Conveyable Carnage- Tenchu: Shadow Assassins Reviewed

There are few videogame protagonists as thrilling and ubiquitous as the ninja. Feudal Japan’s clandestine warrior has been the luminary of games ranging from Shinobi to the Dead or Alive series. Yet only the Tenchu series of games has successfully captured the essence to ninjutsu. Other titles have relegated the black-clad assassins to simplistic platforming and fighting. 1998’s Tenchu: Stealth Assassins for the Sony Playstation was the first title to simulate the quintessential stealthy nature of the shuriken tossing anti-hero.

Sadly, subsequent sequels to Stealth Assassins failed to expand the depth of the simulation, and became mired in mediocrity. Recently, we reviewed Tenchu: Shadow Assassins for the Nintendo Wii, and found the title to be a much-needed return to form. Now, publisher Ubisoft has released a port of the game for the Sony PSP, which nearly recreates a full-fledged console experience with only minor impediments.

While we expected the graphical fidelity to take a hit, Shadow Assassins holds up amazingly well. Despite working on a digital canvas of significantly fewer pixels, all of Tenchu’s textures and environmental geometry are faithfully recreated. Lead characters Rikimaru and Ayame are fluidly animated; their movements convey both the sufficient amount of slink, and brutality when dispatching enemies. The title’s framerate is delightfully lithe; allowing players to skulk the landscapes unimpeded. Our only caveat with the title is the amount of on-screen real estate our protagonist takes up; occasionally the hero will gallingly obscure the action.

Unfortunately, this graphical richness comes at a diminutive cost. Whereas the Wii version of Shadow Assassins offered immersive, uninterrupted levels, the PSP version breaks down each of the game’s 10 missions into smaller chucks. As players enter new areas, gameplay and music is interrupted by seven to ten second load times. Surely, the game could have cached data in the same manner as the brilliant God of War: Chains of Olympus for a ceaseless game experience.

We were pleasantly surprised by the effectiveness of the Wii version’s control method, and we hoped for the same level of precision in the PSP port, despite the portable system’s absence of a second analog stick.  For the most part, Shadow Assassins’ controls are uncomplicated and effective. Players use the analog stick to move the assassin, while the left shoulder button is employed contextually to initiate a run or side-step. Additionally, the player can utilize a pared-down arsenal of ninja tools by hitting the ‘O’ button, whereas the square is used to initiate the hissatsu, or instant kills. Clinging to walls, jumping along high-beams, and scrambling up an elevated corner are all performed effortlessly and add to the game’s sense of gratification.

Fortunately, none of the content from the console version of Tenchu: Shadow Assassins has been removed. The game’s story mode still offers players ten decently sized ten levels, while the assignments mode contains fifty side-missions. These abbreviated quests offer the gamer plenty of replay value, as the player attempts to move swifly and unseen through each level in a quest for the elusive ‘S’ rating.