Ever want to Stick a Sword through someone? OR Snap their Neck using Wii Controls?
Gameplay 9.0 / 10
You play as the white hair ninja named Rikimaru and later on as the female ninja Ayame. The story is the basic "Save the princess, Get betrayed by comrades"... But where the story lacks the gameplay exceeds!
The gameplay consists of either killing or sneaking past every enemy in a given area and moving on the next area. There are a few areas per stage. Stages are set at dusk and take place in old fashioned Japanese gardens, temples, or hill sides. The enemies in this game include Samurai, Ninja, Fully-Armored Warriors and Other foes.
The camera is fixed behind your character in a third-person view. It's very similar to Resident Evil 4's behind-the-shoulder camera but a bit less fluid. There are a few camera clipping issues during certain real-time events but they don't hinder gameplay in any way.
Tenchu 4 is a stealth game. This means your trying avoid enemies and by staying out of their sight. Hiding in bushes and the shadows are your best bet for success. You can create shadows by blowing out candles or pouring water onto torches. Items play crucial role for your success.
Here's brief explanation of the items:
Bamboo Tube - Holds water and allows you to put out torches and other flames. It also allows you to swim under water undetected by passing enemies. Bambo Tubes can be refilled while swimming in water or at specific water jugs.
The Shinobi Cat - A cat used for scouting out hidden enemies and can retrieve hidden items for you. When you deploy the shinobi cat you will possess the cat in a third-person view. This is similar to using the Mk 2 (A Small Scouting Robot) in Metal Gear Solid 4.
Shuriken - A Ninja star. Throw these at sniper warriors waiting to kill you.
Kunai - A small throwing knife used for killing ninjas who are lurking in the shadows.
Kasugai - Climbing hooks used for scaling certain walls.
Ninjato Sword - Used for defecting enemy shuriken and sword attacks. It's also used while engaging in motion-based sword battles.
Smoke Bombs - Throw these at enemies to blind their line of sight momentarily.
Ghostmaker - An explosive bomb used for exploding new paths and for 1-hit kills.
Fishing Rod - Aim at an item on the ground, swing your Wii Remote and flick back to reel the item in. This is useful for getting items surrounded by enemies.
Rock - These can be thrown at unsuspecting enemies, which will either kill them or annoy them depending on the enemy.
Keys - Used for opening locked doors. (DId I have to explain? :P)
Controls 8.0 / 10
Have you ever wanted to snap a person's neck with your bare hands like in the movies?... Here's your chance! That being said, the controls in this game work great but aren't very innovative.
You use the Wii-Mote and Nunchuck combination this game. Here's the basics of how they're laid out:
Control Stick - Moves Character
C Button - Jumps
Z Button - Rotating Camera
D Pad - Item Selection
A Button - Action Button.
B Button - Hold down to run
(More variations of these controls are character position based. These variations appear at the bottom of the screen while playing.)
Wii Motion Basics - Swing your Wii remote foward roll from bush to bush undected. Aim throwing weapons by using the motion based pointer; this is similar to shooting arrows in Twilight Princess. You can also go behind an enemy and press the A button to perform a number of Wii context sensitive based attacks. One of these attacks are performed by moving your Wii-mote backwards and your Nunchuck foward to snap the neck of your unsuspecting victim. You can perform these attacks while on rafters, in bushes, under decks and while surrounded by darkness.
Wii Motion Swordplay - If you have obtained a sword you will be able to engage in sword battles. These battles consist of an attack phase and a defense phase. In the attack phase you swing your Wii-mote in the direction of the arrows indicated on the screen and sometimes performing button combinations to hit your enemy. In the defense phase you turn your Wii-mote in the directions indicated on-screen to deflect enemy attacks.
Control Issues - The only main issue I've had with the controls is that if you jump while your running your character comes to a complete stop.
Graphics 6.5 / 10
The environments in this game are detailed and beautiful looking... However the character models and cut scenes make this game look like another PS2 port (In this case, a PSP port).The facial expressions and mouth movements of the NPCs don't match their voices... This makes you feel like your watching an old-school English dubbed Kung-Fu movie.
Music / Sound 7.5 / 10
As I said before the majority of the voice acting is atrocious but the soundtrack is great. It's very Japanese inspired and sets the tone for this Ninja themed game.
Overall Score 7.75 / 10