When the original Tenchu first hit the scene back in 1998, this first dose of modern, stealth based gameplay blew my little pubescent mind. This new wave of gameplay, diverting from the simple hack and slash techniques, presented an intelligent approach to gameplay as each move was carefully executed and pre-planned, to be the ultimate ninja assassin.

Since the original release of Tenchu: Stealth Assassins, we were soon graced with stealth greats Metal Gear Solid and Thief: The Dark Project. Soon enough, every game developer under the sun was jumping on the hide and seek bandwagon. While some have stood the test of time as staples for the genre (Splinter Cell) and others look to truly revolutionise the stealth genre (Assassin's Creed), the rest have been met with a sub par response, mocked for their woefully clunky stealth mechanics and generally left to be forgotten. With the release of the series' first next-gen instalment, does Tenchu Z have what it takes to stand with the big boys?

The answer to that is a resounding "No."

Before we start on the negative aspects, I'd best let you know what the game's all about.

The eighth game in the series, Tenchu Z puts you in the shoes of a custom-created ninja, under the watchful eye of Rikimaru. It's off on missions of assassination and reconnaissance in Feudal Japan, this time around with the addition of online co-op gameplay and a plethora of customisation options.

Tenchu Z returns to the township areas that made the original a blast to play. Revisit the fun of creeping across rooftops, luring your victim into an alley and then slitting their throat in a gloriously gory finale. It's unfortunately from here that the flaws start to show.

Arguably the most significant aspect of any stealth-based game is the A.I. of the enemy. You cannot have a fair game of cat and mouse if the cat is as disadvantaged as Helen Keller.

The A.I. in Tenchu Z can hardly be called "intelligent" at all. If a guard sees you they will give pursuit, but you can easily escape and they will entirely forget about you. They will rarely call upon any sort of assistance or alert any guards to your presence. Furthermore, your running speed off the bat leaves the enemy for dead. Even when surrounded by two guards, a ninja, a dog and a bear, all it takes is a jump here and a dash there and you've already lost them. Wait for their awareness to quickly drop off and it's as if they never saw you.

Even on the hardest difficulty you can literally just run around the level, running past guards, "stealth" killing any that aren't directly facing in your direction. I was able to merrily trot throughout the missions like an utter twat, run past every enemy without taking a single hit and then simply wait for them to return to their original positions and slaughter them, over and over. Whilst typically I am a stealth-based purist, if it is not necessary, then what's the point?

Some level of punishment is essential if you ever want a stealth game to work, but I despise the constant restarting of missions because my cover was blown in any stealth game, as much as the perfectionist within me will disagree. Whether it is the addition of more guards or ensuring the existing guards are in a constantly more aware state, punishment is necessary to encourage the player to conform to the gameplay as the developer has intended. For the abundant assassination missions, the logical response would have been for the target to attempt to escape the location, not to just wait for you to return and finish the job.

In terms of the gameplay on offer, little has changed in the past nine years. The level of diversity between missions is kept to a minimum. You are either instated with a search and kill mission objective or a search and find based objective. Either way, both require you to simply search the location for your objective; the only difference is whether there is someone to kill when you get there. On the rare occurrence you are met with an actual stealth based mission, where you must stalk a character and your discovery triggers instant failure. Whilst actually forcing you to act more like a ninja, on contrast to the rest of the gameplay, these can seem quite slow and tedious. It's also worth noting that the actual levels are recycled and reused time and time again within the actual game.

For fans of the series, the big new addition in this instalment is cooperative online play. Unfortunately like with the rest of the game, with four ninjas on the scene any sense of stealth is largely removed as every player charges through levels in Zerg rush formation, every player wanting to be the one to track down the target and assassinate them. Whilst it is true that not all players will conform to this strategy and some will strictly adhere to the code of the ninja, the fact that it is both possible and highly efficient illustrates poor design on the developers' behalf. Sadly, even for those of you still clinging to a glimmer of hope that online play would still be the saving grace, online play is severely plagued by lag. I never had the chance to strictly play with local gamers, lag within a stealth based game borders on game ruining.

Admittedly, Tenchu isn't all bad if you're a fan of the series, nor is it all bad being able to simply run around "stealth" killing everyone, in a gleeful Halo 2 Plasma Sword kinda way.

The problem is, for a game series that initially showed such promise in the start, it has never returned to the same level of greatness. It just really isn't 'Next-Gen' standard. Hell I wouldn't even say it's up to standard for last gen. The A.I. needs serious work and we can only hope the series can redeem itself in future instalments. Until then, look elsewhere to get your kicks in the stealth genre.

At least you can blitz through the game easily enough to bulk up your gamerscore.