Do you know what is awesome? Mark of the Ninja is awesome. I feel bad that it’s taken me a couple of months to clear off room in my schedule to review it, because this is the sort of game that I should have been shouting about from the rooftops from day one. Well, I’m shouting now. Play this game.
I can’t decide what I like most about this game, but I think it might be the fact that it harnesses modern console power more effectively than any other 2D game I’ve ever played. It doesn’t look as extraordinary as a Vanillaware game, but more important than the game’s aesthetic appeal is the way the graphics enhance its mechanics. You can see it at work in this screen shot: A flash of lightning illuminates everything within the protagonist’s view, exposing both him and his foes, while everything out of his line of sight fades to an indistinct, desaturated blur.
Because of the minute scale of the on-screen characters, it also manages to be perhaps the first game to use Flash-style animation without making it look cheap. The in-game actors look more like super-detailed 16-bit sprites on my 23″ screen than anything else, the protagonist slipping fluidly through the world and his enemies responding in varied ways to the player’s actions.
It’s just an exquisitely designed piece of software — the kind of thing that only comes along every once in a great while. It’s $15, too. I really have to insist that you pick this one up, folks. It’s gorgeous, and that gorgeousness genuinely enhances the game. Great stuff.
Easily one of the best games I’ve played this year. Play it, it’s good!
Yes! I loved this game so much I paid full price for it on the Xbox and the PC. I managed to finish the 360 version in 2 sittings because it was so compelling. Bravo to Klei. This year, I feel like Mark of the Ninja and Dishonored made notable contributions to the stealth game formula. Great year to love these games.
Does anyone have any experience with the Steam port? I still have my 360 of course, but I barely turn it on these days. Any thoughts would be appreciated as to the relative merits of PC v. Xbox for this game (which I am definitely going to get on one platform or the other).
Again, very nice review. I wouldn’t say your reviews are ever bad, but lately they’ve just been some really compelling, thoughtful writing, particularly for games I’ve never played (and maybe never will!).
I had totally forgotten about this game somehow. Now I’m anxious to play it.
Out of curiosity, why can’t a game like this be sprite based? I mean Wayforward keeps churning out brilliant sprite work all the time. Is it a matter of skill or cost? I don’t believe it is simply aesthetic choice as good sprite animation trumps flash anyday.
It is sprite-based. They’re just a different kind of sprite than old-school bitmaps.
@Chicago Frank It’s been a while since I used Flash or After Effects, but with that style of animation you can do stuff like keyframing, which saves time and probably processing power, although at this point I doubt processing power is an issue. With bitmaps you have to draw each frame by hand.
Thanks for the heads up guys.