TENCHU - Wrath Of Heaven
Very much in the Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon vein, you have to uphold law in Lord Gohda's historic Eastern kingdom. There is the choice of a male or female character, Rikimaru and Ayame (hidden characters encountered along the line). Your movements, attacks and special moves are taught in the tutorial - jumpflips, grappling hook, combo attacks, forward thrust slash. Maps can be accessed. Multi-player mode can have you participate in a vs.- or co-operative capacity. But the Story Mode is where it's at. The game's look is a lush one, forest areas looking great, covered with ample fore- and background brush & trees, the sun rays sliding through the cracks. It does however seem as if they paid a little less attention to the character movement - on releasing the move-button, your character comes to an abrupt, rigid halt pose, making it a bit on the jerky side. But, with all of the action around each corner and graphic gushing blood effects, this little hitch may well be soon forgotten. Amid all this you collect Ninja rebirth items, find keys, restore health, throw knives etc.

5 / C
- PB