Red Ninja: End of Honor

Publisher: Vivendi

Platform: XB

Category: Action / Adventure

Rating Info

Release Date: 08/04/2005

Member Rating:

Number of Players: 1

Red Ninja: End of Honor Description

16th Century Japan is a popular setting for many video games. This bloody period in Japan's history saw the powerful Daimyo Warlords of clans such as the Odas and the Takedas battling it out for mastery of all Japan. From the tactical, Sun Tzu-based strategy of Shogun: Total War to the hack and slash action of KOEI's Samurai Warriors series, this era continues to inspire the creators of the finest video games. Vivendi Universal's Red Ninja: End of Honor is a stealth and action game developed by the newly-formed Tranji Studios and set in this most colourful of centuries. The ninja adventure, in the cast of the Tenchu games and the recent Shinobi and Ninja Gaiden remakes, features a script penned by screenwriter Shinsuke Sato, more recently famous for directing his own films, Love Song and Princess Blade. The storyline follows the tale of Kurenai, a young and attractive girl. After witnessing the brutal murder of her father and being left for dead by the wicked Black Lizard Clan, Kurenai swears revenge and joins a clan of ninja where she trains to prepare herself for exacting it. Her unique weapon is the wire, or Tetsugen, and it is this which also gives the game a unique feature. The wire can be used in a variety of ways, its length and strength can be adjusted, and various deadly attachments can be exchanged at its end. In this way the wire is not only a weapon but a device that allows Kurenai to access new areas and approach from oblique angles. With her ninja abilities Kurenai can also run along walls, across water, through the air and even make herself invisible, as well as having access to a range of ninja weapons like blowguns, smoke bombs and explosive rockets. She can use her womanly wiles too, to seduce guards, and continue the action that takes place in large, beautiful environments. The game should be welcomed by fans of Tenchu and Ninja Gaiden. Japanese car obsessives might be interested to know that in the USA the promotional campaign for the game includes sponsorship of a highly tuned Nissan 180/200/240sx S14, which will be participating in various drift, race and drag events.

Screenshots

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Write a review of Red Ninja: End of Honor

Reviewed by: hyphz	Date: 04/11/2005	Rating:
Red Ninja is a good attempt at an addition to the stealth genre, but unfortunately it's brought down by a number of faults. The most obvious is the camera, which tends to whip and jump around all over the screen at the most inopportune moments, and to lock your controls on nonsensical settings. The second problem is that the new features of Red Ninja - the wire weapon, and seduction - are really not that great. The wire weapon looks like great fun to use, and is well implemented, but in practice it just doesn't hurt the enemies enough to be worth using! You set up a situation where the enemies are in position, hit the furthest enemy away with the blade, then drag the taut wire through the other enemies.. and then do so again.. and again.. and again.. and they don't die. So you wind up just hitting them directly with the blade twice or attacking them with your dagger because that, y'know, actually hurts. As for seduction, that's another one of those cases of a game feature that doesn't add much because you can only use it in particular situations, and in those situations there's no reason not to use it. Sometimes there's a guard you're obviously supposed to seduce (because he's standing on his own next to the corner of a shimmyable wall). So you seduce him. And sometimes it works, and sometimes he decides to kill you instead. And that's that. There's no tactical choice involved, and no real extra options added. Red Ninja is probably worth a rental if you really love the stealth game genre and you've tried the others, but if you wind pure steath Splinter Cell is a better bet, and if you want wuxia ninja action try Ninja Gaiden first.

Features

Revolutionary wire weapon, the Tetsugen, where the functionality of the wire is determined by the end attachments and length & strength of wire which creates dynamic gameplay that combines action, adventure & stealth

Beautiful, large environments and event driven storyline, written by Shinsuke Sato, a feature film writer/director from Japan

Escape enemies by using the traditional ninja art of disguise

Use your womanly wiles to entice & distract your enemies

Control and manipulate assailants with various Ninjutsu powers

Choose how you will destroy your enemy by using numerous additional weapons like blowguns, smoke bombs and rocket explosives

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