60th Hour: Mark of the Ninja (PC)

Mark of the Ninja

Developer: Klei Entertainment

Publisher: Microsoft Studios

Genre: 2D Stealth-Action

Systems: Xbox 360, PC, Mac OSX, Linux

Released: September 7, 2012 (Xbox 360)

October 16, 2012 (PC)

September 11, 2013 (Mac, Linux)

Mark of the Ninja is a 2D side-scrolling stealth-action game developed by Klei Entertainment, known for developing the Shank series, which are 2D beat-'em-ups, the highly popular survival game Don't Starve, and the upcoming turn-based stealth game, Invisible, Inc. Mark of the Ninja was first released on Xbox Live Arcade, and the PC version followed shortly after, which will be the version played in this review.

Player character and Ora.

You play as an unnamed ninja of the Hisomu clan. You wake up to Ora's voice, your mysterious companion, as your clan's dojo is attacked by a private military force. You are then sent on a quest of retribution against these attackers, and the story unfolds from there.

Test System:

Model: Lenovo Z470

CPU: Intel i5 2450M @ 2.5GHz

GPU: Nvidia GT 630M

HDD: 500 GB @ 5400 RPM

RAM: 8 GB DDR3 @ 1333MHz

Peripheral: Xbox 360 Controller

Game Performance

Let us first take a look at the settings, as I am reviewing the PC version of the game, and user PCs are highly variable. I played MotN on an average-at-best rig, and the game still runs smoothly (60 fps, I set a limit via video capture software) at native resolution (1366x768) and max settings. The only time I get frame drops is when I activate a skill you will get later on, but that's only when all the effects are present and there are a lot of enemies in one screen.  There aren't much settings to tweak, unlike proper PC ports of other console games, but you have 4 options if you want to adjust your experience: resolution, Displacement, Bloom, and Blur.

On my Intel HD 3000, the game locks at 30 fps, and drops to around 20 when I use the skill, while rain is falling. Overall it is not a very demanding game, and there are a few settings that will help you achieve at least 30 fps even on low end cards.

Displacement, Bloom, and Blur are the ones you're gonna want to look at if you experience slowdowns.
Link to developer's explanation.

Presentation

In this section, I will go through the following elements of the game: art direction, audio, storytelling and lore.

Art Direction

I'll say this from the get-go: the game looks like a cartoon. From the character designs to the cutscenes which tell the story, Klei used detailed character art, thematic backgrounds, and fluid animations to give life to their game.

Master Azai, Dosan, and Count Karajan.

The characters have enough detail to be told apart from a distance (as in the game, the models tend to be small), from the player character, other named characters, the soldiers, dogs, and other special types of enemies.

Locales vary as well. There are four primary themes for the locations, and each one of them has a different look. The following are just the first two levels' themes, as not to spoil the direction the game is going.

Level 1: Japanese theme.

Level 2: Urban theme.

Audio

The game has several ambient background music, but what will capture your attention and keep you in the present state of action is how each background music melds into each other when the situation changes. You go from a laid back track when you're undetected and sneaking about, then you are given a much more upbeat and tense track if you've been detected.

The sound effects also suffice. Every action you perform has its own sound, and what struck me was how some sound effects help you determine what's happening in the current situation. You suddenly hear beeps, be sure there are detection lasers in the room, and there are guards patrolling the area. You hear the continuous stream of a deadly laser trap. The game gives you an increasingly loud sound clip when you're choking on gas and your health is about to take a hit.

The game is fully voice acted. Most of the story not told through cutscenes are told via in-game conversations (which do have subtitles, though). Then there's the flavor dialogue. Enemies radio each other to apprise themselves of the situation. Some who are together just talk with each other. They react when they see you, and stutter in fear when you've terrorized them. These voice snippets help keep you immersed in your role as a ninja. It is very satisfying to hear an enemy stammer out a "where are you" while stumbling around trying to look for you.

Aside from making the game complete, some audio are actually involved in the game mechanics itself, which will be discussed in the appropriate section. You can listen to the sound track here, courtesy of YouTube user kratoshbm.

Storytelling and Lore

As mentioned previously, there are cutscenes which provide context to the story, and they're usually before and after a level. Within the levels, gameplay is punctuated with conversations between the player character and Ora, which furthers the story along. She explains the location, your objective, and what comes after your mission.

Lore is also present, via collectible scrolls hidden in the levels. They discuss the certain histories of the clan, eventually covering the situation which led to the story of the game. Once collected, these are available in a menu for you to read and listen to again.

The sub-menu where you can see and listen to all the scrolls you have collected so far.
Pictured is level 1's collection of scrolls.

Game Mechanics

The mechanics make the game, well, a game. For Mark of the Ninja to be a successful stealth-action game, it has to have enough elements that will make the player feel that s/he is a ninja, to sneak up and remain invisible, and, if desired, to apply lethal force.

Movement, Basic Actions and Controls

The ninja moves around in a sneak by default. You can modify this by holding down the run button, but running creates noise. You can jump, climb up walls, hang from perches, crawl upside down on appropriate ceilings, hide behind appropriate objects and doorways, latch on to perches with your grappling hook, hang down said perch, and more. There is sufficient movement to warrant your status as a ninja. Among your basic actions are Throwing Darts, which can be used to break lights and distract enemies, and the Focus technique, which lets you stop time and easily target objects or enemies with your tools.

Interaction with objects in the world is also intuitive. In just a short while, it felt natural moving with the default control scheme. There are even contextual button icons to help you if you are not used to the controls yet. I used an Xbox 360 controller in playing the game, but I've heard the keyboard and mouse works just as well. I tried it but was too used to the ease of the Xbox controller, so I left it alone. As this was originally from the Xbox 360, it was only natural that I play it with a controller.

Light and Shadow

Light and shadow make up the primary tool of the ninja in remaining undetected. Staying in the shadows is a good way to conceal yourself, and it is easily told by what color your character is: mostly black if you're not visible, your ninja's garb if you are.

Most light sources such as lamps and spotlights can be destroyed with a throw of a dart (one of your tools). This enables you to roam a bigger area in the cover of darkness. If you are seen by an enemy, a yellow circle will indicate the location where you were spotted/heard, and patrol the area.

Sound

In a normal game (not New Game Plus), sound is visualized by an area circle, indicating the radius a noise can be heard. These are generated by running (loud footsteps), breaking lights, unsuccessfully performing a stealth kill (more on this later), latching on to perches, and more.

If an enemy hears a sound, it will be indicated by a question mark over his head. He will then search the area where he thinks he heard the sound. In a New Game Plus, area circles are not displayed, forcing you to be more careful of your positioning when making noise.

Line of Sight and Sight Cones

Mark of the Ninja has a mechanic not present in most 2D sidescrollers: line of sight. Usually, everything in the level is visible to the player. In MotN, the only things the player can see are what the player character can see. You cannot see behind your character, or through walls. This enables tactical use of a skill you will learn later on.

An enemy and his sight cone.

While you are mostly free to roam in the shadows, most enemies have cones of sight. Even in the dark, they can see immediately what's in front of them. They can shine flashlights to extend their sight in the darkness. Some enemies have night vision, which extend their sight cones. Dogs have a "smell arc"; they can detect you in the dark, even in hiding places. Other enemies have their own ways of trying to detect the ninja.

Detection

Once you are detected, denoted by an exclamation mark, enemies will try to pursue you and evade your attacks. As they are armed with guns, you will be at a disadvantage. You have to run and hide until a detection timer runs back down to zero. This usually results in enemies losing your position, but will become vigilant in their patrolling.

Stealth Kills

Some of us like to get bloody. For those who don't want to be a ghost, Mark of the Ninja gives many options. The most basic is stealth killing. Sneaking up to an enemy undetected enables you to kill an enemy in one swift motion. When the prompt comes up, press it and perform the following quick time event for a clean, silent kill. Messing it up lands you an imperfect kill; enemies will howl in pain, potentially giving away your position.

Styles

Style, expressed through your ninja's outfit, changes the way you play. You start with the style called Path of the Ninja. It has no special abilities, you can carry a sword for stealth kills, and you are able to carry one of each of the two types of items, Distraction Items and Attack Items (discussed in the next section). Other styles you can unlock have advantages and disadvantages. For example, the Path of Might gives you additional armor and stealth kills restore your health, but your Focus ability does not stop time anymore. Another is Path of Silence: running doesn't generate noise, and you can carry two different Distraction Items. However, your ability to stealth kill is lost, as "there is no room for a sword" as stated in the style description. There are 6 styles in the base game, one more if you have the special edition or the add-on.

The Path of the Ninja, Might, and Silence, respectively.

Items

As mentioned in the previous section, there are two types of items you can carry: Distraction and Attack Items.

Distraction Items, as the name suggests, have effects that focus on shifting an enemy's attention elsewhere. Noise Makers can be thrown, and when it activates, will create a noise which can distract nearby enemies. Smoke Bombs can block detection lasers and an enemy's sight.

Attack Items, on the other hand, are offensive items you can use to maim or kill your enemies. Spike Mines kill the first enemy that steps on it, while Caltrops simply immobilize them, settings them up for the kill.

As you advance in the game and earn Honor Points by obtaining high scores in a level, you can purchase more items and upgrades. After you've purchased the upgrades, you can go back to previous levels and try them out to get an even bigger score if you haven't gotten all three Honor Points in a given level yet.

Techniques and Progression

You can also spend Honor Points on new techniques. These techniques mostly unlock new ways of killing your enemies, such as dragging them through a grate, ambushing them through a door, or dropping on them from above. Some improve your utility, like a technique that hastens your lockpicking, or using your grappling hook to hang bodies from a perch. Once you start unlocking the techniques, you can kill from anywhere, string up bodies and terrorize enemies, run a bit more quietly, fall slower, and take less damage than usual.

These techniques, combined with new and upgrade items, as well as new styles, make you feel that your ninja is getting faster and stronger as you go through the game. Trying to get a higher score to obtain all the Honor Points for a level gets easier as you unlock these upgrades, and by the later levels, you'll be fully equipped to handle whatever challenge is presented to you.

There is a lot of replay value if you want to finish the game with a certain style. Personally, I've finished the game with at least five of the styles, and you'll have to find new ways to tackle the challenges that would probably have been easy on certain styles, but harder on others.

Conclusion and Recommendation

Mark of the Ninja is a very satisfying game to play. The visuals, audio, and mechanics tie together very tightly to give you an fluid, immersive and challenging stealth-action game which lets the you choose how you want to play the game, without the usual punishment other stealth games dish out (I'm looking at you, Dishonored). Get in quietly and never hurt anyone except your target? Sure. Slaughter everyone in your way? Why not? Throw bodies at enemies and terrorize them so they shoot their own team? Go and try it.

I heartily recommend Mark of the Ninja for any stealth fans out there, as well as platformer fans. If you're not really into stealth, you can play it how you want and still enjoy as much. Just give it a try. You (probably) won't regret it.