Review by: Cole Jones

Stealth combat and ninjas: two game devices that go together like a scoop of ice cream and a slice of warm apple pie. Problem is what sometimes looks great on your plate ends up being a cold, sticky mess in the end. Tenchu: Shadow Assassins isn't an abomination by any means - after all, it's still a delicious metaphorical pie we're talking about here - but it does has enough little annoyances to keep it from being a universal recommendation for all those starved for some action on the Wii.

Tenchu: Shadow Assassins plays out exactly as the name suggests: You are a ninja, and you must keep to the shadows and eliminate key targets (and everything passing by) with the utmost of stealth. As either one of the Azuma clan ninjas (series mainstays Rikimaru and Ayame) you must progress through foreign feudal territory rife with guards and evil overlords by eliminating light and sticking to the shadows. Unlike the unforgiving Japanese version, no ninjas are ever killed or captured by opposing troops. Instead of a "life" system, you simply explode into a cloud of powder and feathers and start the section over with your progress intact, allowing you to trudge through any level through one long, brute force attack. Of course you'll have more than a few weapons by your side, but like pieces to a puzzle, each must be utilized in the proper context to successfully pull off a stealthy ninja “Hissatsu” kill.

Strangely enough for a "stealth action game,” Tenchu rewards; nay, requires you to kill everyone in your path. Metal Gear Solid fans, as well as old-school Tenchu veterans, might be a bit put off by the game's insistence on mass murder, as there are multiple times in almost every mission where you're faced with the daunting decision of "kill or be killed" by sharp-eyed guards. That, coupled with a grading system that rewards you for taking out all adversaries, makes the game’s stealth focus seem a little contradictory. Thankfully, taking out your adversaries isn't what’s truly tricky about Tenchu – both keeping to and creating your shadows is.

For the most part, fighting in Tenchu boils down to pressing A and frantically waving the controller about whenever you’d like to kill something, which works out pretty well most of the time. Unfortunately, getting to that magical “kill spot” isn’t always easy to do, as the clunky controls and movement take a lot of getting used to, and the AI is all over the place when it comes to spotting your ninja antics. I can’t quite fathom why guards catch you after you take one step into the moonlight, yet allow you to extinguish flames and stab people in the face without any retaliation, but I'll just suppose things were a little different back in feudal Japan.