only real hitch to the visuals is the camera, which still manages to be difficult when you least want it to be. Though some tweaks have been made to the system, the camera often pulls a fast one on you at the wrong times. Hopefully K2 will be able to squeeze in a few more tweaks before the game ships to tighten it up even more.

The audio in the game makes use of ambient sound, voice, and music tracks to offer a solid atmospheric experience. Some of the sound samples aren't as crisp as they should be, but they don't detract from the game. The voice is an uneven collection of emoting that ranges from solid to cheesy late-night kung-fu-theater quality. The music in the game is a likable assortment of tracks that reflect an Asian influence but that don't include the hackneyed arrangements you might expect.

So far Tenchu: Return From Darkness is looking good. The fleshed-out single-player game and Xbox Live-enabled multiplayer mode make for compelling reasons to check the game out even if you played it on the PlayStation 2. K2's tweaks are making the game a fresher experience than we'd expected. We would obviously like to see the camera issues and rough spots in Xbox Live play smoothed out before it ships, but even so, the game is still fun. Anyone looking for a ninja fix will want to keep an eye out for Tenchu: Return From Darkness when it ships this March for the Xbox.