Tenchu has reached its third iteration, yet its first on the current generation of consoles. The ninja stealth action series has previously resided on the original Playstation console, but now it has retained the gameplay while undergoing a significant makeover on its way to the Playstation 2. The extra playable characters and the new multiplayer modes should all but assure Tenchu 3 of a high schore. That is, if it weren't for the camera that constantly needs adjusting and the level designs that can cause insta-death.

The concept behind Tenchu is sound and continues to be sound. I'm sure there aren't many of you that can deny the coolness involved with sneaking around in full ninja garb, running on rooftops, and stealth killing guards. Just think somewhere along the lines of Metal Gear or Splinter Cell gameplay with a story out of Samurai Theater. Each ninja you control follows their own series of stages along similar merging storylines. After completing each stage, you can choose to continue the story by advancing to the next level, or you can go back to the same stage with alternate guard placements.

There are a number of tools at your disposal to help you through the game. There's a concept of a "sixth sense" that lets you know when someone else is near. In practice, it's a round gauge that contains a number between 1-100 with the higher number meaning closer proximity. You can also carry up to six different items including the ever-important grappling hook. This is an invaluable tool that let's you reach higher levels of safety and low visibility like rooftops and the tops of walls. It's from these higher up locations as well as behind the corner of walls that give you the upper hand on the guards. You sneak around each level, biding your time until you can jump out behind a guard and slash his throat. These stealth kills will help you make it to your objective unnoticed as well as give you a boost towards earning new skills.

As I stated earlier, there are a couple of significant flaws that mar the otherwise superb gameplay. Third person action games inherently have camera problems, but it's just a really hard problem to live with when you rely on it as much as you do in Tenchu 3. The developers have given you just about all the control you need to fix your viewing difficulties, but it's the very idea of having to baby-sit the camera to fulfill your needs that drives me crazy. You can rotate the camera a little bit with the right analog stick, and you can take a look from first person by holding the L1 button. It really takes a combination of both in order to come to grips with your surrounding and not get yourself noticed. There's no way around it either. You need to look around to find the guards that your proximity gauge says are close. This is especially difficult in the claustrophobic interiors of buildings and homes. It ends up falsely manufacturing suspense due to not being able to take in the situation around you.

The other problem is with the level design, although it is much less of an issue. You're pretty much doomed to fail in at least some regard each level. There are certain places in each level where you'll have to take a guess as to where the guards are located since the proximity gauge doesn't have sense of direction. Imagine you're coming up to a "T" intersection and your gauge tells you someone is near. Unless you've already restarted once and memorized their location you have to pick a side to back up to the wall. If the guard is on the right and you back up to the left wall, you could easily be seen if his back isn't turned. And if you do back up to the left wall there's no easy way to see down that right corridor since the camera will be looking over your shoulder down the left path. It causes artificial replay value because unless you're lucky, you can't sneak unseen through a whole level the first time. If you aren't stealth killing, then you're sword fighting, and that's no fun at all. The levels can also be designed, at times, to cause instant death. Bottomless pits are placed in positions that are hard to see the first time through. There's nothing worse than casually strolling up a hill with no enemies around and falling into a death pit that makes you start the whole level over again.

The graphics did indeed receive a facelift. It almost seems like Tenchu has finally realized the presentation goals it originally sought out on the Playstation. The biggest improvement in the series by far is the increase in draw distance. It not only makes the visual appearance look much better, it actually helps immensely with the gameplay. The character models, animation and levels all look great as well.

The music helps typify the time period and suspense involved with sneaking around an area crawling with guards. The sounds in general play a big part in the game since you need to hear the things around you that you can't see. The effects work well in that regard. What's a little disappointing is the voice acting. It's not so much the voice acting, which is actually quite good; it's the selection of the voice talent. I was surprised to hear the poor attempt at disguising the American accents of the actors.

I really wanted to like Tenchu 3 more than I did, but I can't hide the fact that the needy camera and the almost forced replaying of the levels frustrated me. I also wish the manual (no item descriptions) and the tutorial (all text) weren't so atrocious. I'm sure there are a number of gamers who will be able to overlook these faults and find the excellent action/stealth game underneath. For my money, though, I wouldn't risk it.