PlayStation 2
Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven
| Graphics: Sound: Gameplay: Overall: |
9.10 9.43 9.60 9.60 |
| Votes: | 30 |
| Reviews: | 1 |
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| Reviewer: Trashburd | Date: May 24, 2022 |
| Tenchu's third entry makes its move onto the Playstation 2, with incredible results. Improving on everything from the previous two entries, Wrath of Heaven is easily one of the top stealth games of all time.
Graphics: 10 Wrath of Heaven had wonderful graphics for its time, and even nearly 20 years later, they look more than decent. The levels all have a distinct feel to them, from a rainy Japanese village to a maze-like clockwork castle filled with wooden samurai. Characters are well rendered, and some of the bosses have very interesting visual designs. Absolutely no complaints, here. Sound: 10 The music in Tenchu has always been a high point, and Wrath of Heaven more than delivers. Standout tracks for me include the Ronin Village (also used in the magazine demo of the game), and any of the assorted boss-fight tracks. Sound effects are passable, nothing extraordinary. The voice acting is generally high-quality, and I have to commend the game for having one of the funniest options I've seen to date - a 'B-Side' voice over, that replaces all spoken dialogue with silly, often absurd plotlines, while managing to mix in some of the original dialogue where it fits. Whether playing with the English, Japanese, or B-Side voices, the acting is well done. Gameplay: 10 The gameplay in Wrath of Heaven is stealth perfection. The controls are responsive, staying unseen is intuitive, and everything works as intended. Unlike previous entries, enemies no longer have illogical lines of sight at times, their patrol routes involve a lot less arbitrary 'screw you' moments of doing a 360 degree turn on the spot to catch you, and even if your cover is blown, combat is actually enjoyable. Beyond the basic premise of sneaking through large maps to an endpoint, killing enemies on the way, there are new additions to the series that are welcomed. There are plenty of new items, including the ability to loot bows and spears off of dead guards, and alternate weapons for two of the three playable characters. Using your grappling hook no longer requires clinging directly to the edge of a ledge, allowing you to zoom over enemies in tight hallways by grappling to arbitrary points on the walls and ceilings, allowing for a lot more intuitive movement. Most missions follow a largely linear path, but nearly all of them have alternate routes and secret passageways throughout. And while the feature did exist in the original Tenchu, each mission now has a three selectable (instead of randomly chosen) enemy layouts, adding variety to future playthroughs. In addition to the 27 single player missions and their variants, Wrath of Heaven also has a local multiplayer mode with 6 unique cooperative maps and a versus mode where you could play as nearly any character or villain from the entire game and battle a friend. Overall: 10 Overall, I can give Wrath of Heaven no less than a 10/10 score. I revisit the game often, playing it in full every few years since its release, and it remains fun to this day. I have fond memories of playing the multiplayer versus for hours with my brother, back in the early 2000s. Among all the PS2 games I've played, this one comfortably sits among the best. Give Wrath of Heaven a shot. It's not exceptionally difficult and functions as a good entry if you're new to the series, offering a solid 5-30 hours of gameplay depending how far you take it. If you've played other Tenchu games and somehow missed this one, you won't be disappointed. If you have played it, maybe play it again! Or try Fatal Shadows, the equally enjoyable but relentlessly difficult next in the series. As a long time Tenchu fan, it saddens me that the series seems to have ended, but this game will always remain excellent in my eyes. I can't recommend it strongly enough. |
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