Hands-On Tenchu 4: Shake It!

Acquire jumped on the motion control train without looking back. Tenchu 4 implements waggle by having players lift the remote upwards to jump. Wiggling the remote left or right makes Rikimaru roll into cover. The first stage has bushes marked with a black mist that Rikimaru can hide in and shaking the remote automatically makes Rikimaru move from one bush to the next.

Since I didn’t come in with a weapon it was either do a stealth kill or forcefully retreat. In the first mission I made Rikimaru creep behind a guard by softly walking with the analog stick. Once you’re in range you can grab an unsuspecting victim and dispatch them with a motion indicated on the screen. After finishing up the guard I dragged the body out of sight by pressing the B button to make sure the other guards wouldn’t notice the fate of his friend. With my back to the wall I peeked around a corner to find my next target.

The visceral feel of the assassination moves was neat, but creeping on balance beams for the final kill of the level wasn’t as polished. In the last part of the first stage Rikimaru needs to shake his way through three bushes then stand in black mist to remain invisible. You can’t rush in and finish the last guard off since he will detect your presence. A crate lets Rikimaru climb above the guard and tiptoe on wood beams. The camera cuts off portions of the ledges which made it difficult to move. One time Rikimaru ignored gravity and hovered in the air. This may have just been a camera bug or some secret ninja power I wasn’t privy of. When you’re finally above the guard you can jump down and do a lethal mid-air strike.

Tenchu 4 felt more like a path rapid fire quick time events rather than traditional stealth game. The change should make Tenchu 4 more accessible and the sudden bursts of motion control make the game more action oriented.

Images courtesy of Acquire.