The Tenchu series makes its appearance on the Xbox 360. It takes the series forward, but only by a few steps.
The story involves the Azuma Ninja Clan who serve Lord Ghoda in feudal Japan-no change there. It seems as if foreigners are selling a rival lord guns in exchange for drugs. Given that Ghoda does not like this and it threatens his country, you are sent from place to place to silently and quickly kill every single bad guy on the stage without being seen.
The game mechanics and play control are hit and miss-selecting items is much like the previous games and works well. You can sheathe your weapon in order to run quickly or to choke living enemies and drag them out of the way. This element is a much appreciated addition, not only is it effective and gives you a solid technical tool, it is so much fun to drag an enemy behind a house and execute them. The detection for climbing and jumping works about 90% of the time, but at times you will find yourself trying to climb up on a roof and unable to grab on, but that is rare.
The game took a step back by "locking in" the first person view. In previous games you could hold in a bumper button to throw it into first person view, aim, fire, and release and you would immediately snap back into 3rd person. Now you must click the left stick to get in and out of 1st person. The transition takes a second which can leave you wide open, especially when throwing a weapon.
The fighting hasn't improved much, actually it has gotten worse. Your strikes are stiff and clunky, and the camera which is good when sneaking becomes especially bad here. The idea behind fighting is block, then combo-it sort of works, but the three bosses in the game block a lot, and if they block your strikes, you are left wide open. Because the attacks are so stiff and clunky, it is difficult to measure timing. You do get more fighting options through special moves, but some of them are rather difficult to pull off or outright unnecessary.
The game has also introduced the "total stealth kill" which is when you sneak up on an enemy, wait until the indicator turns red, and you ice them. The animation still looks the same, but you get more points. The mechanic would have been cooler had a new killing animation taken place, you feel like you are doing more work for the same reward. It is difficult to pull them off when you have your weapon out as you must lurk around your enemy, but if you knock them out, haul them some place quiet, then kill them-you can get a total stealth kill every time. It is a great thing to exploit, but kind of ruins the feel.
Instead of earning new items by attaining high scores on each stage, you must buy them. You can still find items in stages, but they are limited to shurikens, health, antidote, dog bones, and some other random items. You earn more money by doing a better job and get bonuses for total stealth kills, not being detected, and stealth killing bosses. The mechanic works, and you are justly rewarded, but many times I would not get the nice 800 gold bonus for getting all total kills.
The game also incorporates series characters like Rikimaru (the protagonist from the other games) and Lord Ghoda, but that is it. You get to create your own ninja, which is kind of cool, but it just does not work for this game. The creation options are paltry compared to other games, and having a nameless, voiceless character makes the game kind of generic. This game would be much better if you could use series favorites Rikimaru and Ayame- which added replay. The game also has Japanese only language, subtitles are nice, but an English dub would be nice as well.
Overall, despite the flaws the game is a lot of fun. The stealth mechanic has been vastly improved. You now have a light meter that shows how visible you are, you must watch the noise you make, and you can now hide in grass, plants, bushes, etc. This makes sneaking around more realistic and opens up many options. By sneaking around, stalking your prey, and waiting for the right time to strike it never gets stale. The game is 50 levels long which means it will take a while, but sadly many of the levels are repeated. Even with this, the game is still just a lot of fun to play. The hardcore gamer may not like this game, the casual gamer may like it more, and fans of Tenchu (such as myself) will appreciate the new touches, but miss the music, characters, and dialogue of the previous games. Let's hope they make a sequel, I haven't fought Onikage in a while.