Is That a Ninja In Your Pants... 

Title: Tenchu: Shadow Assassins
Developer/Publisher: Acquire/Ubisoft
Platforms: Wii
Release Date: 02/03/09
Number of Players: 1

I'll admit readily that I am a ninja fan. I'm not saying I'm good at ninja games, but I love them for some reason. I think it is the sneaky stealthiness that I love, and the close-combat weapons. Sure, a BMG is great but nothing satisfies like dropping from the rafters and breaking a neck. You know what I mean? Ok, maybe you don't...but if you really are a ninja game fan, I'm sure you are curious about the Tenchu game from Acquire.

I've been playing Tenchu games since the beginning. I fell in love with the original, it was something I had never heard of before - stealth and all that. At the time I was playing games like Quake on the PC and Tekken 2 on the PS1. Stealth was not a huge factor in these games (maybe a little in Quake, but not much). When I got my hands on Tenchu (PS1) it was something new to me and I played it for weeks. I never did finish that game, but I was sure to pick up the sequel when it came out.

Now we are graced with a new Tenchu game for the Wii. I will tell you that at first I was very worried - I have not had great experiences with "hardcore" games on the Wii thus far. With a lot of games, it feels as though the Wii controls were thrown on as an afterthought. Not the case with Tenchu, this game feels as though the Wii motion controls are a perfect fit. Using the Wiimote for my stealth kills is a joy. Some of you might think it is demented, but having to complete the killing thrust or double-jerk (neck break) really pulls me into the game. I do like it better than just learning button combos an/or button mashing. Whether playing as Rikimaru with his almost pure stealth or Ayame where you can be more aggressive and out there, the Wii motion controls really help pull me in.

This isn't to say that the control in the new Tenchu is perfect. I have a lot of trouble with just turning around on ceiling beams without falling. The characters' basic movement is controlled by the analog stick on the Nunchuk attachment. Normally this works out fine, but every movement of the stick he actually moves a little. This means that when I try to turn around, he walks in a little circle instead of just turning around in place, not good when on a beam or some other tight space. For the most part I have had no issues controlling the characters in the game, but once in a while the turning or the camera will be an issue. The most difficult control for me is the defending sword combat. You get a quick flash of what direction to hold the Wiimote, with practice it became easier but is still tough. As with the other Tenchu games, your elite ninja team is needed to try and keep "peace". There are main story missions to go through, as well as side quests. Throughout the main story there are also map pieces to find to unlock more goodies. You can also go through the Assignments mode to unlock game extras. I don't want to spill too many beans here because that is half the fun of games - unlocking extra content. Right?

The level designs are really nice, there has been a lot of attention to detail that I appreciate and I think a lot of gamers will appreciate. Not the most impressive item, but for example about detail - I was crawling under a house as Rikimaru and I noticed that the wood actually looked like wood I would expect to be under the house - not just brown blocks as a lot of games will toss down there. The design and artwork has the look and feel of a genuine scene from that time period which serves to draw me even further into the game. I know I'm into a game when even thought I'm doing horribly (as I do a lot while learning new ninja games) and it might take me an hour to finish a "simple" task - I want to keep playing for hours on end, well past the time I should be hitting the pillow. There are two kinds of cut scenes in this game, from what I can tell. The first type is the typical rendered cutscene. These scenes happen between each of the various missions in the main storyline. They are all very well done and I didn't find myself wanting to skip them, that's a refreshing change for me. The second type of cutscene happens during missions, between each section of the mission (aka checkpoints). These appear to be in-engine animations. They are also surprisingly well done. I'm saying that because it is really nice to have quick scenes and longer ones, and both are well-done with neither feeling like filler. The cutscenes really help to move the story along and connect the various missions really well. The voice acting is well done and for the most part I feel that the choice of voice talent was great for each character.

The place where the voices fall apart, for me anyway, is the standard enemies. They have very few lines and therefore the repeating is quite often. They call me "turd" which is very strange, and there are lines that sound like they should be in an order such as "are you over here?" followed by "or maybe over here"...but they are not always in that order. For all the other great things about the game, the lines the general enemies spew just feel rushed and unfinished. Of course, that isn't something that makes the game unbearable, but it does merit mentioning. Overall a really great game that I have enjoyed playing. I have not unlocked everything there is, but hope to come close in the coming week. Like I said, I'm not the best at the ninja games but I really love playing them.

The Review

Graphics:

The Wii, as we all know, is not a graphics powerhouse. Tenchu: SA does a very good job of eeking out what graphics ability there is in the Wii. The animations were smooth in-engine and the gameplay was smooth. I didn't notice any lags or pauses, a nice change from offerings on other systems lately. Very nice graphics and smooth animations overall for a Wii game.

Gameplay:

 It's a ninja game. What more can I say? If you don't like stealth you will absolutely hate this game. Then again, if you don't like stealth why would you even look at a Tenchu game? I thought the gameplay was excellent with interesting weapons and ninja moves, as well as options to finish levels your own way (except run and gun of course). There are some issues with the camera once in a while when you do a stealth kill (like the camera getting "stuck" in a piece of wood and hiding the kill), but for the most part it works well. I had some trouble with turning, like Rikimaru is a huge airliner, it takes room to turn him around, that's the only character control I didn't like.

Story:

I enjoyed the story. I don't want to put any spoilers in here, so let me just say that it was a good story and I think you will enjoy it. The voice acting was really good (I'm talking about the main characters here).

Music/Sound:

 The music was pretty and most of the time I didn't even notice it - which is the point of background music. The sound and sound effects were decent, no complaints here.

The Good:

 This is a fun game that isn't baby-easy or pro-gamer tough. The graphics are the best I've seen on the Wii so far, controls are nice for the most part. The story is interesting and the locations are well thought-out and very nice too look at.

The Bad:

Rikimaru doesn't turn on a dime, which can make controlling him difficult at times.

The Ugly:

When the camera gets stuck there is really no way to fix it except move your character and hope nobody spots you.

Overall:

 Once you get past the initial learning curve for the controls and general gameplay style, this is a very enjoyable game. It stays difficult throughout and is a lot of fun and very rewarding to play.

Final Vote: 8/10