Tenchu: Fatal Shadows

Tenchu: Fatal Shadows
Game: Tenchu: Fatal Shadows
Platform: PS2
Studio: Sega
Rating: 6/10

GAME STUDIO DESCRIPTION: After the disappearance of Rikimura, the ninja Ayame began traveling the land in search of her mentor. Stumbling upon a burning village filled with the slain and dying, she quickly encountered the only survivor – another ninja named Rin. With years of training and hearts filled with revenge, the fierce warriors employ ancient skills – super vision, wall running, enemy freeze, and more – to determine who brought about this hideous crime. Gamers will now experience the world of Tenchu from two different perspectives – Ayame, the master of stealth from previous Tenchu games, or Rin, the new female ninja lead. In addition to using new and improved stealth kill combos to take out multiple enemies with one attack, players will have to use stealth tactics to avoid detection, such as moving bodies and swim under the cover of water out of enemy site, to make it through the eighteen levels of gameplay. With three gameplay modes, refined gameplay mechanics and tons of unlockables, Tenchu is a must have for fans of the stealth-action genre.
PLAY: Technu has changed companies however it is still plays the same. You can play pne of two female Ninjas each with a different agenda—protection and revenge. What could have been a strong story and tie those together never quite happens.

Stealth isn’t fundamental to finishing Technu however it is sure to make life much easier once mastered. You can complete whole levels slipping around without being seen. It sounds cool—but it’s not nearly as much fun as fighting. You can fight in stealth too; you don’t have to just slip by mysteriously in the night. It would have been much more interesting if the stealth kills were better.

The fighting isn’t as strong as you’d expect for a game about ninjas. There are combos that can be tied together, blocks, and acrobatic maneuvers. The problem is the AI isn’t bad and the controls are weak.

GRAPHICS: The characters aren’t bad however the environments are jagged and poorly detailed. This time around Technu feels dated. The animations don’t quite stand up to many of the games released today—it’s too bad that the graphics weren’t updated. It’s hard to imagine kids being impressed by this when there are so many fantastic looking releases coming out all the time.

SOUND: The voice work is irritating. The environmental sounds and punches and kicks are par.

FRANKLY: The camera functions poorly and the controls quickly detract from any joy that could have been had. The AI is appalling. There are occasions when the enemy gets stuck behind parts of the environments and they never quite figure out how to get at us. You almost have to show them how to come after you—that’s something you’d expect from a SNES game. Fatal Shadows should improve on the original instead it holds a dated status quo.

+ Richie Wright


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