"Not as good as Wrath of Heaven, but still enjoyable if you are a fan of the series."
GRAPHICS 8/10: The PS2 seems to do well with Tenchu graphics. The characters look good. They are solid and have plenty of detail. The stages are well designed and create the atmosphere of being a ninja very well. You have a lot more natural terrain in this game. This means that there are a lot of trees and plant life that obscure your view. This may sound annoying, but it actually makes the game more realistic. The main characters are animated nicely but still don't really make any strides in videogame programing. The character animation is dated. The enemies move in very blocky ways. In fact, the enemies in Tenchu seem to still use the original animation programing from PSX Tenchu. They walk in straight lines, stop and look in one direction, turn, and then keep walking. Fans of the Tenchu series will see that the quality of graphics is the same as it was in Wrath of Heaven. While these graphics are good in their own way, better graphics are usually expected in sequels. There are few, if any improvements here. Consequently, we have a great looking game that doesn't really try to accomplish more than it's predecessor and thus, seems flat. Overall, the game's graphics are nice and do their job well.
SOUND/MUSIC 6/10: Tenchu is known for having these great japanese themes and a very distinct soundtrack. Until now. Tench Fatal Shadows seems content to draw you in with a very nice intro song and then punish you with lame and repetitive music. The music during the levels is boring. There is no originality or even a dicernible beat. It is fair to say that Tenchu has not had good music since the PSX version. The voices of the characters are pretty good. You have the option of switching the dialog to japanese which adds tremendous strength to the plot. The english voices are annoying and only subtract the "japanese feel", Tenchu games are known for. The soundeffects are standard. Unfortunately, the ambience in this game is not very good. A ninja should be in touch with his surroundings and the game's sound should have reflected that. Overall, the sound is functional and does a good job. However, there is nothing impressive in this game's sound.
GAMEPLAY 8/10: Tenchu fans will rejoice as not a single thing has been changed from past Tenchu games. The gameplay is very simple. Hide until an enemy turns his back, and then kill him. You get a "Stealth Kill" animation which is really not that cool. This "stealth kill" deal was a really cool concept introduced in the original Tenchu, but it has gotten old and has not been improved upon. The game allows for a few decent combos but really doesn't hold up as a fighting game. The enemies are smart and tough once they are alerted. They call for backup and begin cutting you to shreds. The difficulty has been increased and you will die if you are not careful. The guards are usually watching each other's back and walk in intersecting paths. All the original moves are here for you to kill guards with. When they die, they drop scrolls that you collect to gain new abilities. Some of these abilities are useless, others are awesome. For example, you can put your ear to the ground and listen for footsteps that tell you the location of the enemies. The scroll requirements are pretty steep so you are not going to just blow through the game quickly. Some skills require up to 1000 scrolls. Since guards drop about 3 scrolls on average, you have your work cut out for you. Overall, Tenchu handles well on the PS2. The PS2 controller makes playing the game feel very natural and easy. Everything moves well with a little bit of slowdown when there are too many things going on. Even then, the game is well designed is enjoyable.
STORY 7/10: Tenchu has a way of coming up with good storylines and Fatal Shadows is no exception. You have betrayal, and retribution. The new character, Rin is a nice addition to the cast of Tenchu. This story is more about the feelings of Rin, and her battle to be a ninja. Ayame returns once again but without Rikkimaru. The story is pretty good and will please Tenchu fans.
FUNFACTOR 7/10: Tenchu fans will enjoy Fatal Shadows. There are many unlockables and they require a lot of time and effort. The game plays well and is fun to play. Tenchu still stands apart from the mainstream gaming. It is more about precision and planning. It relies on cunning and not on brute strength. Another good thing about Tenchu is that the game designers actually know something about ninja tactics and have done a great job in simulating the life of a ninja. Ninja fans will surely enjoy the mystery, suspense, and thrill of the chase as they stalk their victims from the shadows. The difficulty is higher and will challenge even veterans. Double Stealth kills will have to be used to deal with the crowds. Newcomers may be turned off by Fatal Shadows because it is simply not a game for Tenchu beginners. OVERALL 7/10: Tenchu: Fatal Shadows is a great ninja/stealth game that will entertain veterans of the Tenchu series. Beginners would do well to play Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven before jumping into this one. Fatal Shadows is fun and very long. Completing every task will be very difficult and time consuming. However, Fatal Shadows does not really add anything special to the Tenchu franchise and is not as good as Wrath of Heaven. This is probably completely to blame on the absence of Rikkimaru. Tenchu is a fantastic franchise that can do better than Fatal Shadows. This game is for Tenchu fans only.