Tenchu: Return From Darkness

"Rikimaru and Ayame are Returning from Darkness"

Tenchu: Return from Darkness is the newest game in the Tenchu series.

Prologue from the manual ''It was a time of hiatus in a period of bitter wars and great turmoil.

The Azuma ninja clan conducted the traditional ceremonies to end its year of mourning for the tragic death of rikimaru. Meanwhile, the land of Lord Gohda celebrated the passing of the fourth season knew the truth about Lord Mei-Oh. Only the Azuma ninjas knew the truth about Lord Mei-Oh's disappearance into a portal after he defeated. It was a secret that even Lord Gohda did not know.

Lord Gohda did know that Azuma Ninjas served him with their lives and with their honor - delivering midnight messages to neighboring states and punishment in the shadows to those who turn againsted him. They were a feared yet unknowned group, a faceless arm of justice masked in a cloud of secrets. Most importantly, they were his merciless force of silent Assassins.

This is the sequel to a tale of two shadows born unto darkness and destined to die in darkness.''

Graphics: 6
RFD is a port of PS2's Wraith of Heaven with a few improvements. One being the graphics. Their not at where they will be testing the power of the Xbox but their still a improvement. On WOH if i recalled correctly when doing steath kills half of your foot is in their shoulder when doing a specific kill now on RFD that has been improved.

Audio: 9
This is personally my favorite part of the game. The sound effects, the voice acting, the backround music,ect are freaking great. When using weapons in a fought or using items such as the grappling hook the sound they make sounds realistic. The english voice acting is sorta cheesy at parts but for the most part they casted the right people to dub it. The backround music isnt much to be heard but the theme song called ''Sadame'' is fantastic.

Story: 8
You have the choice between the main male character Rikimaru and the main female character Ayame. Rikimaru who is the leader of the Azuma Shinobi-ryu ninja section. Ayame who uses an acrobatic style of ninjitsu. You work for Lord Gohda. You are set out to vanquise the undead Lord Mei-Oh (I think thats his name). You must be a silent assassin in your quest to defeat Lord Mei-Oh.

Gameplay: 8
The gameplay is pretty much consist of peaking around corner,sneaking up behind the enemy, and preform a steath kill.

The gameplay is great when your being silent and going around do majority of steath kills. The gameplay during boss fights and fighting enemies that have spotted you is not that great. You have 1 button to push that just swings your weapon.

Replay Value: 7
You have 2 characters to complete story mode with. Also you can unlock many multiplayer characters.

Final Recommendation: If you like Ninjas with a fantasy twist this is a game to buy. If you have LIVE even better. With online co-op and 1vs1 on LIVE couldn't get any better.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/10/04