Tenchu Z

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Game Information

Developed by K2
Published by From Software and Microsoft Game Studios
Platform : Xbox 360
Genre : Action and Adventure
Age Rating : 16+
Players : Single Player and Multiplayer
Additional Contents Provided : None
Release Date : (JP) 5 October 5 2006, (NA) 12 June 2007, (AU) 21 June 2007, (EU) 29 June 2007

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Synopsis

Gamers head back into the shadows as they take the role of a stealthy ninja in Tenchu Z. Designed to reward concealed kills and actions, players are encouraged to sneak up on foes and offer them a silent death. Players then lead their team through 50 levels of ninja action. Gamers may sneak through each environment by using a grappling hook to swing onto rooftops, or engage the help of smoke bombs, poison rice, and throwing stars to confuse and disorient the enemy.

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Gameplay

The gameplay is Tenchu Z is actually quite cool and well developed. I don't think I would have forseen the amount of things you'd be able to do in this game against your enemies. The thing that shone the most when I played this was the customisation of your character screen. This feature was very responsive as you could change your physical features, various skills that will aid you and you can even alter your clothing to your liking. These was one of the things that I noticed that wasn't on previous Tenchu games so it's always nice to see something like this that was well developed. What I like about this game is definitely the sneaking around and silently killing the guards. In some missions it requires you to do this to several guards at once to clear a path for you to progress to the next level. Rolling silently, sneaking up behind them and stabbing them with your sword in a cool fashion is always pretty cool to look at. The missions in the campaign are really thorough. I think there are 50+ missions or levels that you can partake in which is a cool variety than one whole campaign alone. These levels are quite decent and mostly require you to take out a target or sort out a battle between citizens. You're able to use environmental aspects of the game to your advantage. Most of these include fire extinguishers and blowing up cars to assist you in creating a diversion or just hurting an enemy. The enemies in Tenchu Z are pretty easy to take out just as long as you're stealthy and have the right weapons. If you think you're going to get caught and all hell is about to break loose throw some equipment, disorientate your enemies and take them out quickly and precisely should get the job done. The game also comes with multiplayer which is a big bonus but it isn't that exciting. It has the same weapons and environments however you are just put against others from around the world.

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Graphics

The graphics in Tenchu Z aren't that amazing. Although this game was released in mid 2007 I feel that the developers should have worked on it a tad more. Enemies look like enemies are supposed to look, big and intimidating while you're a small ninja jumping from rooftops. I didn't like the look of the size different as it was quite hard to assassinate the taller enemies. Your sword that you kill your enemies with looks well detailed and shines if you walked underneath a light which is cool. The various different environments that you play in look pretty decent however most of the time it is either dark or dark and raining. To my knowledge I can't remember assassinating a target in broad daylight which would have looked pretty nice. Carrying bodies away to avoid detection seems pretty gimmicky and in some levels it makes the frame rate drop a bit which is not good. Other things such as customisable clothes, facial expressions and physical features for your character look constructed really well and you can see time has gone into it. Graphics doesn't play a big role in Tenchu Z and the gameplay greatly overshadows it.

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Controls

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Overall this game is mediocre. It seems to stand out in various parts of the gameplay but it's nothing special or amazing. If you like stealth games then you might want to check this out. It's out only on the Xbox 360 which is a classic game regarding it's release date. The game is enjoyable in situations and can be picked up for really cheap nowadays.

Game Rating : 5/10 (Levels are really thorough and has lots of variety, gameplay is responsive, graphics are repetitive in certain environments and the controls may take some time getting use to)