Tenchu: Return From Darkness

"Tenchu: Clipping in the Darkness"

Tenchu is almost a direct port to XBOX from the PS2. That being said, I can move on with confidence now that everyone knows that a port is a port of course, of course.
Tenchu is a game that reminds me of my favorite movie of last year (Kill Bill) in regards to the fact that you're either going to love it, or completely hate it. This game is not for everyone and although that can be said of most games, Tenchu is a game that it's devout followers will love the most. There is really nothing special to bring about radical fanboy homage in newcomers.
I, myself, am a fan of the series, having played it since it's first incarnation on the PSone and it's two sequels (on PSone and PS2), but was still disappointed by certain factors.
Graphics are what pull this game down the most in my eyes. For as long as it took for this game to move to XBOX, some shiny goodness should have really made it's way in. Clipping abounds to the point that the character's sword hilts seem to be resting on the tops of their hands and strikes often have their bodies moving through enemies. The textures are often washed out on the general surroundings and the water....it's not XBOX water.
There is also a problem with the ''XBOX'' exclusive body dragging. It does not employ rag doll physics (it really, really should)and you cannot drag a body up even the slightest of hills. Worse, sometimes the bodies are sticking up in the air some inches off of the ground. It just feels rushed in to appease complaints...here it just generated another for me.
The controls could have allowed some leniency with changes. I would have liked to invert my camera so as not to have to ''fly a plane''(up=down) when I just want to look around. I also feel camera control should have been allowed to be affixed to the right thumbstick rather than a button, where you have to stand still to better see your surroundings.
The co-op mode is somewhat lacking as well. Going in with a partner just to find scrolls or kill all enemies to receive no reward, stats or congratulatory screen whatsoever is only novel for so long. The versus mode is a little more fun, but takes patience since the combat is not action oriented....It is a stealth game afterall, hmmm.. so why can you not stealth kill your opponent?
Now, all that aside, I still manage to ENJOY this game. I know I have several complaints (and can probably nitpick to find more)but there still is the thrill of sneaking up on someone and having the gratifying ''samurai blood'' arterial
spray when you stealth kill an individual. There still is the thrill of letting your grappling hook fly and ''flying'' up onto a house or cliff. There still is the thrill of being a stealthy, cunning, bad boy yardie Ninja(Ninja Gaiden is great, but it's still only action oriented).
And although the AI is often stupid and will let you run right up on them, there is no other game that really feels like this one when you hone in for that silent kill.
So as long as you're a fan of this series, you will enjoy this game. It brings more of what we liked to begin with and let's XBOX only owners share in that.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/11/04