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Intro
"Ninja! Vanish!" - ah, that timeless quote from Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles 2 will forever remain a favorite of mine,
and as long as there will be ways for me to act out my ninja fantasies,
then it shall forever be ready to use at a moment's notice. Needless
to say, anyone around me became quite annoyed by the arrival of
Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven. A stylish, addictive, but flawed
release marks the culmination of a series that continues to ignore
significant gameplay deficiencies, but polishes everything else.
Most importantly, though, it served as an excellent excuse to scream
out poor dialogue from a movie.
Gameplay: 8/10
Rikimaru and Ayame make their return, along with Tesshu (unlockable).
Each has overlapping campaigns that feature missions that can be
replayed with up to 3 different layouts, which means that longtime
fans of the series will have plenty to keep themselves busy for
a long time. Gone is the shaky level editor from 2: Birth of
the Stealth Assassins, instead, in its place is a welcomed two-player
mode that features both co-op and deathmatch modes; while a nifty
inclusion, the cramped camera view and imbalance in characters -
which are unlocked when fought during the single player missions
- makes the deathmatch experience a bit awkward, but there's plenty
of fun to be had with co-op. However, no thanks to an extremely
quirky camera and some twitchy controls, the game can feel a bit
tedious, especially since the characters' missions take place in
the same areas, but with slight variations, and playing through
one of the more disappointing levels is just made worse when having
to go through it again.
Through a convoluted story, players
will see Rikimaru experience a resurrection, along with the resurgence
of an old enemy, and a trail of missions that range from killing
slave traders, protecting nobles, going through levels without being
able to attack anyone, and the enjoyable outdoor missions that allows
from some nice grappling hook action that allows for some swift
roof-to-roof action. Along the way, cutscenes and briefings will
explain what's going on and what occurred in-between missions, but
they tend to skip around a bit and the story has a tendency to get
overly complicated. To see the missions through, gamers will get
a plethora of goodies to help them dispatch their foes: exploding
throwing stars, grappling hooks that pull enemies closer, poison
rice, grenades, smoke bombs, resurrection logs, nails to step on,
as well as the traditional throwing stars. What really makes the
game fun, and is the player's greatest weapon, are the coveted stealth
kills.
Stealth kills are performed when the
player is able to sneak close enough to an enemy, and right before
they notice - or even if they do for a brief moment - the standard
attack turns into one of a number of swanky - and optional - cutscenes.
The ninjas slice, behead, impale, and break the bones of their enemies,
each single move draining all of the enemy's health. Each kill adds
a symbol to a meter that, when filled, will allow for the hero to
learn a new combo; only one new combo can be learned per mission,
and some stealth kills won't count towards learning new maneuvers.
These new combos will allow for the player to end combos with body
checks, using the grappling hook to pull enemies back to the players
or to even get their minds and make the enemies fight each other.
There were also some cool sword-lock sequences, with myself and
an enemy squaring off with our swords grating against each other,
but it didn't happen very often.
Going the way of the ninja (i.e.: stealth
kills) is preferred, and not only because of the game ranking the
player on their performance - which displays combat kills, stealth
kills, times spotted, etc. - but also because combat weans between
solid and extremely weak. The aforementioned camera and control
problems not only affect navigating the levels, but also combat;
there's nothing more annoying than having a close-up view of the
player's face, while an enemy is hacking away right in front of
the. Simple stealth maneuvers, like walking against a wall, wouldn't
work properly; completely flat walls wouldn't register to the player's
character that it could go against them, but a small beam sticking
out into the open would. Going in for stealth kills won't always
work either, as they won't always register.
The weapon-based combat is nowhere
near as enjoyable, or complex, as the one found in Way of the Samurai,
but the streamlined approach does work - to an extent. Since the
enemy has such uneven levels of difficulty and intelligence, two
or three might be successfully defeated, but just one of the same
foe can manage to take away an entire bar of health. The way the
enemies are alerted to the player's presence is also so awkward
that it makes situations difficult to judge. The player can slash
someone and evade pursuit by jumping onto a board 2 feet above them,
or, have the enemy spot him behind a rock that's half a screen away
and with no indication of anyone hiding there. Enemies also have
a tendency to run around in circles, and they particularly enjoy
running off cliffs and ledges.
It's hard to go wrong with a covert
ninja title, and in most aspects, Wrath of Heaven pulls off
everything well; but, repeating levels that are overly complex and
boring, encountering AI that ranges from idiot to expert killer,
working around camera and control problems - most of which were
in Tenchu 2: Birth of the Stealth Assassins - makes Wrath
of Heaven a bit hard to take. On one hand, the time to address
the technical issues was there, and it's annoying that they are
still so prevalent, but on the other, Wrath of Heaven still managed
to be an extremely fun title - cool concepts really do go a long
way.
Graphics: 7/10
Impressive outdoor levels, with some sporting nice weather effects,
will be welcomed sites from the blander indoor levels. Character
design, however, is strong throughout, with both heroes and enemies
looking great. Enemies look particularly good as they are an imaginative
bunch, with some a range from one that looks likes a character from
Mad Max: Beyond the Thunderdome (imagine Tina Turner's henchman,
the guy with a dummy strapped to his back via a pole), to zombie
archers and wooden creations with freaky masks. The effects are
also solid, with sparks, explosions, and small touches making the
game a bit livelier. However, there is a good bit of minor polygon
clipping, but nothing too drastic. On the whole, it manages to withstand
its blemishes and remain as stylish as it is imaginative.
Sound: 8.5/10
The standard Asian flare is present in the music, but there also
seems to be a dash of Middle Eastern influence that really makes
the music unique, and very enjoyable. The sound effects are limited,
but they are good and used in moderation. Likewise, the voice-overs
are also good, a bit overly-dramatic, but they get the job done.
Guards will also carry on some pretty interesting conversations,
but they get out of character when in patrol mode by spouting random
lines that seem out of place. The music is the real showpiece here
and it more than makes up for whatever faults there might be with
the vocals or effects.
Control: 5.5/10
Due to the camera not liking to get the optimal view, navigation
and combat can get become a chore after a while. While there is
the ability to look around, some weapons even giving a first-person
view, as well as an enhanced zoom feature (ninja site), but the
natural unintuitive nature of the camera remained a constant pain.
Some great stealth kills and surprise attacks, along with their
meticulous preparations, were thrown away as rounding a corner would
only show a close-up of wall and not the approaching enemy that
is in hallway that the player is facing. The camera can be swiveled,
or centered, but the time it takes to move it back behind the player's
head is normally the amount of time it takes for an enemy to take
notice and attack. The ability to slide against walls has been in
the past titles, as well as in the Metal Gear Solid series,
but it isn't perfect and it alone can lead to several frustrating
moments. Combat can be also turn into a hair-pulling ordeal as hordes
of converging enemies will mean that the player can look forward
to being bounced around from sword to sword, all due to an opportune
situation going awry because of the camera and somewhat imprecise
controls (re: blocking not always working). It's a shame these problems
weren't addressed, they are the biggest obstacle in enjoying the
game.
Overall: 7.5/10
Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven is far from perfect, but it's still
full of those tense moments and excessive ninja-styled action that
we all know and love. I really hope that the camera, AI, and controls
are addressed in a follow-up as this is too great of a series to
let meander away; however, on the other hand, a Tenchu 4 with these
same problems might not be as welcomed. In the end, despite not
being very polished, Wrath of Heaven is still an enjoyable
title and worthy of at least a rental.
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