Task 7: Personal Game Review

I don't think there are many gamers that dislike the idea of killing in the art of a ninja, so for my review I am going to look at what makes, or breaks, in my opinion, one of the best stealth games of its time, Tenchu 2: wrath of heaven. The sequel wrath of heaven was released by activision and developed by K2 Japan for playstation2, Xbox and playstation portable in Europe on march 7th 2003. The genre of the game is a third-person stealth action, entirely dedicated to the beauty of stealth kill using Japanese ninja methods. With shurikens, poisonous darts, exploding ninja stars, grappling hooks, caltrops, smoke bombs, magic spells, warring clans, magic portals and demon spells it seems like K2 have really hit the nail on the head when it comes to producing an authentic ninja experience. Even though its the developers third attempt at making a great ninja simulator, wrath of heaven focuses on the best combat mechanics in the franchise, with returning characters and stylishly improved, devastating stealth kills that no gamer would be disappointed with.

Story

The original Tenchu took place in the mid-1570s, amongst a chaotic and dangerous time in feudal Japan. Set one year after the first Tenchu game, wrath of heaven takes you through the story of Rikimarus return and his battle with the main 'boss' Tenrai, an evil sorcerer. Rikimaru returns from the supposed dead, having survived by living in a magical time portal through mastering the way of the 'shadow.' His return is much needed due to the violent rebellion and civil upset erupting throughout Japan and to make matters worse Tenrai plans to raise six lords of darkness and an army of unstoppable ninjas to consume the country and rule over Japan. In order to do so Tenrai needs to acquire a powerful sword that grants that power to the person wielding it. On a routine assassination, Rikimaru and fellow assassin Ayame learn of this plan which jolts them both into action to stop him. So basically the story is a typical good versus evil, where the good are trying to stop the damnation of civilisation that could be caused by a minorities greed for power.

Gameplay

In my opinion, one of the main selling points for wrath of heavens gameplay, is the three playable characters. Due to the layering of the stories, your also required to play as all three to really get the ins and outs of the story and from different perspectives. This feature creates extended gameplay time making it more captivating and fun to play and therefore better value for money.

Another great feature is the wide range of inventory you can choose from at the start of each mission, from caltrops to smoke bombs. Different items need to be unlocked though depending on how well you do in each mission determines what you unlock, and this is done by how stealthily you achieve each mission. Stealth is encouraged by the improved stealth kills that have been introduced in the sequel compared to the others. whether its jumping from roof tops, sneaking and slicing throats or jamming daggers into spinal cords, all stealth kills have been made majorly appealing. A particular detail I enjoyed was the x-ray shot shown after you force a dagger up into the skull of your victim, this to me was unique and quite cool. Compared to the games before it, wrath of heavens combat has been greatly improved. The lock on feature has now been introduced making it simpler to see who you are attacking. Unlike the previous games where the enemies combat wasn't very realistic, the enemies are now quicker, smarter, block more often and can predict your attacks better making it a bit more challenging. The ability to evade, somersault and dash has been added improving the fluidity of the combat, adding more dimension to the gameplay, making it more than just a stealth game. Also as the game progresses, you run into groups of enemies that are more specialised characters with better attacks than standard enemies, which is also a good improvement to the combat system.

Like most early 3D games, the manual camera angles on wrath of heaven were a bit hard to control, facing directions you didn't want it to in the most awkward of moments. Another drawback was the unrealistic line of sight that the enemies had. It was as if they were short sighted and couldn't notice you from a few meters away or sprint past just above them on a roof, and if they found you, they were easily given the slip via rooftop and then casually returned to their post as if nothing had happened, to then later lose their head.

Graphics

In general, the graphics aren't spectacular, but what they do achieve is good for games of its kind when it was released. The characters are well made, with an appropriate level of detail, and are higher poly models that retain consistency from the previous games. The animation of characters is good also, with all characters moving really fluidly. The backgrounds also are generally good looking. The Bamboo forest is lush and green, artfully done, and created with a style that blends a little bit of realism with a subtle art style that's consistent throughout the title. The Limestone Cavern sparkles with jewels and crystals, and the scene above the ocean cliffs is unexpectedly cool, even if its rather plain looking. The game is packed with seamless cut scenes. Each time you execute a stealth kill, cut scene. Every time you see a boss, sub-boss, or experience the final scene in the game, another cut scene awaits. They're all handled seamlessly. There are some moderately cool special effects. Characters clash in same-time attacks, and sparks fly just like it would when metal collides.

Overall comments

To be honest Tenchu doesn't even begin to touch the complexity of other games in its genre like metal gear solid, but I think that's what makes it a genuinely good game, because you're not constantly comparing it to the huge titles that have come before it like you would with a metal gear solid title. You play it without being as judgemental, in no way am i saying its the most amazing game but what it does accomplish it does it well, giving you a all round consistent experience rather than excelling in certain areas making bad areas more noticeable. In my opinion, it's the best ninja game I have played to date. If you like cool looking stealth kills, plenty of blood, ninjas and a decent amount of playing time for your money then I definitely recommend Tenchu 2: wrath of heaven.

Task 6: Writing about Games, Previews, reviews, commentary and lies

Like anything you do in life, career wise, you're inevitably going to come across obstructions that prevent you from doing exactly what you want. In reviewers cases, they are under huge pressure from publishers, the hands that feed them, when certain constraints are put into place. According to Kieron Gillens, a games reviewer, a video game magazine is put together in 19 days in which time all has to be covered from research to the finished piece. The strict deadline between each issue means there is less time to think about things. Then as soon as one is finished your onto another one equally as time and attention consuming. The pressure isn't eased anymore knowing, as a reviewer you could be brushed aside at any moment if you don't make the cut. After reading reviewers opinions, to put a long story short, they are rushed to do their job quicker than it takes to weigh up everything properly therefore they have to cut corners, not being able to spend time on every aspect equally.

Personally, I think that an objective take to reviewing is something that without a doubt  is necessary for games, but not completely necessary for sales. If someone likes the look of a game, regardless of what is stated about its shoddy game play a fan will still buy it. For example I am a big fan of the metal gear solid franchise and initially when I saw the new game entitled ' metal gear solid rising' being brought out where your ninja raiden as the main character, I was a bit sceptical on whether it would be as good as what had come before it. Especially when I saw game play trailers of hack and slash rather than the trade mark stealth I was rather disappointed. But regardless I will still buy it just to experience it, which I think is a mentality shared by most gamers.

Whether or not objective ranking is even doable is a good question to ask. I think that a well made, genuinely good game will sell itself when its reviewed. You may say well what shows a genuinely good game in a review and I suppose its when a games positives outweigh its negatives without being subjective.

For me, new games journalism isn't really my thing. I wouldn't read a review in that style and it have any influence on me liking or buying a game. I found it too narrative, half the time i was reading it i felt like a child being read a story. I'de much prefer reading about pros and cons of a game rather than someone's personal experience.  For example, i read a review called 'a rape in cyberspace' by Julian Dibbell, and it was like the reviewer was writing their own novel, it didn't seem like a review and I lost interest quickly. I would rather a review similar to the IGN website where it breaks down which particular aspects compliment or hinder the game, so I can make an informed decision quickly rather than decipher the sand script that some of the NGJ reviewers are publishing.

In my own writing I definitely favour objectivity, but I suppose as human beings we all have a tendency to be accidentally subjective because we want to sway others towards what we like as an individual. As far  as my writing goes, I think I am making improvements but I still find it difficult to express myself, I'm the type of person where it's all in my head but it's such a struggle to put it down on paper.