Tenchu: Time of the Assassins

"Time of the Assassins is an adequate stealth-action game, but heavily flawed."

Tenchu is a mysterious franchise. Each game seems to sell significantly less than the one before it, many aspects of the series are incredibly outdated and From Software don't seem too keen on making it very applicable for the next generation, especially on the heels of Metal Gear Solid, Hitman and Splinter Cell. So, here comes the first portable rendition of Tenchu, and while it largely delivers a solid experience similar to that of it console brothers, it fails to evolve and even missteps in its own ambitions.

The version of Time of the Assassins I played was the Japanese import, Shinobi Taizen, so the lavish FMV sequences and dialogue boxes meant little to me, aside from the strange and stupid cameo appearances from past games; shouldn't these guys be dead? So while it's impossible for me to fairly judge the story, it's unlikely it is anything noteworthy as Tenchu was never really known for its narrative.

Gameplay has always been what makes Tenchu such a celebrated name for some, and specifically, the over-the-top, visceral stealth kills your playable ninja would perform on unsuspecting prey. From draining jugulars, to piercing skulls with pins or full-blown decapitations, Tenchu has no shortage of making your hero look like a complete badass. That, or making the foes unbelievably stupid. As you traverse throughout the large 3D levels, it comes to light that as a ninja, your characters don't prove to be very efficient. They move slow, boast disturbingly awkward animations and overall have a lack of finesse that are found only in the stealth kill scenes. Once you regain control of your assassin, they're playability is more akin to that of a gimped junkie.

To be fair however, the sluggish movement still proves to be adequate for the most part, but this is entirely because of the amazingly dumb enemies; these guys have no sense of hearing, are blind as bats and are fooled by the simplest of tricks. As a lone guard finds his ally sprawled in the dirt covered in his own blood, the guard is of course aware of some murdering intruder. So, how can you revert this guard back to his once ignorant state? Make an animal call. No, I'm not joking. The auburn clad ninja Rin has the ability to imitate animals in an effort to fool suspicious opponents into thinking that the roof-top leaping acrobat he spotted was actually just a chicken, or the cause of his defiled friend was merely the careless act of a cat. I wish I was joking, but I am not; the non-friendlies in Tenchu pose as much of a threat as the ledges your team of ninjas traverses: a simple obstacle easily dispatched with the press of a button or two.

I may sound very critical of Tenchu, but don't get me wrong; I in fact love the Tenchu games. Even amidst the dumb challenges and handicapped protagonists, there is still a charm in dashing up behind a baddie and using him or her as a brush to paint the surroundings red. The formula is primitive to be sure, but it's fun and entertaining to play a stealth game that's a bit more light and arcade-ish in the stealth department. A game that instantly oozes charisma from its attractive feudal Japan inspired ninja backdrop and is simple in execution, but badass in style. That is Tenchu. Sure it's a shame that this fun and simplicity is caused by aspects that would typically be considered faults, but it's forgivable; fun is fun.

And without doubt, some other Tenchu characteristics have made the handheld transfer, including the vast amount of ninja items and weapons to use. All the way from poison rice balls, to grenades and enemy disguises, Time of the Assassins ain't short of inventory by any stretch of the imagination. Unfortunately, none of these items are new and they're hardly needed to beat the game, aside from the ever trusty grappling hook they still manage to be a cute diversion if you want to replay a mission to see how X affects Y.

If that was all Tenchu: Time of the Assassins was, I'd be more than happy. Unfortunately, some nasty flaws haunt this would-be gem. First and foremost are the camera and controls. This is a console inspired PSP game; did you expect anything less than this to be the game's biggest issue? Due to the rather merciful stature of the game, the crippled camera isn't as much of a hassle as it might be for other PSP titles, but having to sit it the dirt stone still to get a decent view of the environment is hardly a luxury. However, that is not the worst of the game; the draw distance is. Never have I seen a game with such an incredibly intrusive field of view. In the landscapes of Tenchu you can really only ever see a few dozen feet in front of you at most. The rest of the level is covered in a ridiculous darkness that only evades your sight once you move so close towards it. This might give the impression that every level in the game takes place at night, but on the contrary, each level's layout is extremely bright otherwise. Most definitely the worst aspect of the PSP version of Tenchu is the lack of visibility. If this had not had been an issue, the game would have been significantly better.

That major hiccup aside, Tenchu: Time of the Assassins is still a pretty good looking portable game. The character models are sharp and detailed in spite of the bland and quite drab level textures and design. In fact, most of the levels are so dull that it seems pretty obvious that they were created with the level editor included in the game. They're designed exceptionally well knowing the tool used to create them, but it's still disheartening to know the developers didn't really put much ingenuity into the missions' schematics. The FMVs scattered throughout the fifty or so main missions are sharp looking, and the game features an excellent compilation of music used throughout the entire Tenchu series. In fact, let's get that out of the way now; this is hardly a new Tenchu game.

Tenchu: Time of the Assassins isn't really a sequel; it's more of a spin-off anthology of sorts, but dressed up into a new package. None of the content is particularly new truthfully, just a bunch of stuff from past games rolled into one. Past playable characters return such as Rin and Tesshu, and of course Ayame and Rikimaru as the staple warriors of the series. Onikage is of course the reoccurring antagonist as many likely expected (and is revealed in the opening cut-scene). Returning from Tenchu 2 and 3 are the meaty and excellent level editor and multi-player. Create your own challenges and send them to friends (if by some planetary alignment they actually have the game as well) or play through the levels themselves in co-op, or take them on head-to-head as one of the many absurd sub-characters from the game. Tenchu: Time of the Assassins is not a title lacking any meat, and that's real gamers need. If you're a Tenchu fan, this PSP installment will keep you busy for a long while should you overcome the game's nearsighted hurdle. However, while five main storyline campaigns sounds pretty lengthy, there's only about ten missions for each character, and each one can be completed in about five or ten minutes. This does add some portable friendly nature of the game, but with the PSP's sleep mode, this was never really a problem anyway.

Overall, Tenchu: Time of the Assassins is one to look into cautiously. Fans of the series who can overlook the frustrating draw distance issue will find a great product that they'll spend plenty of time on. If you've gamed all of these years and have never played a Tenchu game, there's really no reason to start now.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 06/04/07