Anyone looking forward to Tenchu 3? (1 Viewer)

[Chris Rock]

I have read very little about this game online. What does everyone think?

It's on my my "must buy" list right now, unless I hear otherwise.

 

[Ryan Peter]

EGM just panned the hell out of it. Be very wary, a rent first would be advisable.

 

[Calvin_Su]

EGM did not "pan the hell" out of it. They said it was a good game except for the AI and extremely easy boss fights.

GMR and UK OPM2 gave it an 8/10. Play magazine gave it a very positive review, saying it's the game that MGS2 should have been(or something like that).

PSM, after recently playing a near final version, says that it's looking to be one of the first must have games of 2003. And Doug Perry, the guy who is gonna review it on IGN, already says that he knows he likes it better than the guys at EGM.

 

[Joseph Young]

That's a shame that it was panned. I never played the first two Tenchu games, but had high hopes that this title would perhaps recapture what made the first one so popular. I read a couple of things about the varying stealth moves and started getting excited for this one.

Ryan, did the EGM review mention any specifics?

~joseph

 

[Calvin_Su]

Joseph -

Check my post.

 

[BrianB]

EGM just panned the hell out of it.

~7.5 is a panning? I thought it was a positive review that was down on the very easy boss fights & weak AI (which to be honest, has never been a strong point of Tenchu - the AI follows a bunch of simple rules basically).

I really enjoyed the demo... A return to the feel of the first game, with the right emphasis on stealthy kills.

 

[Calvin_Su]

Doug Perry, who is reviewing Tenchu 3 on IGN, said this a few days ago on the Tenchu Q&A:

It's a very good game that's grown quite a bit from the first two

So he implies that in terms of gameplay, Tenchu 3 is an improvement over the original. The only thing I'm worried about is the story. I didn't like the supernatural angle from the last few levels of Tenchu 1, and it looks like for Tenchu 3 they are expanding on that.

 

[Joseph Young]

Hehe, Calvin, looks like we posted at the same time!

I just finished watching some of the extensive video footage of Tenchu 3, looks pretty interesting. It doesn't look like they've gone for the subtle, historical angle on this one... judged from the art design and the title screen layout, it looks like they're going for an 'onimusha' feel. What I mean by that is Feudal imagery but supernatural tones.

I guess time will tell if Tenchu 3 is a one-trick pony or if the gameplay has some longevity, but I hope it's the latter.

~j

 

[Ryan Peter]

7.0, 7.0, 7.5 is pretty mediocre for such an anticipated game, but that's just my opinion, I could be wrong. The scores at the bottom are:

Visuals 7
Sound 6
Ingenuity 6
Replay 6

Again, like I said, it looks like a renter. I just started getting a subscription to EGM though, so maybe a 7.0 for them is pretty good. The way they praise the game repeatedly I wouldn't doubt it (although it appears they write phrases made specifically for magazine ads and then bold them... I'm not sure what to think of that).

We'll see what gamespot and IGN think soon enough.

 

[Ryan Peter]

Joseph - On first glance the scores aren't very good, like I mentioned above, 7.5 was the highest, the other two were 7.0 and then the other scores were even lower (I'm not sure what those other ones come from).

Here's the negative.

Bryan - idiotic enemy AI, easy boss battles, clumsey camera. Multiplayer feels like a collection of minigames. With a few tweaks it could have been a must buy.

Chris B. - overly constrictive camera creates artificial difficulty, being 20 minutes into a level and falling into a pit you couldn't see.

Miguel - combat controls cumbersome, enemies stop chasing after 3 rooms (dumb ai).

Here's the good:

Bryan - those who like MGS should give it a shot, stealth animations fantastic

Christ B. - stealth kills great, solid gameplay and multiplayer wins out over negatives

Miguel - also likes the stealth kills and carnage in game.

Their scores
Bryan - 7.5
Chris B. - 7.0
Miguel - 7.0

Hope that helps. I'm most looking forward to Zelda out of the entire magazine, and that almost gets a platinum award.

 

[Scott_E]

Check out Tenchu Checkpoint. One of the moderators there was invited by the developers to play the game from start to finish. He said its not even close to what the EGM guys described. Much better in his opinion and the story line is still good.

http://www.tenchu3.de

 

[Dave F]

I was looking forward to it until the demo and experienced the fubar camera. That knocked it off my "probably buy" to my "maybe rent if I'm bored" list.

-Dave

 

[Calvin_Su]

btw, Tenchu 3 seems to be getting the same scores that Xenosaga got.

Games like Tenchu, Xenogears, Xenosaga, and Suikoden have something in common- the fans seem to love them much more than the game journalist/critics.

 

[Chris Rock]

Looks like I'll be picking it up. Thanks for the discussion, guys.

 

[BrianB]

I just started getting a subscription to EGM though, so maybe a 7.0 for them is pretty good.

I think the key lesson here is score isn't everything. To me, what matters more is the body of the text, what the reviewer(s) actually think of the game.

 

[Scott_W]

I was looking forward to the game, until I played the demo. I found it subpar. The game's engine is pretty poor compared to newer games. I had trouble with the camera, animations, and general way the game controlled and moved. It just didn't look good to me. The whole thing screamed budget game. There may be a great game in Tenchu 3 for those that want to work at it. I was just surprised at how much of a negative reaction I had to a game I was looking forward to.

Realistically, 7 is a pretty low score for EGM. When EGM likes a game, its usually an 8 or higher. I've found that anything below 8 in EGM isn't great for the most part. There are exceptions to the rule, but I've usually found EGM's reviews to positive. If the text was negative as well, its not a good sign. Considering the last Tench game wasn't very good either, its believable this one is poor. One good game doesn't make the sequels good, its not like the series is known for quality, like a Zelda.

 

[Scott_E]

Scott W, the demo is over 7 months old. The people from Tenchu Checkpoint who have played the actual finished product of the game say its absolutely nothing like the demo at all. I really think you should give it a shot.

 

[Scott_W]

That's encouraging then. I think the game had potential, at least the idea did. If the engine has been cleaned up, then a lot of my criticisms may be moot. Thanks.

 

[Calvin_Su]

Here are some quotes from the latest review(from Gamespy):

Wrath of Heaven is one of the best stealthy action games available.

 

[JamesH]

The other Tenchu games scored in the 7ish range at a lot of places as well, so I'd imagine you'll like this one if you liked those.

It's kind of like Dynasty Warriors. The general critics are never going to take to it and score it highly, but Koei knows what fans of the series want and gives it to them.