Ninjas are cool. They're stealthy, deadly, mysterious and extremely well dressed. They carry Katana blades and shuriken, among the coolest weapons ever created. So why is it so hard to create good video games around these dark assassins? Sure, Ninja Gaiden was a great game, but it's really just an action game that doesn't even attempt to emulate the stealth aspect of these clandestine killers. Perhaps Tenchu Z, the latest in the long-running Tenchu series is the remedy for this dearth of worthwhile ninja simulators. Ninjas rock. Period. Suck on it, pirates! Then again, perhaps not. We'll start with the positives, sparse though they may be. Visually, Tenchu Z is easily the best looking game in the series. Character models are highly detailed and well textured, making good use of the graphical capabilities of the XBox 360. The environments are significantly less impressive, sporting a dull color pallette and uninspired, repetetive level design. There are 50 levels altogether and all of them look pretty much the same. There is some decent sound design, but nothing that will surprise you or really get your attention. Wait, wasn't I supposed to start with the positives? I guess we're done with that section of the review. The concept of Tenchu Z is simple: hide in the shadows, on rooftops, behind walls and anywhere else cover can be found until the opportunity presents itself to quietly assassinate your opponents. A concept like this relies heavily on the artificial intelligence of your enemies. Apparently, this little bit of info was never relayed to the developers at K2 LLC. If you accidentally draw the attention of an opponent, don't worry because re-hiding yourself for three seconds will make him forget all about you, sending him back to his predetermined path. Of course, none of this matters because almost every level can be completed in less than a minute by simply running past everyone, ignoring all combat and assassination opportunities. Considering the repetetive, simple and downright boring nature of combat, this may be favorable to many gamers. How simple and boring, you ask? Well, here's some of the fun combos you'll be able to use: X X, X X, X, X and, most fun of all, X, X, X, X That's it. One attack button. All fighting and even assassinations have been reduced to a single button. Sure, there are other weapons to use, like smoke bombs and throwing stars, but the aiming mechanics are so frustrating and poorly implemented that you'll probably choose to ignore them. Combat as an afterthought in a ninja game. Unacceptable.

As far as innovation goes, Tenchu Z introduces multiplayer action, which suffers greatly from the simple fact that pushing X over and over again is no more fun against human opponents than it is against the computer. The character creation is a good concept, but the lack of customization options prevents it from being anything but a shallow, tacked-on gimmick. In some aspects, the game has even taken a step backward. The varied mission types from previous Tenchu games have been stripped down to simple assassination, stalking and elimination missions.

Custom ninja outfits and online multiplayer can't save Tenchu Z from its many shortcomings.

 Tenchu Z fails to deliver solid, enjoyable gameplay on every level and should only be a purchase option for die hard fans of the series. The rest of us can wait for Assassin's Creed.