Impressions of Tenchu 3 and ZOE2 demos on OPM disk

**Despair** · 04 Feb 2003, 10:58 PM

Well, New issue of OPM arrived today, and it had not one but two surpises for me. On the disk, it had playable demoes of both Tenchu 3 and ZOE2 Second Runner. DJ already played them both by the time I got home, so he met me very excited about the games.

So here are some quick impressions on both games:

Tenchu 3 - WoW, It looks great. It starts with Rikkimaru standing on the edge of the mountain, with majestic waterfall beneath his feet. With a swift move, he dives down, and as he flies, he recites the incontation for one of his ninja skills, and teleports into the river below. And thus the game begin.

Your first mission, is to sneak into the village and take down some samurai. I didnt really paid attention to mission objectives, since I was more eager to get to actual gameplay.

The game looks great. Demo mission takes place on the stormy night, with rain pooring from the sky, and lanter lights reflections shine in the multiple puddles. Everything looks great. Character models are very detailed and created with care. Camera follows you smoothly, as you sneak between the houses, jump on the rooftops, or run in the shadows. It never gets into your way, nor it abstructs your vision.

Controls work great. Your ninja moves fast and silent, and fans will be glad to see the return of grappling hook. Just like in the original, you can shoot and hook to any surface, be it roof, wall or anything else. Sneaking on enemies is very easy, and so is combat.

Some of the stealth kills are awesome. DJ jumped on one of the guard from behind, landed on his showlders, and impaled him with his sword right through guard skull. It was Badass.

As you do sneak kills, your Kanji meter fills, and once filled completely, you learn a new move to use in the combat.

The music is back, and it sounds great. Some of the melodies remind of the music in the original, so the fans will not be dissapointed.

You also get to fight the boss, a sword & gun weilding samurai, who does some cool gun attacks on you, if you not fast enough. Cool way to finish up the demo.

Now, About ZOE 2 Second Runner:

I thought Tenchu 3 looked great, but ZOE2 looks even better. The story told with Anime like movies combined with In-Game sequences both of which are very nicely done. This game definately pushing PS2 to the limit. If you thought screens of it looked great, you need to see it in motion. Amazing. Very stylish too.

While Jehuty design did changed a bit from the last time we saw it, the controls still the same, and maybe even improved a bit. Attacking enemies is still very easy to do, and now you have alot of new moves to perform. You can grab enemies next to you, and use them to smash the rest of the attackers, your laser/missile attack has been improved, and Jehuty is more agile then ever.

The demo is pretty long, with 3 Boss fights. And those are really cool. You get to fight your old enemies, and kick their ass once again.

I will post more ZOE2 impressions later on tonight.

So, If you have a chance, pick this demo disk up, and have some fun with these 2 cool games.

**Superstition** · 04 Feb 2003, 11:08 PM

Cool, I'll have to keep an eye out for my OPM in the mail. I've been hoping to get a chance to play ZOE 2. I had a lot of fun with the first one (even if I made me motion sick on occassion). I wonder how well this game will do since it seems so many people bought the last one just to get the MGS2 demo.

**Ste-Von** · 04 Feb 2003, 11:11 PM

ZOE was fun but really short, but I've been reading alot about the sequel and it' supposed to be much improved, so I look forward to playing the demo.

**Despair** · 04 Feb 2003, 11:40 PM

I really enjoeyed original ZOE, and I didnt care for how short it was. Part 2 looks to be much longer though, and improves on many things that were already good in the original. Battles are even more action packs, visual fx are grand, and the story focuses on tough guy Dingo, instead of whiny kid Leo(even though he has a cameo).

Another cool part about Tenchu 2 is use of Ninja skills. One of the spells allows you to become temporary invisible, ala Snake in Camo suit, and it looks great.

You can pick up and use enemy weapons, plus you still have an arsenal of useable items.

**Mamoscott** · 04 Feb 2003, 11:52 PM

I hope I'm not alone here, but I'm going to dry hump my Tenchu 3 disc when I buy the game.

**Ste-Von** · 04 Feb 2003, 11:57 PM

Just remember to use protection.

**Captain Vegetable** · 05 Feb 2003, 12:02 AM

That's good to hear! I can't wait for this ish to hit the shelves (did I just say "ish?!")! I've been looking forward to Z.O.E. 2, as Z.O.E. is an excellent game (for the current price of $20. No way I'd ever pay $50 for it

).