Mark of the Ninja is one of those games that you are so happy to play because it gets its genre so right. While I can’t say that the story was as pleasing; as I didn’t know the plot throughout nor were the characters that interesting to begin with, the gameplay speaks volumes. Stealth is some of the hardest stuff to replica into a game, and why it’s such a polar opposite so often is a bit of a mystery, but thank goodness Mark of the Ninja gets it right. Aside from the constant checkpoints that make going through this game more fun than daunting; Mark of the Ninja gives you the option to kill your enemies or simply let them live. It’s a tactic that is also used in the famous MGS series as well, and really helps focus on stealth rather than killing your enemies like you normally would in most games. I really love this choice as it can easily make the game that much harder or easier pending on how you want to go about. Mark of the Ninja also lets you have the ability to fight your enemies even when you are caught, but for the most part you are largely out numbered, outgunned, and can’t simply fight your way through any given level. The majority of Mark of the Ninja is about avoiding sight, and getting to any given area the quickest and safest way possible. It even gives the player a number of different options in certain levels, and there usually isn’t one given way to go through this game. Even after beating it, you are still given the options to replay the game differently by the costume options that give a bunch of different abilities as well as the different weapons and distractions given throughout the game. Mark of the Ninja is just such a lovely game that gives a lot of choice gameplay wise, and that’s what really makes it a good stealth game.
What makes Mark of the Ninja a great stealth game however is the sound system used throughout the game. While you normally don’t make much of a sound while walking normally, running or certain actions will make a noise that makes the enemies in this game aware of where you could be. I say, “could be” because in reality you want to be using this sound system to your advantage by redirecting enemies where you want them to be, leaving you to either sneak past or get behind them for the finishing blow. There is also the option of making noise for them to head over to death traps, or dead bodies to freak out and kill for you. This sound system really just helps make what was already a good stealth game, great because it utilizes more than just one sense of what it means to be stealth, and that’s just not seen much in other stealth games oddly enough.
Course Mark of the Ninja has a few problems on board, as sometimes the checkpoint system will sometimes set you up with a bad situation, although it’s not impossible to get out, and rarely actually happens through normal gameplay. Visually the game is very stunning as a lot of colors are vibrate and pleasing to the eyes, but when you get further into the game, sometimes the surrounds can be really jarring to the eye, mainly due to everything that is happening on the screen. Aside from these few problems though, and a plot that is kinda just thrown in your face, there really isn’t much wrong with Mark of the Ninja. It’s a great game with a lot of replay value and different ways to play through it.
Final Thoughts:
Mark of the Ninja gives you lot of different options to tackle any problem however you want, but always gives primary focus to stealth. It hits all the right marks to make it a great stealth game, and even the few flaws that it has can’t come close to ruining that. It’s a stealth game that’s worth playing and that’s really the only selling point it needs honestly