Tenchu: Time of the Assassins PSP review

The third person camera has plagued developers since the dawn of time. Well maybe not the dawn of time but at least the dawn of 3D gaming. It's a part of game design that is seemingly impossible to perfect.

Even games of staggering technical achievement such as Shadow of the Colossus have problems keeping both your character and their actions in view. And how many third person games have you played when the camera seems more interested in your character's backside than the gawping chasm they have to leap across?

Camera Blues

When a camera behaves well it's generally transparent and therefore rarely gets credit. But when it doesn’t you really know about it. At its worst it's almost as if the designer has picked the worst possible angles to annoy and infuriate the player. It's enough to make grown men weep tears of sorrow into their joypads.

As you may have guessed from this opening rant, Tenchu: Time of the Assassins falls into this particular pitfall. In fact, it doesn't so much fall as attach weights to its legs and take a running leap into the abyss below. The camera in Tenchu is simply awful.

Tenchu: TOTA is the latest addition to the veteran Japanese stealth’em up series. You chose one of four characters (plus a hidden one), each with their own narrative and skills, and proceed to creep through each level killing anyone who gets in your way. That’s the theory anyway. It sounds good on paper, but the execution is distinctly un-ninja like and sloppy.

No matter how great Tenchu might have been elsewhere the whole experience is ruined by a camera system that hasn't improved one iota since the series made its debut on the original PlayStation. What makes things worse is that without the benefit of a second analogue stick you’ve no way of correcting the damn thing, which is deeply frustrating.

Mole Eyes

This flaw is made fatal by further visual handicaps. You would have thought that one of the prerequisites for a stealth game would be being able to see more than a few feet in front of your character. After all, if you want to slip past people unnoticed it helps if you can see them before they are on top of you. Unfortunately, thanks to a magnificently crap draw distance, the characters of Tenchu suffer from a crippling myopia.

I'm not sure this is a technical shortcoming of the engine or an intentional gameplay mechanic (or, more likely, a bit of both). But it's incredibly frustrating not being able to observe your enemies in a manner that you take for granted in other stealth games. You're meant to be a fearsome ninja not Blind Pew.

Most the time, when you come across a guard you have very little time to react. And that's if you’re lucky enough to have the camera facing in their general direction when you do. There is a counter at the bottom of the screen that informs you of how alert enemies are to your presence. But this shouldn't be a substitute for actually being able to see them, especially as it gives no indication of their direction.

To make things even more difficult the sneak button restricts your movement. This takes away a lot of precision from the player and makes it even more difficult to creep up on anyone.

Clumsy Warrior

As a result Tenchu completely fudges stealth - the primary focus of the game. More often than not I had to resort to combat to make my way through a level; if only to try and alleviate the boredom of the sneaking. Again the camera completely tarnishes the experience as you struggle to keep your opponent on screen.

Not that the combat system is anything to write home about anyway; one button slashes and another blocks and that’s it. Its several samurai shy of a Ninja Gaiden. There’s little satisfaction to be had, other than the geysers of blood that spurt Kill Bill style from your slain enemies.

Grid Locked

On the plus side levels are kept short which suits a handheld platform. They’re also fairly open, giving you some freedom to explore (or more accurately stumble blindly around) them.

A handy batman style grappling hook also provides a fun way of getting around. However, on the whole, the level design is rather bland. The scenery is samey, the geometry very grid-like and the textures muddy and dull. There is very little to distinguish one level from the next.

Time for Hara-Kiri?

The presentation is generally very poor. While the setting should by rights be deeply cool, the feudal Japanese atmosphere is spoiled by the ham-fisted localisation. On no account should samurai be voiced amateur hour American voice actors. Especially when the dialogue is as pointlessly and long winded as it is here. The music on the other hand is mostly excellent: very eccentric and very Japanese.

I really wanted to enjoy Tenchu and make the most of its modest charms. But it’s sloppy stealth system and camera makes it practically unworkable. It’s a joyless affair, likely to appeal to only the most diehard fans of the series. Even they are likely to find it a chore. The Tenchu series’ blade has become progressively blunter over time and this must rank as the worst entry yet. It puts the “ass” in assassin.