The stealth-assassination-ninja series has announced multiple new titles, but will we get to play all of them?
Ever since the first PlayStation version of Tenchu: Stealth Assassins came out, I was hooked. This was like Metal Gear Solid without all the cutscenes and shooting! For those of you that don’t know the Tenchu series, it is, at its heart, a stealth killing game. With brilliant level design and one-shot kills (as long as you’re not seen), it taxes your abilities, timing, and strategy to the utmost. In short, it’s a great series, and further releases have stayed very close to to the winning formula.
Now "From Software" has released information about no less than THREE new Tenchu games. Time of the Assassin’s for the PSP, Dark Secret for the Nintendo DS – formerly known as Dark Shadow (which was playable at E3, although somewhat disappointing), and the unfinalized title Tenchu 360 for, what else, the Xbox 360. Here’s the kicker, Tenchu 360 may be a Japanese exclusive.
The game itself will feature next-gen graphics and the ability to customize and create your own Ninja, as well as play co-operatively online. With no posted US release date and only a Japan release confirmed, we are left to draw our own conclusions. Our own theory is that that the US will see release, just some time after Japan (as has long been the case with many PlayStation titles). But there is the slim chance that the Tenchu series will not see it’s next full console (read: non-handheld) realization on this side of the world, which would be a sad day for gamers (and ninjas) everywhere.
