Video Games Suck - Tenchu Senran (aka Tenchu Z)

a famous one, which has ps1 roots. so, for whatever reason (or for how ever much money), tenchu is hitting the xbox360 exclusively with tenchu z...

I didn't pay much attention since the 1st tenchu game on the ps1 but I liked that one, and I never had a ps2 so I couldn't really keep up but that doesn't matter cause this one makes up for all that. let's go.

Graphics
the most arguable part of the game I suppose. I've read stuff like "xbox1 standards", "washed out textures", "SHIT graphics" and so on but honestly on my 32inch @ 1080i I cannot find major weaknesses in the graphics except that they don't live up to gears of war graphics, which is not a surprise in any case. so, all those shitfaces who complain about the graphics probably never got past the 1st level. however, some of the minor characters like the "bosses" in the first few missions are kinda undetailed. but then again that may be desired cause they all wear these plain kimonos. anyway the graphics are allright, not great, but acceptable. and some of the landscapes actually looked beautifully detailed and lightened.

Sounds
you got ninja screams, slices, slashes, probably even sounds of a ninja wanking in the game. and they all sound nice. all of the audio is JAPANESE (that is language for example you nigger), and the subtitles are available in multiple languages. although I would have preferred a dubbed one with english voice this is fine and you get used to it quite fast. all in all the sounds are cool. music is sometimes repetitive but not annoyingly.

Story
I admit since I don't know too much about tenchu games all I know is that this one is different, where as you create your own character, a badass looking male for example, give him the clothes you want, the haircut, color and so on - and you create your hot female "partner". I didn't quite understand this yet cause I only saw her and ONLY in the cutscenes of the major missions. I had really expected some kind of coop missions but well I'm only 10% in the game so that may come. the story itself is weird like all crazy japs, don't pay too much attention to it. slice enemies.

Gameplay
I'll try to be as conclusive as possible here you faggot. because there's much to be said about the gameplay. note that I won't and can't compare it to previous tenchu games but I picked up that it's basically the same (and maybe aged) gameplay from the ps1 game and I don't know about that cause it feels more dynamic. so, you pick ur outfit, items, skills and so on, then you pick a mission. you have multiple types, there are mini missions like "get the letter across the bridge" or "collect all bombs" and those aren't as bad as they sound. basically in those you only have a lesser objective instead of killing X. the rest is similar. people running around, guards as well and you decide whom to kill and how and with how much blood...heh. the story related missions are not much different as said before, you start at one point in the city (usually an ass position which leaves everything up to you) and have the target to kill person X. you have no clue where he is at, and the map is barely a help. it has no indicators or nothing. I was freaked out by the difficulty at first but after the first 3 missions I started enjoying this level of difficulty. it's plain fun jumping from roof to roof or wall to wall, hiding in a bush, drawing my sword and waiting for the damn evil guard to appear so you can kill him with a nice, blood-filled stealth move that gives you xtra points. in any case you should and must avoid open combats cause you easily die later on in the game and if you're unlucky the guards call for help and then youre fucked like your mother. nuff said I think. at the end of each mission you get a rating and it was a shame for me when I got the worst of all ratings in the first few missions but now I usually hit Ninja 5 which is (I suppose) the 2nd or 3rd best rating.

Multiplayer
this is the biggest letdown of the game cause it has no multiplayer on the same console at all. no coop, no 2 player mode with two controllers. the best you can get are system link and xbox live, however these feature coop and all of that neat stuff. you can play with up to 4 ninjas allied at the same time in the same level and even perform team moves. isn't that cool.

Rating 8/10
this game doesn't lack much but what it does lack are more dynamic environments and especially the interaction with them. also some more depth in the story. one might add "really really true badass nextgen graphics" but I won't.