Tenchu: Fatal Shadows

"Fans of the series... fans of the series can shut up. Having their expectations set at such a needlessly mediocre level is no reason to imply the game merits their attention more than anyone else's. With the dreadful lack of effort in the PS1-like visuals, and ghastly AI, even those with especially designed tattoos should consider their old friend exactly that: old."

"Long before Splinter Cell was conceived and just a few weeks before Metal Gear Solid arrived on shelves, PlayStation owners got their first real taste of stealth action gameplay, courtesy of Tenchu: Stealth Assassins. In recent years, Activision's Tenchu series has graced both the PlayStation 2 and the Xbox, and while the visuals have obviously improved a great deal since Ayame and Rikimaru's first outing, it's a testament to the quality of the first Tenchu title that the gameplay remains largely unchanged to this day"

"As if through stubborn adherence to tradition, Tenchu just hasn't evolved with the times. As a result, you'll need to keep a sharp lookout to spot this game's strong traits."

"While this latest Tenchu isn't terrible when compared to the rest of the PS2 action-game crop, it just doesn't live up to its legacy. If Sega wants to make any headway with this series, it has to tighten the reigns on developer K2, because Tenchu: Fatal Shadows took several steps backwards and virtually none forward."

"Fatal Shadows simply isn't the successor it could and should have been. And while avid fans will find redeeming qualities and few improvements, Tenchu may yet serve as an accessible first step that leads to more developed titles."