Shinobido: Tales of the ninja
Format: PSP
Pocket ninja niggles.
Tales of the ninja is the handheld sequel to the ambitious but flawed PS2 title of last year. Continuing the Tenchu styled gameplay of silent assassinations, poisoned rice cakes and grappling hook action, Shinobido attempted to introduce deeper, branching storylines to the genre but was held back by poor execution.
This handheld sequel continues the series with a more modest agenda while retaining the branching network of missions and purist gameplay.
Surprisingly, controls have translated fairly well with the loss of the second stick supplemented by a Zelda-esque lock on system hoping to remove the need for a player controlled camera.
This however is a holy grail among 3rd person action games and alongside the poor AI and glitchy gameplay inherited from its predecessor, the camera often struggles to act well under pressure.
Combat remains simplistic and is mainly a last resort of timed button bashing when you miss-judge a stealth kill. The analogue nub’s sensitivity is also simplified to the point of being a twitchy digital shadow of its former self.
For all its niggles, Tales of the ninja still manages to create some compelling gameplay in bite size, portable pieces - if you can see past the graphical glitches and work around the camera problems, there’s a world of freeform ninja action to be discovered and just like it’s spiritual father Tenchu, much can be gleaned from retreading the same rooftop running, neck snapping action as you chase that illusive perfect mission where you are neither seen nor heard yet leave none alive.
6/10