{"id":49680,"date":"2013-01-26T09:56:34","date_gmt":"2013-01-26T07:56:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/?p=49680"},"modified":"2013-01-26T10:04:06","modified_gmt":"2013-01-26T08:04:06","slug":"mark-of-the-ninja-review-pc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mygaming.co.za\/news\/reviews\/49680-mark-of-the-ninja-review-pc","title":{"rendered":"Mark of the Ninja review (PC)"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve always been partial to a good stealth game and unfortunately, \u201cstealth\u201d is usually developer code for \u201cshooting quietly\u201d. You may get a silencer on your Beretta but that\u2019s about the biggest concession.<\/p>\n

Stealth has always been an optional game choice \u2013 you can use it if you want but at some point, it inevitably becomes easier to leave smoking craters than to hide corpses. Until now.<\/p>\n

Mark of the Ninja is the absolute word in stealth. While it\u2019s theoretically possible for you to charge the machine gun toting soldiers littered across the landscape, that\u2019s a really great way to die over and over again.<\/p>\n

Klei Entertainment have gone out of their way to meld together gameplay, stylised graphics, and the usual boatload of random violence. They even managed to squeeze in a storyline that, while far from unique, is solid enough to carry the game.<\/p>\n

Mark of the Ninja follows an unnamed hero who wakes up just as his home base is being attacked. Fortunately, he\u2019s just received a tattoo that grants him special skills, allowing him to rescue his fellow ninja and his master, Azai. Master Azai explains all about the special flower used to create the tattoo ink and casually mentions that those who use them eventually go mad and are forced to commit suicide.<\/p>\n

That cheery pronouncement made, it\u2019s time for our hero to save the shinobi from the relentless onslaught of technology. Mainly by slitting its throat.<\/p>\n

\"Mark<\/a>

Mark of the Ninja review<\/p><\/div>\n

Smooth as a cloud of flesh eating bugs<\/h3>\n

The mechanics and gameplay are smooth, highly stylised and beautifully rendered down to the last detail. Klei\u2019s distinctive animated style brings credibility to the game and does a great job of immersing the player in the world of the ninja.<\/p>\n

The ability to go back and finish old levels again using new techniques, items and upgrades brings a great degree of replay value as do the usual gamut of Steam achievements available; 30 at time of writing.<\/p>\n

The developers have also thrown in a suite of upgrades, customisations and unlockables for the character, each of which have the potential to completely rework the way you play the game. Each level is reportedly winnable using any combination of tools and techniques.<\/p>\n

In-game dialogue is snappy and often humourous, although some of the voice work is a little hard to make out. Fortunately, there\u2019s a subtitle option so that you can keep track of how pants-wettingly terrified the guards are of ninja-death.<\/p>\n

Part of the gameplay that makes Mark of the Ninja so distinctive is the ability to psychologically torture your victims. Nothing is out of bounds for the ninja \u2013 drug-laced darts, showing them the dangling corpses of their erstwhile co-workers, and ravenous flesh-eating bugs are all on the table.<\/p>\n