Its been about 10 years since Tenchu made its title to video game history. It is developed and published by Activision for several installments then moved on to Sega and now it is published under Ubisoft. The Tenchu fans always wanted a great ninja where starring characters Rikimaru and Ayame would take on a bloody journey. Some Tenchu installments pleased some fans or made them hate Tenchu forever. Will this installment be the fans choice?
In Shadow Assassins you will be playing with Rikimaru and Ayame again just like the first Tenchu games. You will be facing a complete new game play. All of the Tenchu fans hated this game play because they weren't used to it. They have founded really hard, but actually it is more fun and realistic. The first big change is that you don't carry sword with you instead you find swords during missions but they are not permanent items. They can break away while you are in combat. You perform Hissatsu (stealth kill) by using ninjitsu techniques which the ninjas in feudal Japan used as close quarter combat. Once you get close to an enemy grab the enemy and press up, right, left or down to perform different stealth kill animations which are awesome to watch. You either break necks, arms, throw or take out their sword and stab into their abdomens. You can also kill enemies in more interactive ways such as throwing bombs, shurikens or even poison their drinks. This forces you to use ninja tools and weapons to complete your missions rather than kill enemies barbarically.
If you are spotted for the first time you automatically vanish to the starting point without taking harm. But if you are spotted in the same area for the second time you get killed and start again from the checkpoint. If you carry sword and get spotted by the enemy , you will prepare to fight the enemy. The combat is in first-person mode. The first round is blocking enemy attacks. You should examine the enemy's attack. If he is slashing from right you hold analog stick to the right to guard the attack. If you are not accurate with blocking the attack your swords durability decreases. Once the durability is zero your sword breaks and get killed. Once you have completed with blocking the enemy's attack its your turn to attack the enemy. You can either slash your enemy from all directions or attack their weak points to perform combos and kill faster. Slashing mindlessly won't give severe damage and your attacking round will finish quickly. Once the enemies life is very low, you perform finishing move which is just awesome to see how you kill them.
So these are the new game play that the fans will face. Some people hated this new game play mechanic but actually mastering it will take time. So patience is the key to love this game.
Other new changes are the control scheme is pretty hard to play. The movement is tank-like which you turn left or right in order to move the direction you want. Through out the stages you will be hiding in the shadows which is black dusts that you see inside the bushes, in front of the walls, ceilings, fences etc. Once you are in the shadows no one sees you even if he is looking directly to you. You can dash inside the shadows to move faster or move from one hiding area to another hiding area without being caught by the guards. Another new feature is the Mind's Eye where you see enemies in red and their eyesight, key items and secret passages in yellow and shadows in purple which helps you solve your way out to the exit.
The level design is pretty awesome. It vast and interactive. Finishing missions is not linear. You can either go straight to mission objective or go through the secret passages by using ninja tools such as Kasugai (climbing claws) to climb up the walls or destroy breakable walls with Ghost Maker (bomb). You can also carry boxes to make an elevated place to climb up unreachable ledges. You will be using large vases, wardrobes, boxes, crawlspaces, rafters and ceiling to hide and kill your victims. So prepare yourself to use the environment to your advantage.
The graphics are little bit better than the previous Tenchu games. The character model are much better and the animations are more realistic. The CG cutscenes are awesome. The sound effects are kinda satisfactory since the game is in silent atmosphere but the musics are excellent which many gamers agree with it. The musics reminds me the first Tenchu game.
On the other hand, the game has loads of unlockable contents such as secret swords by finding map pieces or secret items by completing short assignments. There is also a gallery where you can view pictures or listen to musics or watch the cutscenes again. It takes some time to unlock them.
In conclusion I say that this installment is worth playing. It does have minor flaws but still it is a Tenchu game. If you really love ninjas and playing stealth you should really give a try for this game.
Pros:
- New game play
- Great story
- Nice composed musics
- New cool characters
- Interactive level design
- Items and weapons
- Unlockable contents and secrets
Cons:
- Control scheme
- Very dark levels
- Completing missions in S rank can be hard sometimes
- Few glitches
P.S. The Japanese word Tenchu means 'Wrath of Heaven'