Mark Of The Ninja

 

I had always been fan of Ninjas and their Techniques  . Right from Ninja Gaiden which was released in Video Game Cassettes to the ones that is released to PS3 now . But overall there aren't many Ninja games out there . Only a few , which can be counted off  easily . But the trouble with NG was that it was a PS3 & PS2 ( i.e)  Sony Exclusive . Xbox did come out with its version of Ninja Game known as ' Ninja Blade ' Which had awesome dramatic moments in them that will make your jaw drop . And thank god it was available for PC too .My thirst for Ninjas were quenched a little  . And right when I was becoming to thirsty again this game popped up in the radar . Although it was initially supposed to be XBLA game out for 360 fans alone i was disappointed . Bcos I saw the gameplay and for a side scrolling game this game was really ultra cool .

Graphics was stunning in a hazy sort of way , that you can easily distinguish between different grey areas that are marked in the levels . Lighting is the best part in the game and the difference between moving in shadows and in brightened areas have been show clearly .

So coming to the story part . The Protagonist Ninja is suddenly awakened from his dream when his clan is attacked by Armed Forces . You had just got the Tattoo that is supposed to make you one of the deadliest Ninja ever  . The ink which was used in the tattoo is supposed to be from a rare desert Flower that has the capabilities to give you extraordinary power but at the same time can drive you over the brink of madness.So its customary for the person who dons the Ink to commit seppuku ( suicide by disembowelment ) before the Ink takes control of the person . So Ninja rescues his clan and his master Azai from the clutches of the Armed men . Azai reveals that the attack was carried out by a wealthy and ruthless adversary Karajan . So Ninja travels to the layer of Karajan along with his female companion Ninja , Ora .

When Karajan is finally killed, Ora guesses the true motive of Azai was to steal the technology from Karajan and use it for himself to make the Clan more powerful  . She makes The Ninja to rebel against Seppuku and go after Dosan who had administered the Ink and knew of its true capabilities  But he is captured by desert bandits and after Ninja saves him they come to know tat the Ancient flowers no longer exists but has been destroyed and this was the truth that Azai was trying to conceal . The Ninja vows to take revenge on Azai and when he finally meets up with him , Azai reveals its the ink that is making the Ninja to see such hallucinations and the character Ora never existed at all . It was just a manifestation of the Ink to prevent the Ninja from doing the necessary . Finally the players are given a choice to embrace the Insanity or to squash it by sacrificing themselves .

Gameplay surely has to be appreciated because the controls execute with such smoothness that you will feel like as if you gliding over the walls and vents that you scale . That too playing with a controller , My god !! Its pure heaven . And do remember that this is a stealth game  , So if you try taking your enemies head on you are going to end up dying . Stealth kills are absolutely lethal here . You have the silent/  Perfect  kill and imperfect kill where the dying enemy cries out as he dies and thereby alerting anyone in the vicinity .

Based upon the successful completion of your mission objectives , optional objectives sneaky way of movements without getting detected at all throughout the game you will be provided Honor ( XP points ). You can use it to upgrade your skills , Which involves the Bat's Prey ( death from above ) , Rising snake ( Sweep kick enemy into air ) , Twilight Gate ( Deal death from other side of door ) and etc,, .As your skills increase your attacks grow more deadlier and stealthier . And you start using your environments to your advantage .

The Ink 

You also have a variety of Ninja tools in your Arsenal ( 4 can be carried max at a time) .

1) Darts :: 

The most useful and abundant one are the darts . While others are of limited number , the darts can be used infinite number of times without getting depleted  . You can lock on 3 targets at a time with the darts and can be used to take down light and fuse boxes from a distance . Taking down lights is very useful as it allows you to sneak close to your enemy without alerting him to Ur presence at all.  But it can't be used to kill a guard but only to attract him .

2) Smoke Bombs :: 

Limited in no , but can be used to sneak past Lasers or to quickly disappear from the view of your enemy when he spots you .

3) Noise Maker :: 

Can be used to distract your enemy in into looking the other side so that you can move past him silently or sneak in closer for a silent kill.

4) Caltrops / Spike Trap :: 

Can be dropped in the path of  Enemy and when he walks over it , watch him getting impaled with spikes from below. When an enemy dies in the view of another guard you may terrorize him and he may start shivering and shouting going into full blown panic mode . quite deadly to watch seeing that you have such power over the other guy .

5) Farsight ::

An ability with which you can see through walls and other areas / track a connection of lever to see which is the right one .Very useful at some places.

6) Mark of Serenity : :

This the most coolest ability of the ink that you will get in the last part of the game when you get the final ink Tattoo .Can be used to disappear from one place and appear on another without disturbance in the middle. Essential to get past Stalkers and deadly traps that are unavoidable .

Guard Dogs :: 

The game is fairly easy where you can get stealth kills easily . It becomes slightly difficult when the Dogs come into patrol which can sniff you out of your hiding place easily and thereby alerting the guards to your position. Better stay way away from them or quickly take them out before you take down their masters .

Shield and Elite Guards : :

The ones with the shield are really irritating bcos they can immediately make a area  of last disturbance bright  with a flare . But Can be easily taken down from behind or above . Elite guards are deadly and its extremely difficult to take down even with a silent sneak attack . They have to be confused / dazed first before you can slit them part .

Stalkers :: 

These are the Ninja's with special equipment  . They have a far sense of movement and come with Night Vision goggles which make them a absolute hell to pass by .they move fast and quick and and are almost equal to you in their speed and agility and skills  . You can t take them out even with a sneak attack as they will easily detect any movement around their vicinity .Best Bet : Avoid them at all costs .

Bandits ::

Ora, Ninja and Dosan 

The game gets upgraded into another level of difficulty when you come across the Bandits in deserts . Although these guys are similar to the ordinary guards the real problem with them is their ability to fill their place with Bomb Traps and weak scaffolding tricks . Its easier to spot then with your Farsight Ability but still these traps makes it almost impossible to sneak past without alerting guards .Grrrrr!! moments of the game for sure .

Scroll Quests :

Scroll challenge 

These are the ultimate challenge to your Ninja skills and your ingenuity . They don t have enemies but your main objective is to get a scroll which is in the room but protected heavily by Lasers and Traps . You have to make use of every skill that you have trained in , in order to crack the Room's puzzle and get the scroll alive . Absolutely loved this part in the game . Its WOW :D

Pro's :: 

1. Follow the path of Ninja who can reside in darkness and makes his appearance only when necessary .
2. The graphical representation of each level is amazing and confusing , that it makes you wonder how it was designed in the first place .
3. Controls are so smooth to execute that it will be like a hot knife through butter when you move your character around the levels .

Cons's :: 

1.Sometimes the controls can be so responsive that it may be the cause of your demise .
2. A Very short game .

So hats off to Klei Entertainment for giving us such a beautiful game . Although the mechanics resemble Shank , this game is way above its level in Graphics and gameplay  ;-)

Rating :: 9.0 / 10

Regards
Ram