What the... Where's my grappling hook?

I found a deal on Tenchu: Shadow Assassins for the Wii ($25 shipped), a game that seems to already have fallen under the radar after its release on February 3rd. Usually this is a bad sign.

Tenchu, for me, is an underdog series of games I always find myself rooting for. I can't help it. I've certainly had my ups and downs with new entries in the series over the years, but I find myself always checking out the latest release, if not purchasing it outright.

Tenchu, as a general rule, seems to have problems evolving its game design past what was established in 1998 by the original Tenchu: Stealth Assassins. The basic tenets of the game was to set your ninja character in a wide open map with a particular target to assassinate (usually). There are various guards/rival ninjas patrolling, civilians loitering, and animals sleeping in between you & your target. Your goal is to complete your objective without being seen (no surprise there). Tenchu adheres to the Thief series approach to combat: You can engage in open combat when you're seen, but your character is not very good at it. The best method to disposing enemies is the series' trademark stealth kills. The marriage of stealth kills plus the level design is what made Tenchu appealing to me. Stalking some poor sod walking along a dimly lit Japanese alley while watching from the rooftops to jumping down and slitting his throat seconds later... There really weren't too many gaming experiences like that at the time.

So the fact that this latest entry felt so different was simultaneously refreshing and alienating. On the one hand, seeing Rikimaru effortlessly dispatch a sleepy guard of questionable intellect felt as good as it ever did. On the other hand, the pace of the game feels much slower than previous entries in the series. It's much more methodical than the action-oriented feel the series started to take with Tenchu 3 onwards. With the original developers back on board, the game's controls are now like the original game instead of Tenchu 3's vastly superior implementation. I found it odd that aesthetically, the game seems to embrace the "mystical" nature of fictional ninjas more. Whereas before your ninja would be standing in a dark area, now when he finds a dark corner to hide in he is covered in a shroud of shadows, with streamers and a black mist hovering about him. It's an odd jump.

These things altogether are not inherently worse than the old games, just different. If there is one thing that I can point to that leaves a bad taste in my mouth, it's the fact that the levels are more stiflingly designed so far. That trademark Tenchu open level design seems to have been traded in for a more directed linear experience. For those familiar with the genre, it's like going from playing a level from Thief: The Dark Project to playing a level in Splinter Cell. I just feel that this style of level design directly hampers the Tenchu experience.

Also, no grappling hook -> rooftop stalking. what.