Mark of the Ninja

When someone wrongs the clan, the ninja must take action to exact revenge.  In the hand of the ninja is the power of life and death, of peace and chaos.  The ninja must decide to be the harbinger of doom or the whisper on a shadow.  As the ninja makes his way from place to place, he learns to hone his skill, whether to blend more effortlessly into the shadows or to learn how better to dispatch his enemies.  The choice is yours as to which path the ninja takes.

This game is one that I greatly enjoyed for the first play-through.  The player acts as a member of a ninja clan that has been attacked.  He is one of the last members of the clan, and it is up to him to find those responsible and exact revenge.  While in the path to exact revenge, the game allows the player to choose which style or path they wish to walk.

One great thing about this game is how it leaves the choice of how to accomplish the goals up to the player.  The first time through the game there were a few different routes that I could take to find the big bad, to get through the building, to knock unconscious (and / or kill) the lackeys in the way.  The second time through (with all the upgrades) new paths were available, which could help skip large portions of the map where many enemies were laying in wait.  This is one of the few good reasons I had to replay the game, as it is much of the same thing as the first time it is played.

There are different masks or styles that the player can unlock as they play through the game.  The original style is a standard play, using distraction and offensive tools to help clear the path.  Other styles allow for a more offensive or manipulative way to play.  One mask causes the guards to become terrified as they see the dead bodies of other guards, while another mask makes you make no noise when running, allowing for greater stealth.  Along with other upgrades, different combinations can make the game a different experience for each player.

As mentioned above, the game allows the player to strengthen the skills they want as they progress through the levels.  Some skills allow for a more tactical approach, helping glide across the map unseen above the enemies.  Some skills allow for more tactical take-downs.  Others allow for the ninja to hang bodies from tactical locations to terrify others that may see them.  And others allow the player to be able to take more hits from the enemies, making each mistake less lethal.

One great thing about the upgrades is that it doesn't force many of the upgrades onto the player.  Many other games require that you build up a skill tree, getting certain abilities that lead into other stronger skills.  While this game does do this for items, it allows for many of the skills to be unlocked at the players discretion.  This helps make the game as customizable as you would like, making the gameplay unique to how you would like to play it.

The first time I played this game I went for the stealth route, wanting to be a shadow that was never seen nor heard.  Using some specific skills this was made easier and easier as I progressed.  The game also challenged me to think more critically and forced me to think out of the box, as a linear path I would have normally taken would have lead do death and defeat.  As I became more skilled the game became more skilled as well.  When I could blink through enemies, across gaps that would have killed me normally, and bypass traps that would have taken a lot of time to overcome, the game challenged me with more lethal enemies.  Ones that could see in the dark and hear my footsteps.  Ones that had gear that negated my stealth.  There came points where the only thing I could do is run.  And when those moments happened, it was a true challenge that left my heart pumping and hands trembling.

If you're looking for a game that challenges you, makes you think outside the box, and rewards or punishes you for each decision you make, this game is for you.  This game is great for the casual or the hard-core gamer.  Play once with the whole map visible, play through the second time with only where you look clear.  This game is great the first time through, but less so the second (and subsequent) time through.  For the price this game is good, but I'd suggest getting it in a bundle or on sale.  Oh, and the DLC is worth it, as it takes what you learned in the main game and turns it on it's head.  The overall game: 8/10.  The DLC is 9/10.