Once a guard detects you he will even yell out and call in re-enforcements ninjas to kick your ass. The guards go about their business walking their set patterns, waiting to be either killed or to detect you. This may be part of the gameplay design though, and is what makes the stealth mechanic work. Speaking of face to face battles, in this early preview build the AI in the game does not seem very bright. The combat is not "horrible" per say, but using stealth and the stealth kill system is infinitely more rewarding that being detected and fighting face to face. To make things more frustrating, you have to stab the guy six or seven times before he finally dies. Sure there is a bit more to the combat, such as jumping around and blocking, but effectively it becomes a battle of the X button. Your main options when this happens are to run and hide or fight them off by repeatedly pressing X. It is almost as if the poor sword to sword combat engine is your punishment for being detected. While being stealthy is encouraged, the game falls apart a bit when an enemy detects you. A simple jump in the pond or putting on some sort of ancient after-shave solves this problem though. Be careful not to get any blood on you though, as it increases how bad you spell making you more detectable. Overall stealth kills are fun to perform and a comical amount of stylized blood accompanies each enemy death. Still, the stealth kills are what holds the game together, as you can do such things as the classic "sword through the throat", or the ever popular "rip his arms from their sockets followed by a sword to the throat". Unfortunately it's a context sensitive thing, so while the kill can be gory and satisfying, you never get the sense of doing much except pressing X.
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Depending on where you are in relation to the enemy, a variety of moves can be performed. A stealth kill occurs when you sneak up on an enemy undetected, after which you are given the option of pressing X to finish the opponent off. All along the way there are many enemies mulling about waiting to be finished off, with the ideal way being via the "stealth kill". Do you grapple hook up the wall, and hop roof top to rooftop? Do you sneak along the ground, hiding in bushes and under shacks as you go? Or do you just charge in and poke everybody in the face with your sword? (not recommended, Ninja Gaiden this is not). You can choose to take several different paths to reach your goal. You start off outside the walls of a small village, and have to work your way past unsuspecting guards to reach your target. (Apparently they had muskets back in Ancient Japan). Your first mission tasks you with assassinate some greedy arms dealer. All of this is nice in theory but how does the game actually play? As you work your way through over 50 missions set in ancient Japan, you level up your ninja mastery with new moves and new weapons as you use your keen sense of sight sound and smell to survive.
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There is still plenty of ninja killing and sword swinging, but patience and strategy with use of the stealth kill system is rewarded over a run and gun style of hand to hand combat. The long running Tenchu series is coming the Xbox 360 and is bringing a host of improvements and enhancements to the established formula along with 4 player multiplayer over Xbox Live, Rather than focusing on the all out action combat side of the ninja life, Tenchu is all about being stealthy and working your way through various missions, usually with the end goal of assassinating a poor unsuspecting soul or stealing some loot.