Tenchu tiptoes to PSP

Although the Tenchu series debuted on (and enjoyed much of its success on) the original PlayStation, Sony's current systems are the only major console and handheld platforms not to play host to the series in North America. Tenchu: Time of the Assassins for the PSP made it to Japanese and European shelves in 2006, but a planned North American release by Sega was quietly deep-sixed when nobody was looking.

That oversight is set to be rectified, given that Ubisoft is ready to bring Tenchu: Shadow Assassins to North American PSPs this month, with a European release to follow in April. Perhaps in response to the critical reception of Shadow Assassins on the Wii, Ubisoft is touting "the accuracy of the PSP system's control buttons" in letting players control the action.

Originally developed by series creator Acquire, Shadow Assassins follows the ninja Rikimaru and Ayame as they attempt to ensure stability in feudal Japan by carrying out a series of assassinations. For more on Shadow Assassins, check out GameSpot's review of the Wii edition of the game.