Mark of the Ninja: Stealth Revival

I often wonder what it would be like to be a ninja. It's been a secret dream of mine since childhood, along with the desire to be an astronaut, dinosaur, underpaid startup employee, and unheralded videogame blogger. But at the end of the day, ninja is the one dream that persisted. If gaming has taught me anything, it's that ninjas are pretty much space marines with swords who every now and then rely on the cloak of shadow to replenish health before running back into broad daylight, slicing everything up like a food processor. Having done plenty of study on my future profession, I'm wise enough to know ninja blend into crowds like normal folk, using simple subterfuge to complete their tasks. While Mark of the Ninja isn't quite on that level of subtlely, it's one of the best representations of my shadow brethren since Tenchu. But is it any good?

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Mark of the Ninja Sneaks onto XBLA

As of yesterday, there has been a breach on Microsoft's Xbox LIVE Arcade. Early Friday morning, a shady figure in dark clothing with his face masked was seen infiltrating the platform using a combination of blinding speed, still patience, viscous killer instinct, and deathly silence; this ninja as we will call him, was designed to operate under the nose of the general population without being noticed. 

However, we have spotted the intruder and plan to alert all to his presence. Mark of the Ninja can be found on XBLA for 1200MSP. Use the cover of shadow to brilliantly execute your plan, and anyone who stands between you and your objective, my ninja. Klei Entertainment (creators of Shank, Shank 2) have taken care to craft a title that focuses on stealth as a priority, a rare feat for a ninja-centric title, which so often deal in hacking things to pieces.

Coupled with the infrequent premise of 2D stealth gameplay, Mark of the Ninja looks like a promising release. Worth the money? You'll have to wait to find that out. 

A Few Seconds of Mark of the Ninja Impresses

What we have here is a very short sample of what we can expect from Mark of the Ninja, Klei Entertainment's next release. On the heels of Shank 2, which I expected so much more from, Klei has decided to shift gears to the rarely explored 2D stealth genre, which seems a bit illogical following two B-movie inspired gore fests. Before I sound too much like I'm complaining, I should point out I'm melting at every sight and sound of Mark of the Ninja. Why? Let's see:

1. Ninjas

2. Choose your own play style: kill em all or kill no one at all

3. Klei's incredible signature art and animation

4. Ninjas

5. Ridiculously ambient soundtrack, judging from the trailer

Many E3 accounts have pegged Mark of the Ninja as one of the best looking titles on the show floor, a fact that I'm not willing to dispute at this time. Thankfully, the title's release is right around the corner, with a solid date of 'Summer 2012' which I'm sure means September sometime. Hurry up and download to my Xbox, Ninja!