If a soldier spots you in his field of vision, which could be short or far depending on how much light there is, he will immediately move towards your last visible location. If an enemy is standing within that circle he will be alerted to the sound and will rush over to investigate. Sound is also a crucial factor, any loud noises made will erupt as visually distinctive blue circles that expand from point of origin - kind of like a sonar. Only the rays from ceiling lights or flashlights, among other sources, will reveal your presence. When in darkness, your ninja is shrouded in black, almost invisible to enemy soldiers.
![mark of the ninja path of wisdom mark of the ninja path of wisdom](https://miro.medium.com/max/1400/1*YjyM6vo_Z7w02EpuRIfvgw.jpeg)
Mark of the Ninja uses both darkness and sound to hide you from your foes. It’s up to you to determine who’s responsible and retaliate for the sake of your clan. Your temple is under attack by soldiers, the alarm bells have been rung and your people are fighting desperately to survive this sudden onslaught. You take on the role of a nameless ninja disciple, awakened abruptly from a sleepless dream by a female comrade. Klei Entertainment, a developer best known for their downloadable title Shank, is redefining what it means to be stealthy with the release of Mark of the Ninja, a 2D action side-scroller available on Xbox Live Arcade. In my experience, these features have been moderately successful at best, rarely emulating the feeling of true invisibility. Various game developers have tackled this limitation with visual cues in the environment and UI, like meters for light and noise or mini map indicators. The problem is that vision and hearing are senses that humans can neither touch nor see in the natural world, which makes judging the overall awareness of enemies in a game challenging. We’ve had our success of course, as early as the game changing Metal Gear Solid, and then later with titles like Splinter Cell and Hitman but we’ve always struggled to get the details just right.Ī stealth game relies on your ability to remain silent and hidden as you carry out your objectives - out of sight, out of mind. We as gamers have longed to scratch the illusive itch that is stealth mechanics but as our industry’s track record has proven, our kinship with stealth games – old and new – has always been a love-hate relationship. What seems like a great idea in theory doesn’t always equate to fun in reality.
![mark of the ninja path of wisdom mark of the ninja path of wisdom](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/zyLnFGp-vjM/hqdefault.jpg)
Sounds great right? At least on paper it does, but video games are a fickle lover.
![mark of the ninja path of wisdom mark of the ninja path of wisdom](https://static.trueachievements.com/boxart/Game_7347.jpg)
Patiently watching, waiting…for the perfect moment to strike. A hidden, efficient hunter stalking his pray amidst the oblivious, unsuspecting masses. Moving unseen like a spectre in the shadows.