He doesn't really have a fight or flight instinct, per se. It's insanely empowering - which makes for an interesting contrast with the fact that Mark the ninja (note: not actually his name, but it should be) is basically worthless when he doesn't have the drop on his foes. Even the briefest of glances will tell how far enemies can see, what they'll be able to hear, whether they're on alert or not (and, if so, where they think you are), and whether they're on the hunt or fleeing for dear life after they knocked down one of your sets of trap-based death dominoes. The end result is that nothing's left to chance. Everything, then, is represented in a highly visual fashion - even sound, which emanates circles of varying sizes to represent whether or not enemies can hear you. In fact, the lack of a third dimension actually enhances these tried-and-true mechanics a lot of ways, as it allows you to take in more of your surroundings and ultimately view each area as something of a puzzle. Despite the 2D viewpoint, vision cones, light vs dark mechanics, and even Batman: Arkham Asylum-style enemy terror tactics are in the mix. The special sauce here is made up of one part fantastically meticulous level design and multiple parts of, well, other games. But sneaking means a lot of things to a lot of different people, and Mark of the Ninja's focus on rewarding clever, deliberate thought with options may be its most impressive feat of all. Sure, at its heart, Mark of the Ninja is absolutely a stealth game - cut from the same chloroform-soaked cloth as Thief and its masterfully tip-toeing brethren. Mark of the Ninja, though, is one of those games that makes me want to mercilessly poke and prod at its outer limits - to try every possible option and item combination - before deciding on one "real" way to proceed. And honestly, if I was able to whip out a piece of parchment and make a gorgeous kanji note of my progress whenever I wanted, I'd probably just end up stopping to do it every three steps. Don't get me wrong: occasional frustrating exceptions aside, its checkpoints are serviceable - if not particularly amazing. I really wish Mark of the Ninja had a "save anywhere" feature. But does it succeed in crafting a multi-faceted, occasionally murderous game of hide-and-go-seek? Here's wot I think. Strange times we live in, right? Happily, Klei Entertainment's decided to sheath its shank and go for a nice evening skulk about the town. To put things in perspective, Rambo (circa the first film, of course) was more of a ninja than our modern crop of videogame Rambo ninjas. Clearly, however, someone forgot to tell videogames about this, resulting in a new breed of ninja that's basically just a regular ol' mass murderer in silly feet pajamas. It's a semi-well-known fact that real ninjas did their best work in the shadows and - unless their express objective was "be hacked into ninjiblets by a vastly superior opponent" - rarely emerged into open combat.
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