Live by honor, Kill by Stealth

Live by honor, Kill by Stealth

When it rains, boredom pours. Alas, I am stuck with much ado ‘bout nothing. With a disposition of finding somethin’ worthwhile even my prudence for everything RPG has been set aside. And there it was, gathering dust underneath Turok Evolution (???)…

The game I always wanted to play but the controls are just too darn hard. Spaced out at first, I relearned it like a baby taking his first steps. Sh*t, this is game for those who love vertigo, I mutter in protest.

Eventually, havin’ played the training level and falling a bazillion times to the hands of chunky faced samurai AIs, I got kick-ass good. (Yeah! I’m gonna open a can of samurai whoop-ass!)

The gameplay is above average. The storyline, very immersive and ma-drama, I tell you. Definitely one of the first quality stealth games. Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven follows the back-stabbing (literally) lives of estranged clan members, Rikimaru and the femme fatale, Ayame, as they slice and dice throughout feudal Japan. With it’s in-depth gameplay, there are various ways of disposing your foes. You can do it the ol’ fashion way which is a head-on sword fight or you can go sneaky and impose a variety of stealth kills. Kills done by stealth are rewarded by completing an incantation that unlocks special ninja skills. A blood and gorefest hence it’s Mature NTSC rating.

There is also an unlockable character, who is known to kill enemies by breaking their bones & surgically removing vital organs (by hands) (how cool is that?). I haven’t finished the game yet kaya di ko pa siya nakikita.

The game is worlds apart from the garden variety MMO-RPGs and FPS. It’s not for the impatient and those who love company. You’ll be spending lots of times alone, running and sneaking up on potential victims. A very quiet game riddled with sudden outbursts of violence. I call it meditation with a katana.

I can’t wait for the 3rd installment of this game..