Why is it that no matter what the current trend in videogames, ninja are always cool? Since the early days of Ninja Gaiden, being able to don a dark outfit and eliminate your adversaries in a number of sinister and skilful ways has appealed. To many, this idea was perfected in the Tenchu series, which debuted almost ten years ago, and the brain behind the original titles – Acquire – is back with its own brand of stealth assassin: Shinobido. Its PlayStation 2 debut (Way Of The Ninja) offered a solid, yet flawed, experience, but fans of the genre ate it up. Considering Tales Of The Ninja feels like a spin-off of the PS2 version, it’ll probably follow suit.

As the name suggests, Tales Of The Ninja doesn’t stray too far from the original. You’ll take on the role of Goh the Crow, amongst others, and be set numerous missions that’ll mostly see you killing adversaries and stealing items. Unfortunately, unlike the PS2 outing which was extremely open-ended, Tales is far more watered down. Divided up into 80 separate missions, there’s little story to it and you’re really just maiming and pillaging for the sake of it. Strangely enough, it manages to pull it off due to being on a handheld. It’s clear that Acquire has thought about how to distinguish the two, and Tales is definitely designed with short bursts of play in mind.

In terms of gameplay, there’s not much to separate them. Obviously the controls are slightly different and the graphics have taken a hit (considering they weren’t great on the PS2 that means they look somewhat ropey), but it’s still a matter of keeping to the shadows, performing stealth kills, or going berserk with your sword and confronting warriors head-on; this is great for admirers, but not so good for everyone else. We should say though, that the same camera problems that plagued the first return, and some of the levels are so bland they almost seem unfinished.

To keep events interesting there’s also a leveling-up system of sorts (your character’s stats will increase as you complete missions) but it’s so unobtrusive you’d be forgiven for not realising it’s there. Throw in a multiplayer mode and the option to link it with Way Of The Ninja to download levels from your PS2 onto your PSP, and you get a game that’s far from shallow.

Although Tales Of The Ninja does what it sets out to amicably, it’s aimed at such a niche market that it’s almost impenetrable to anyone else, particularly if you’ve played a Metal Gear Solid or Splinter Cell in your day; Shinobido just can’t replicate stealth to the same degree. Nonetheless, if ninja get you going, then you’ll more than likely be exceedingly happy.

Simon Miller