Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen Critic Reviews

Shinobido for PS Vita is like a mixture of Hitman and Metal Gear Solid for Asia fans, who really love dialogue, character development and a thin but broad storyline about a war in a foreign country. But they will have to live with some AI bugs, repetetive level layout, poor controls and a lack of use of PS Vita features. Acquire could have done better.

The controls suit the system, with a surprisingly smart option to touch on-screen icons to turn the camera toward potential threats. The stealth play and covert killing is fast and satisfying but when blades clash, things can get awkward. You're eventually given a reversal move can quickly end fights with weaker enemies, but there's no running away from certain fated confrontations, which are almost always prolonged and clumsy.

A fun stealth game with tons of depth, innovative use of Vita tech, and some very interesting systems.

Nice gameplay, clean graphics and a beautiful soundtrack make Shinobido 2 a little surprise for Vita's early adopter.

If you're the type of gamer who only plays games with gigantic hype and multimillion-dollar budgets, Revenge of Zen might not be your thing, but those who do get into this title are in for a worthwhile experience.

It's only shortcomings are its dated design, repetitive nature and visuals that could pass for a re-mastered PS2 game, but if you're looking for a hardcore experience with solid shinobi substance, this ranks as a viable christening for your shiny new Vita.

Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen is actually the only game for PlayStation Vita that delivers a stealth action based gameplay, but it also suffers from several problems: cumbersome controls, repetitive missions and poor combat.

Doesn't do much in terms of story, little of what you learn or obtain in terms of skills and tools seems necessary, and the combat is seriously flawed. But beneath that beats the heart of a competent stealth adventure, which is difficult to find these days.

Shinobido 2 is, at the end, a good stelth game. Playing it, however, gives you the sensation that the dev team could reach far better distances in terms of game design.

As a stealth game, Shinobido 2 is successful and rewarding. I could even confidently recommend it to Metal Gear fans looking to scratch a sneaky itch in the beginning of the Vita's life cycle. Outside of sneaking up behind people to perform kills however, the game feels unpolished and not entirely thought-out.

Feels like a PS2 game. It lacks that level of polish that the Vita deserves and the game blatantly recycles the same character models and maps over and over.

As potentially deep as it is, though, Shinobido 2 still feels weirdly antiquated next to the rest of the Vita's launch lineup – and while we didn't opt for much grinding, it only took us around seven hours to play it from start to finish.

Despite how lazy and pointless it is, its ability to provide cheap laughs and easily gratifying stealth missions can't be denied.

There will always be missions to do, but they can certainly get repetitive, while main story missions are few and far between.

Shinobido is a stealth game for Vita, damaged by a very low artificial intelligence and by high repetitiveness. At least the main story is interesting.

Shinobido 2: Revenge of Zen stealthily slips its unique action into the starting line of Vita's launch titles. As the most powerful gaming handheld yet seen, low budget titles don't fully do Vita justice, though, and Shinobido 2 is no different.

When a well-planned incursion comes to fruition, the game is rewarding; the rest of the time, it's plagued with camera weirdness, clipping errors and a clunky combat system.

Being a ninja will always be cool, but limited gameplay options, terrible AI, a hostile camera and a rather high degree of repetitiveness turns Shinobido 2 into a game that doesn't quite deliver on its promising premise.

A so-so "stab" at portable stealth. After all these years we should expect much more.

Shinobido 2 is like a journey in a time long gone – also technically. But even if you can't shake off the feeling that the makers of Tenchu are somewhat stuck in the PSone-era, you'll find some morbid fascination lurking behind the next corner along with your victims.