Tenchu : Wrath Of Heaven impressions

[Dezm0nd]

Tenchu : Wrath Of Heaven

Back in the day when i used to work for an independent game shop in my local town at the age of about 14, i remember two new games coming out the coming friday. Men In Black and Tenchu : Stealth Assasins.

After looking at the back of tenchu i decided it was definately a new experience in gaming for me. Sure i had played MGS on japanese import before, but this seemed to have more style which would suit me.
I fell in love with the game that night and never stopped trying to master my skills.

A couple of years later, tenchu 2 : Birth of the stealth assassins is released. Having rushed to work that day, i played it... got my mates round.. and we were disguted. I'm not sure what it was that made us frown, but we weren't happy.

2003 and i am still working in a games shop in town, although it's a different company. (People are shocked when they see me in the new shop)

Anyway, this week Tenchu 3 is out. Having not seen anything about this game at all, i decide to read the IGN review... to my shock, it got a good review. Friday morning, 20 copies of Tenchu 3 on my desk, I quickly unwrap it and stick it in the PS2... my first impression was something along the lines of....

"This is the best stealth game, ever"

I've never been so impressed with a stealth game, MGS2 Substance on the xbox was dissapointing and Splinter Cell was great, but i couldnt play it at all, no matter how much i wanted too.

If you've never played Tenchu, this is your chance to witness the finest game in the series, great graphics, amazing "stealth kills" (pressing Square on an unexpecting guard results in a cut-scene of a horrible death depending on your position to him)

Beautiful music pieces, and tonnes of atmosphere. Quite simply a must-have title.

It can be frustrating, mind. You'll find some bugs and the controls are awkward to get used to if you've played the PSone installments. But most of all, you can spend 30-50 minutes on a level only to get killed by the end of level boss, no checkpoints. But you do learn from your mistakes.

There are only a few select games on the PS2 i play, and this is one. Simply amazing. Get it now.

[John Beaulieu]

cheers for the impressions mate

picking this one up tomorrow and i am looking forward to it immensely

camps

[Henning]

Wow, sounds great. Thanks for the impressions.

[djtickle]

yeah sounds good! i only ever played the first one and that was cool, mite hunt down the second now......

[midgetfista]

I remember having to drive to the other side of the island to get a copy of the original, as HMV refused to sale to me (was an 18 cert). I opted not to buy the 2nd one as my best friend (huge tenchu fan) told me it ruined the whole tenchu feel. Because of this i wasn't exactly waiting with bated breath for the 3rd, and it kind of jumped on me like an uber stealth ninj0r!

So, I bought it on the Saturday after release, hoping for something that returned to its former glory.

The opening sequences brings back some memories from the 1st game, with a couple of familiar faces. From what i can gather, this is the Sequel to the 1st game, and tenchu 2 was the prequel (anyone confirm this?).

The dark moody graphics add to the atmosphere while you bound from rooftop to rooftop scouting out your enemy. The 1st mission for Rikimaru (sp?) so allot like the 1st mission in the 1st game, and even shares some of the dialogue "YOU CHOSE THE WRONG PARTY TO CWRASH!". The music is perfect for the game. It sets the tone beautifully and matches the feel of the area you are battling in.

As with all tenchu games, the difficulty curve is massive (if you expect to get Grandmaster Ninja, I will not settle for less!). During hectic fight sequences it is easy to lose your bearings, and the camera does nothing to ease this, and the pad has been throw against the wall a few times due to it.

It you are looking for fast, easy action, to NOT buy this game. You have to be patience and thoughtful to get through the game. If you perceiver you will feel proud when that result screen flashes GRANDMASTER. Otherwise, its just another 10 Day'er!
*midge

[jamielemon]

Loads of people say they loved Tenchu 1 but hated Tenchu 2. I thought they were both great, the second one probably didnt make as big an impression as it wasn't anything new, but as a game in its own right I thought it was equally well made.
What was it you didn't like about it? Nobody ever really seems to know, they say "it just didn't feel right" or something like that. I think its great.

[therealjohnpeat]

I played the Tenchu 2 and wasn't impressed at all - but several people recommended this so I rented it to see if it was any 'cop'.

Must admit, my first impressions were bad - the 'Tutorial' is just an animated manual so you have to remember all the moves/buttons/items etc. - there's no 'training' whatsoever, you're dropped straight into a mission...

THe first 30 mins was also a total 'guesswork' affair - what worked, what didn't - what would get you spotted etc. etc. - got a bit frustrating to be honest...

Once the game 'clicked' thought I really started to enjoy it. It reminds me of Hitman2 which was similarly tough to get started with - but hugely rewarding once you were going...

Complaints?

The fact you CANNOT quit and there is NO way to save mid-mission is a real sucky thing. Even when you know the layout a mission can take 20-30 mins or more - die and it's start-again time - need to go out and it's start-again time ;(

Camera? - Well, I've had a few 'moments' where I could not 'wall peek' and ended up walking straight into a guard - which was annoying - but other than that it seems AOK...

Feels very much like a 'deep' arcade game - and I mean that nicely

TTFN

JP

[yashiro]

The fact you CANNOT quit and there is NO way to save mid-mission is a real sucky thing. Even when you know the layout a mission can take 20-30 mins or more - die and it's start-again time - need to go out and it's start-again time ;(

Mid level saving is so wrong (I'd say 'badong' but Saur aint here).
The whole point is you do each mission in one go and don't get spotted. There'd be no tension if you saved, buggered off for a week and came back later.

It's probably the best Tenchu game in the series but some of the missions are a bit bland and uninspiring. With a bit more work this could have been a real AAA title. As it stands it's a worthy purchase and a must for all Tenchu / Stealth fans. Probably worth getting over the dire Devil May Cry 2.

* Audio wise the music fits really well and the script is suitably cheesy.
* I defy anyone not to turn their amp to max for the intro movie.
* There are 3 voice scripts, English, Jap & B-side (comedy dub)
* The sound effects do their job but are nothing special.
* Graphics are very smooth but have the typical low-fi PS2 textures.
* Character animation is OK but the bad guys tend to be a bit robotic
* The AI is average (some poor pathing in places too) but doesnt spoil the game ito any greaty extent.
* The controls and camera are still a bit clunky but are an improvement over previous games.
* On the whole the game does give you a great sensation of 'sneaking around'. Far better than say MGS in that respect.
* Hidden character is well done and fun to play as.
* There's a bonus 'future based' mission.
* The hidden character can remove hearts from the enemies with one of his attacks :0

[therealjohnpeat]

Having now RTFM'ed - you can quit a mission using L1+R1+L2+R2+Select+Start - it's fiddly but it does work 'sometimes'.

As for saving - so long as the missions are <30 mins I'll survive but the idea of having to dump more than that in effort would grate...

Still fun tho

TTFN

JP

[Andy_T]

i think having save check points or quick save would upset the balance. the tension can be incredible 20 minutes into a mission without putting a foot wrong (literally) when you're faced with a decision; sneak past and be on your way OR don't leave any living witnesses but possibly risk the chance of being seen (and sacrifice the coveted Grandmaster rating in the process). it's a beautiful game, there are some flaws but overall the experience is unmatched by any other title.

[Garibaldi Biscuit]

Sounds great, I love a good sneak 'em' up, the Thief series on the P.C ranking among my all time favourites, and it seems as though the good points here far outweigh the bad. It's an interesting genre, I have a m8 who just cannot get along with stealth games, unable to stop himself charging in and taking as many of the enemy with him as possible ( he played every level in Hitman2 as a bloodbath, unsuprisingly ). He saw the waiting in the shadows, studying the movement and timing of guard patrols before picking your exact moment to act as being a tedious and drawn-out activity, whereas my excitement and involvement in the game increases with every second I spend 'watching' the enemy.

Thanks for the impressions, folks.

[therealjohnpeat]

Well - I've now gone through the 3rd RikiMaru mission god-knows how many times only to...

Die half-a-dozen times falling into bottomless pits cos I either didn't see them or mistimed the 'near pixel perfect jump' required to cross them.

Die 3 times on the final boss (he's not actually that hard but once he's started comboing he's unstoppable - I 'resurrected' and before I could move he killed me in 1 hit FFS!!!!!)

Got to say I don't have much desire to play that through again to be honest...

'Certain death drops' have no place in modern videogames IMHO - esp. not 'sneakily hidden ones'. Your grappling hook is unreliable because it's hard to judge where to swing to (I've died a couple of times misjudging that so I jump instead...) - pushing someone into an 'abyss' is too "hit and miss" - you're more likely to end up in it yourself too...

The pits confuse the AI no end anyway - who often just walk (or jump) straight into them - erm - not very 'realistic' - the game would be better off without em IMHO

It's not really fair to call this a 'sneak em up' in the way Thief was - the AI is AMAZINGLY stupid - you can often stand next-to-them and they won't see you etc. etc. Thief was mostly believable - this is 'rigged' too much and would disappoint the serious stealth types I think...

Prob. best to make up your own mind tho - I've enjoyed it mostly but some of the level designs are too basic and the game lacks polish - it feels too 'old fashioned' and 'more frustrating than need be' really.

TTFN

JP

[yashiro]

I don't think you've got to grips with this game at all yet.
I agree about the baddies 'awareness' though, it is limited to a very small line of sight cone. (I did mention their pathing was broken earlier too)

It's by no means a stunning game, but it's good fun. Possibly because I've played the first two I overlook the minor problems that new players find annoying?
On a '1 to 10' scale it probably deserves a 6 or 7 with an accompanying tagline - 'with more polish it could have been fantastic'...

[therealjohnpeat]

I really like the overall idea (ninjas - who wouldn't!!) - I like the combat and the stealth and I can live with the 'brown' theme the game has too.

The AI is stupid but again - that's the game and you can live with it.

The levels are just a bit 'basic' tho - a bit 'PS1' in places - and as I said before, 'instant death -start again' drops and bosses who - should you die - demand you replay the ENTIRE level - are very 'old skool' and more frustrating than I think they need be really...

If I were looking for a decent combat/stealth mixture both this and Hitman2 would do me nicely - neither is perfect but both are worth investigation...

TTFN

JP

[Cacophanus]

On a '1 to 10' scale it probably deserves a 6 or 7 with an accompanying tagline - 'with more polish it could have been fantastic'...

Bah! "Maximum awesomeness" all round.