The Tenchu franchise of action-stealth games has enjoyed a long history dating back to the original PlayStation, but of the 10-plus titles released in as many years, most have proven underwhelming and ultimately forgettable. Perhaps this is because the development team that designed the innovative debut effort took some time off, leaving many of the critically-panned follow-ups to other groups within studio. I'm willing to accept that excuse if only because the original team reunited to create for PSP, and the resulting game is surprisingly moody and fun, even if it clings to some dated gameplay designs. So whether you grew up with Tenchu or are altogether new to the brand, as I presume some PSP owners will be, my review mantra stands: if you like stealth games you will like Shadow Assassins. And if you don't, you can stop reading now.Shadow Assassins is once more set to the backdrop of feudal Japan and again stars Azuma Clan ninjas Rikimaru and Ayame, sworn to protect and serve Lord Gohda by any means necessary, which, of course, means that the two regularly carry out assassinations ordered by their leader.

Tenchu games have oft been referred to as ninja simulators, and Wii could very well prove to be the perfect platform for traveling down that dark path. Keep it here on Cheat Code Central for more on Tenchu: Shadow Assassins as it nears its release in February of.

The game's storyline, presented convincingly through a series of well-choreographed and acted in-game cinematics, deals with the political struggles that Gohda faces, eventually resulting in the kidnapping of his daughter, Princess Kiku. Scarred Rikimaru and curvy Ayame are deployed out into the world to search for the princess and to dispose of any enemies who stand in their way. The cinematics regularly spotlight battles against guards and ninjas and effectively define the characters of the two ninjas, who are both ruthless in their pursuit of the princess.Video review (of nearly-identical Wii version) Obviously, Shadow Assassins is based on an already-released Wii game and while it doesn't look as good as the Nintendo version, it still looks pretty sharp.

Gamers lose the 480p resolution, but PSP's screen more than adequately handles and displays Tenchu's dark and atmospheric environments. Basic character animations can be stiff, but the the models themselves look great and many of the levels they inhabit come to life with architectural detail and effects. I was particularly wowed the first time I made my way through a stormy night area in which the rain poured down in sheets and flashes of lighting in the background temporarily illuminated the entire stage.

Portable players will definitely like what they see and the framerate generally holds up.The downside on PSP is that the detail comes at the expense of load times. Not a big issue on the Wii iteration, the handheld version is full of long loads, both before and between levels, that really break up the momentum of the action. I'm confident that the developer could have better streamed the challenge-filled environments to gamers on-the-go better than it has, which is disappointing.I know some Tenchu elite will complain about the voice work - specifically that they can't revert to the original Japanese with English subtitles - but this is a non-issue for me because the English dubs are good and believable, even if some seasoned Japanese warriors occasionally bust out Harry Potter-style accents.

The bigger issue is that some enemies repeat dialog endlessly as they search for your hiding characters. Meanwhile, the game boasts a great PSP soundtrack. Not only is the music beautifully composed using a variety of traditional flute and string-based instruments, but it's crystal clear and triumphantly sets the mood for the stages that Rikimaru and Ayame progress through. My only complaint with regard to the soundtrack is that the development team has overused songs, repeating them often across multiple levels.Rikimaru+doesn't+mess+around. Of course, the greatest voice-acting and soundtrack in the universe are meaningless if the gameplay they pepper is tedious or broken, but thankfully this isn't at all the case with Shadow Assassins. All newbies to the series need know is that you control Rikimaru and Ayame at different times through 10-plus unique missions, all of which challenge you to use stealth to your advantage, staying to the shadows and sneaking up on enemies so that you can assassinate them quickly and silently.

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As you progress through the title, you gain extra equipment - shuriken, kunai, ninjato, smoke and fire bombs, even a bamboo tube to shoot water or breathe underwater - all utilized at one time or another to defeat enemies or create darkness. The way is not to run courageously forward, blades drawn, in an attempt to fight three warriors at a time, but to sta.

I think it was when playing the seminal Goldeneye on the Nintendo 64 that I first became accustomed to the pleasure that could be had from adopting a minimalist approach to my attitude towards slaying the bad guys. Minimal in terms of taking out guards – wherever possible – with just one bullet and minimal in respect of the satisfaction of completing an entire mission with as little blood shed as possible.

Lest you think this is a gaming pacifist writing, the pleasure wrought from this was more to do with a sense of delivering a clinically efficient and – dare I say it – professional game-playing performance, rather than any strange fixation with sparing the deaths of computer-generated non-playing characters.

When the Tenchu series of stealth ninja games first appeared on the Playstation back in the late 90s, the ability to achieve mission objectives with the minimum of fuss was hard-coded into the game’s objectives, and at first these constrictions made for a strangely liberating experience. No longer was the objective to get hold of as big a fragging gun and as much ammo as possible, instead, there was the freedom of guiding a character, mainly undetected through a gaming world. You could jump from roof to roof, skirt round buildings – basically go pretty much anywhere, just so long as you avoided the sight of the enemy.

This then is the problem with Tenchu Shadow Assassins, the new game by Ubisoft for the Nintendo Wii. Although the objective seems to be the same as ever – that sense of freedom has been stripped away.

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First of all there is the obligatory tutorial in which you are gradually taught the game’s various moves. It doesn’t take long to realise that the manner in which you will be asked to achieve your various missions is going to be heavily prescribed. The dark areas of the level within which you can hide are signified by a slightly superfluous fog special effect, just to make sure you get the message, and the actual business of killing someone involves not much more than a click into a pre-rendered cut scene.

There’s no real opportunity for guile or cunning, or even to attempt to take on the game using various different tactics. The beauty of the aforementioned Goldeneye was that it allowed you to achieve your objective through sheer brutality, by elegantly sidestepping oncoming bad guys or a combination of both – it was your choice. With Tenchu Shadow Assassins you’re looking at a gaming experience not a million miles away from that old arcade “classic” Dragon’s Lair – complete with punitive instant death if you don’t hit the right combo at the right time.

Technically speaking there isn’t a whole lot to dazzle either. Most of the adversaries you face are physically identical to one another, and the level design is pretty basic. I note the horizon is kept conspicuously limited to ensure there is never a great deal of plotting and processing to be done by the game engine, and that rather sadly sums this game up – a title of limited horizons.