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Mark of the Ninja
Mark of the Ninja is a 2D side
scrolling stealth title developed by Klie Entertainment as a Microsoft
exclusive for PC and the Xbox 360. You take on the role of an unnamed
ninja who has awoken with strange markings all over his body in the
midst of an attack on his base by a group of armed soldiers. The tattoos
give the ninja supernatural powers that can be used to your advantage
throughout the campaign, as you attempt to take revenge on the soldiers
that harmed your fellow ninjas. Mark of the Ninja is a 100% pure
stealth game that boasts a unique art style and some clever level design
that makes it one of the most impressive stealth based releases in
recent memory.
Gameplay
As
mentioned before, don’t expect Mark of the Ninja to allow you to
defend yourself if you fail at sneaking past soldiers, as this game has
a solid focus on stealth. It does give you the option to fight back
against your enemies if you are caught, however nine times out of ten
you will most likely come out the loser. I did find it rather odd
however that your character, the ninja, would use his sword to kill his
enemies when undetected but would start using his arms and legs when
faced with up to three gun wielding baddies at a time. It’s obviously a
game design choice to cut down on action and punish you for failing, but
I still found it distracting.
Moving around the environments was great fun. While a 2D side scroller
at its core, Mark of the Ninja allows backtracking and climbing
of the environments’ walls which gives a lot of freedom in deciding how
you could make your way past enemies. It was extremely satisfying when I
eventually pulled off the perfect getaway, and the frequent checkpoints
that occurred prevented me from being frustrated. I wish I could say the
same about the controls however. On a few occasions they’re a little
awkward, especially on PC in situations when the game requires you to
click a button and swipe the mouse at the same time to perform an
action. Besides from that the gameplay flows really well and can leave
you feeling rather accomplished. Killing a room full of guards and
hiding their bodies in the sewers in which you attacked them from, and
then seeing their buddies walk in and look confused was a highlight for
me.
Graphics
Mark of the Ninja goes for the classic Cartoon Network approach in
its appearance. The brightly coloured sprites with dark lines around
their main features reminded me of shows I watched when I was a child
like Samurai Jack and other similar cartoons. It’s all very well
animated too, the cut scenes in-between levels are particularly well
done and full of character, as are the enemies’ facial expressions when
you sneak up behind them and slide a sword through their side. The tone
of the game is fairly dark so in some circumstances I questioned their
choice of art design due to some clashes of serious dialogue and
cartoony appearances, but overall it’s a very solid look and the work
they’ve put into it is fantastic.
Audio
The
ninja you play as doesn’t speak, but the rest of the characters do. The
dialogue is your typical ninja affair, with the words “power” and
“consequences” being used like they’re going out of style, but it’s
solid and when combined with the art design you really start to care
about the other characters in the game. The ambient noises that you hear
throughout the game are really well thought out as well. The further you
are away from an enemy the more muffled their voice is, and the change
in your footsteps depending on what location you’re in has a great
emphasis on it, which keeps you guessing if you’re taking the best
stealth approach or if there’s a quieter way around.
Final Thoughts
Mark of the Ninja is a refreshing approach to the stealth genre,
which has seen its fair share of mediocre hybrids of stealth and action
over the years. Although it might be a little frustrating as the
difficulty level at the beginning of the game is set rather high, once
you get the hang of the controls (which are a little awkward) and you’ve
discovered the best ways to take out your enemies, it’s an extremely
enjoyable experience that warrants a second play through in order to
discover all the possibilities. |
