Mark of the Ninja (stealth side-scroller from Klei) catch-all

Xmas steam sale comes around and I'm grabbing this one faster than a fat kid at a flapjack party.

Gravey wrote:

Would you greenlight a game based on this unplayable demo?

Yes. Absolutely yes.

Dogs. There always has to be dogs, and they always have to suck.

Can you brutally murder dogs or something? I am having trouble getting around them. Or maybe I'm playing the third level wrong, as I haven't really used that dangly ability. I almost managed the second level without killing, too.

But yes, excellent game so far. Stealth in 2D is really, REALLY good at giving all the necessary information.

You can incapacitate them using the abilities you get from upgrading. It's possible to do up close, as well, but I'm pretty sure that will always set off an alarm.

I don't think I needed to do so that early on, however, so you should definitely give looking around a try. Might be an alternate path.

Also if you're careful and quick enough, you can sneak up behind them and stealth kill them like you would a guard. If a dog is on full alert and barking at you, you can beat it up and kill it before it can alert a guard and set off the alarm.

I dunno man, I used a firecracker in an attempt to distract it and that thing just went berserk. I'll give it a shot, though.

I don't think I've done any upgrades yet. Is there a certain point you can do them from or is it at any time?

You can catch many of them sleeping, and you can definitely stealth kill them. Problem is distracting / getting past the guard without waking the dogs.

Finished the game the other day. Amazing. Probably the best ninja game that exists.

I don't think you can ever technically "kill" a dog, takedowns on dogs are usually called "Hound's Slumber" and involve giving them a little neck chop. (Haven't tried using spike traps though, you monster.)

I think the easiest way to handle a dog is to just distract them. You can pop up behind them and let them smell you and then just hide when they turn around, in fact a challenge for one of the later levels is to let all the dogs smell you. Also some of the stealth takedown upgrades work on dogs too, like the one from above (Bat's Prey).

If I recall the dog was just knocked out from the trap I laid down. It seems they didn't want to get sued or anything from animal rights activists for cruelty to animals.

You can kill a man, but once you kill a dog all humanity is lost.

I think there's only way to kill dogs. Have their masters do it for you.

It's sad what someone will do when they're terrified.

The terrifying dart combined with terror suit is just lovely. I just made a guard shoot two of his comrades, then killed him and dragged in plain sight of sniper, which made him terrified. Bunch of babies, those guys. Also, I love gallows, just for the effect.

I haven't tried any of the suits yet. I've got about three or four missions left and unlocked two outfits, and the more upgrades I get the more I love this game. I just finished Dishonored loving the stealth of it, yet this game makes me feel so much better.

With the exception of...

Spoiler:

I cannot remember the mission name, I believe it was the Catacombs. You hit a switch to open a door and then a bunch of soldiers and dogs start pouring in. I almost made it the first round, but after I was killed they spawn you in a very inconvenient place and it is hard to survive.

Still, there's so many ways to take down enemies that I can see myself going back and replaying earlier levels to just get a better score (as well as trying to find scrolls and optional objectives missed).

EDIT: And just finished the game.

Regarding the ending...

Spoiler:

I actually find this to be one of the toughest choices I encountered in a video game.

I mean, the whole reason your clan was attacked is because you stole weapons. It was in the beginning of the game. You stole sh*t from these guys and they fought back. So your clan was the instigator and the leader is to blame. None of your clan members would have died otherwise.

Yet at the same time, you were going crazy. I actually realized that chick was an illusion when you returned and she was all "What are these weapons doing here?" It suddenly struck me that she has been there the whole time with no explanation, and she keeps whispering all this stuff in your ear, and not all of it is savory.

So knowing I was going crazy, to the point that I was seeing clan members as guards with guns, I knew I should sacrifice myself as well. But at the same time, who would bring the leader to justice?

So I decided we'd be better off without the clan and my crazy guy would die eventually, so I killed the leader. Still, it doesn't quite sit right with me, but I like that.

I caved. It's Friday night and I'm downloading me some stealth ninja action. Come on steam, hurry up already, I want me some ninja action!

So much better than I expected it to be. I'd hoped it would be awesome and it's definitely exceeding my expectations so far. Part of me feels sorry for these guards, but terrifying them is just so much fun

Steam daily deal today, $7.49. I'm in!

Controller or M/KB?

I cannot fathom playing this game with a mouse/keyboard, so I'd say controller. I get the feeling the game was built for it.

But this is also coming from someone that finds the mouse and keyboard uncomfortable.

Well I assumed since it was on console first that it was built for controller. Just wanted to check the common consensus a bit before I fire it up after football later this afternoon.

yeah, definitely controller

Jolly Bill wrote:

yeah, definitely controller

Yup, I use my controller too. It's just easy and fluid. Seems like the perfect match for it.

One thing missing with this game; leaderboards! I'd love to be able to compare scores against other gwjers etc.

BlackSabre wrote:
Jolly Bill wrote:

yeah, definitely controller

Yup, I use my controller too. It's just easy and fluid. Seems like the perfect match for it.

One thing missing with this game; leaderboards! I'd love to be able to compare scores against other gwjers etc.

Strange. There are leaderboards on the 360. After you finish a level there is a button you can press to compare to other peoples scores. It's kind of out of the way so maybe you are just missing it?

Oh? Maybe I am just missing it then. I'll have a look

BlackSabre wrote:

Yup, I use my controller too. It's just easy and fluid. Seems like the perfect match for it.

One thing missing with this game; leaderboards! I'd love to be able to compare scores against other gwjers etc.

There are leaderboards on Xbox 360. Maybe they didn't feel like implementing it on PC?

EDIT: Hauser'd. That's what I get for having the window open a few hours.

This game is amazing.

Saw the other recommendations, picked it up on sale, SUPER impressed. Like I said in the deals thread, it's sort of a cross between Castlevania and Arkham Asylum.... Batmanvania.

You've still got a whole 'nother day to scrounge up $7.50 for this thing, and it's well worth it.

Wow!

Played the first level between football games. So fun!

Looking forward to digging in more later.

It's a great game that tend to play one level at a time. It's nice. I don't feel in a hurry to finish it. I just savour it and take tiny bites when I can

Yeah I did another level at halftime. Very fun.

Could see myself just sneaking in bits of this.

Like many others, I picked this up on the steam sale and I am just super super impressed with it. Klei really nailed it this time after the lackluster (for me) Shank. Really, really great controls and it's just super tense when you start knocking out lights and executing baddies. I really like their graphical style as well. It's very Mike Krahulik (penny arcade) style but with more... panache.

Contender for GOTY for me.

The last room of the catacombs level sucks balls. Honestly, I'd rather start the whole room over than try over and over again to survive the stupid checkpoint that spawns you right next to a dog.

Oh man I got an achievement today when I spooked a guard with a body I crushed with a chandelier and he saw it and shot wildly, killing the dog that was prowling nearby.

LOVE THIS GAME.