Tenchu Z

Tenchu Z
Cover art for Tenchu Z
Developer(s)	K2 LLC
Publisher(s)	From Software Microsoft Microsoft
Platform(s)	Xbox 360
Release	October 5, 2006 June 12, 2007 June 29, 2007
Genre(s)	Stealth Action
Mode(s)	Single player, Cooperative modes

Tenchu Z 天誅 千乱 is the eighth game in the Tenchu series. It is different from previous games in the series in that the player creates their own ninja characters, then builds up their skills as they play through the game rather than choosing from a small selection of pre-made characters, as they take orders from the series' previous main male character, Rikimaru. It features four-player cooperative play through Xbox Live. Tenchu Z is the largest game in the series to date, containing 50 missions with different difficulty settings and objectives. Characters also have different attributes (which are strength, agility, and health) that can be altered to make a ninja all your own.

The game's character edit features are quite in-depth, allowing you to use gold obtained by doing well in missions both in single player and multiplayer to purchase new aesthetic styles for your ninja, new abilities, items to use during missions, and different special attacks to use in combat, in addition to combo-editing abilities.

In January 2007, Microsoft announced they would be publishing Tenchu Z in North America. A demo is available on the Japanese Marketplace, which, in North America, was later included in its original Japanese language form on the Holiday 2006 demo disc of Official Xbox Magazine.

In June 2007, the demo was made available on Xbox Live Marketplace in the remaining regions.

Plot

In a departure from the rest of the series, the plot of Tenchu Z does not involve fantasy elements. Instead, it is set in a fairly realistic depiction of Feudal Japan, albeit with exaggerated abilities for the ninja characters. The country of Gohda, where the Azuma clan of ninja reside under the service of Lord Gohda, is on the brink of war with the neighboring country of Ogawara. As a new recruit in the Azuma clan, the protagonist is sent to assassinate those who are assisting Ogawara, including army officials and spies who have infiltrated Gohda, as well as recover stolen items and rescue prisoners. In between thwarting Ogawara's plans, the protagonist also receives (mostly optional) missions in which he/she eliminates bandits and unscrupulous merchants.

There is no connection between Tenchu Z's plot and those in the previous games, nor are there any returning characters with the exceptions of Rikimaru and Lord Gohda. Chronologically, the events in Tenchu Z are the latest in the series.

Gameplay

Gameplay is relatively the same as the previous games in the series. The main difference is that, as mentioned above, players create their own character and unlock new skills, items and clothing for him or her as the game progresses. Only one fighting style is available: a ninjato that can either be set with slower but more damaging attacks (the same as Rikimaru's in previous games) or faster and weaker attacks with different animations. The unlockable skills however are more varied, with most of them making their first appearance in the series while others return from previous games with some tweaks. Certain skills can be upgraded twice, enhancing the protagonist's abilities beyond those of the characters from previous games.

Enemies can now hear the protagonist's footsteps if he or she runs too close to them, and they may hear the footsteps from a greater distance if the protagonist runs on noisy surfaces such as a puddle of water. They can also smell the protagonist if he/she falls into a cesspool (only found during some missions; after the protagonist emerges from the cesspool, a brown haze surrounds him/her, indicating that he/she can be detected by smell at a certain distance) or is covered with blood from an earlier fight. Unlike the previous games, lighting is also a factor here as the protagonist is less likely to be spotted while standing or crouching in a dark area.

System Link

Up to four people can link together in order to play a four player co-op stealth ninja-action.

Critical reception

The game received mostly negative reviews from critics. On the review aggregator Game Rankings, the game had an average score of 57% based on 49 reviews. On Metacritic, the game had an average score of 55 out of 100, based on 50 reviews.

External links

• Tenchu Z Official site
• Xbox.com | Tenchu Z - Game Detail Page
• IGN - Game Review