Mark of the ninja PC Review

 I always wanted to be ninja and see what its like. I am not a joking, its on my bucket list. Well, Mark of the ninja took care of that now. :D 
Well if it isn't a pretty game?? Its all about ninja!! Cool, right? We play as..eh..i don't know, we are not told about who we are!! He has all these tattoos printed on him. They are not just tattoos. They are powers.To be frank, there isn't much to talk about the game. The game is very similar to shank and is a trade mark of KLEI entertainment-The art of scrolling games. And trust me, this stealth based game is the best i have ever seen of 2012 in this platform. 
The game mostly features stealth approach. The character is required to sneak through a series of enivronments while staying out of sight of guards. There are various type of guards. Intially the guards are basic men with guns, later as we can progress, guards/enemies become more deadly and can easily find you and catch you. 

Guards get alerted when the player makes a sound.

As all ninjas would do, we need to be silent in our approach. If we run, guards can make out the sound and start shooting at us. Ninja has to be in darkness so as not to comprimise his position. Player has arsenal of 'ninja' weapons at his grab. Basic darts are very useful and allow you to do many weapons. Also there are attack items like spike mine, catacombs etc to enhance our kill strategy. All these at our disposal, one can still get caught by the guards. If detected the player has to disappear from the sight of the guards till the time runs out after which the guards will return to their original position.

Some guards have the ability to pinpoint your last known location!!

The game at first is all about different ways of killing the people. But as the player progresses, he can use environment kills. Although we ourselves might into the same trap. 
The rewarding systems seems very satisfying. There are specific objectives for each level in the game. If upon completion the player receives what are known as honor points. Using these honor points the player can upgrade his skills. Before each mission the player is taken to an upgrade screen, where they can spend their seals in three sections: Techniques (passive skills and more types of stealth kills), Distraction Items (such as smoke bombs and firecrackers) and Attack Items (such as spike mines and caltrops). The next screen allows the player to select any unlocked costumes and equip items. Each costume (except the starting one) gives special bonuses, but also a side effect in order to balance its power. Completing the game once unlocks a New Game Plus mode where the enemy AI is smarter, the line of sight is more limited and sounds produce no expanding circles (aside from enemies' footsteps). Most  useful skills i found were the twilight, spike mine, brief shadow. Also there are scrolls we can find on the way or we need to complete a challenge in order to achieve them. These too count in getting honor points.

There isn't much about the plot or story. The ninja clan gets attacked by some people who are wealthy. Azai, Master of clan seeks revenge on those who attacked the clan. I wouldn't want to reveal cause that be would be a spoiler. 

These dogs are real bottle necks to stealth killing...they can sniff you
if you are in their domain.

The graphics are the usual comic style. The cutscenes are also in cartoons. I like it when in the game it rains, or when there is a sandstorm. Cause that definitely spell bounds you. 

Although there are some levels where the player can get frustrated cause the ninja sometimes on the surface and doesn't let go, or doesn't jump far enough etc, i would suggest you play this wonderful game. The ending was unexpected. I am not saying its bad, its just i am surprised.
KLEI has again done it. It certainly is becoming a pioneer in making such scrolling games. Looking forward to "Don't Starve" -another new IP from KLEI releasing in early 2013. Stay tuned!! 

+ NINJA
+ Beautiful comic style graphics
+ Wide range of weapons and deadly appoaches to killing

My rating is 8.5...