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

Boy, what a bummer. The fluid animation was just a ton of fun for me, and I really liked the subtler forms of tale-telling they used in this one. It's unique in my experience, with ideas that I think are going to be picked up by bigger games. (I can't be more definite without spoilers, sorry.)

Shame you guys didn't like it. But if you don't care for it after three hours, I doubt that will change.

Yeah, several people have said that the game is too easy for them. Personally I found more enjoyment in this game's focus on giving the player great control and creativity rather than having a lot of frustrating trial and error stealth sequences, although there is some of that. It's unfortunate that they made the New Game+ mode an unlock for beating the game since the way it adds fog of war may appeal to more hardcore stealth gamers.

Special Edition DLC coming in summer to XBLA and PC (no date or price yet)!

A new level, set in a flashback to the early life of Dosan (the enlightened tattoo artist) that will set the stage for the events that transpire in Mark of the Ninja.

A new style of play, which includes a nonlethal takedown ability, and provides a hybrid of lethal and nonlethal approaches to the game.

Two new items, one more geared to stealth and concealment and one a bit more direct. Both the items and the new play style will be available in the main game as well as the new level.

Finally, we've added a ton of developer commentary to the main game. All the original levels will feature a number of commentary nodes that discuss various aspects of the game's creation, anecdotes, at least two history lessons and other behind the scenes info from nearly everyone on the team.

Developer commentary has been fully localized for English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Japanese.

Nonlethal takedowns! Commentary! History lessons!

Gravey wrote:

Nonlethal takedowns

This is awesome. I was so nauseous after the first few takedowns that I switched to ghosting and never looked back. It will be nice to have the flexibility of doing either.

Thanks to the Steam Sale, I was gifted this wonderful game.

Just finished it and wow. It truly is amazing. In an industry flooded with hyper-realistic graphics and 75-man orchestras, it was refreshing to see a game that puts so much effort into their work with no ulterior motives other than to be appreciated. The hand-drawn backgrounds look gorgeous, as does the entire design and atmosphere of the game.

Truly remarkable. Eager to know more about this DLC. Has it hit yet? Any news?

Last I read, they were saying summer, so hopefully soon.

I was also gifted this and got to play for an hour. Simply amazing.
I did 2 levels.
After the first level I checked the scoreboard and saw I got was dead last from all my friends on steam(mostly Goodjers). So level 2 I played completely different. I explored every corner. DOubled back a few times trying to find some hidden bonus items. What a great game.

How long is this game(in terms of hours) ?

6-8 hours on average for a normal playthrough.

That DLC sounds really neat, maybe I'll hold off on playing it until it gets to PC.

Filthy enablers.

Dishonored put me in a stealthy mood so I've returned to Mark of the Ninja. It didn't grab me when I first tried it. Possibly because I was expecting to kill every guard perfectly and found it frustrating when I didn't (how hard is an arrow and an X but it freaks me out every time and I tend to do something random. I think I may be quicktime dyslexic.) Now I'm just stumbling may way through the levels having many fist fights with guards and the occasionally very nice kill I'm into the game in a big way.

I'm already looking forward to my second time though when I'll try to be more ninja like.

Best give that a second or two, Higgledy. Special Edition is forthcoming very shortly, which includes new moves and gadgets for non-lethal ninjas. The achievements have already been added, so I believe it's around the corner.

This is also a note for everyone else, because I'm super excited about it. I've done two playthroughs now, and I'm definitely hopping on that third when the update comes out.

Good thought. Looks like it's coming to 360 as well. I may finish my first play through but save my second.

I played some more last night and I am simply loving it. I like exploring the map, going to places where I know I'm not supposed to just to be rewarded by some collectable stuff. Everytime I execute a kill it feels so satisfyingly ninja. Never before have I played a ninja game that has made me feel more like a ninja. I just love it. When I finish I might just come back in order to beat the high scores of my friends on steam

I too am having a hard time making it through the game. Maybe it's the fact that I want to run through the levels too quickly and, at the same time, want to be too much a perfectionist and not alert anyone? Not sure. I'm on the fifth level or so and probably won't pick it back up again.

Higgledy, keep in mind that you actually have a LOT of time to follow those instructions. I did a lot of screwing up early on because I'm used to having very little time when games provide such button prompts, but you have more than enough time here to see the prompt, comprehend it, and execute it.

VERY friendly.

jaybird, keep in mind you get a lot of checkpoints in this game. It'll be tough the first time through. Also, some of these environments are more like a puzzle game than an action game, if that helps. Think of your approach as you might think of a puzzle in Portal.

kexx wrote:

Thanks to the Steam Sale, I was gifted this wonderful game.

I too was gifted this masterpiece. I am ashamed to admit I have only played the introduction level thus far. I shall play further tonight because it made one of the best first impressions I have ever experienced, across the board.

ccesarano wrote:

Higgledy, keep in mind that you actually have a LOT of time to follow those instructions. I did a lot of screwing up early on because I'm used to having very little time when games provide such button prompts, but you have more than enough time here to see the prompt, comprehend it, and execute it.

VERY friendly.

You're right. I'm pretty sure I need to slow it down and take those extra moments to make sure I do the right thing.

Edit: Yup that works. Thanks.

As I get deeper into the game and get more comfortable with the mechanics I'm appreciating it more and more. I'm not generally someone who plays this kind of 2D game. Glad I could overcome the initial hump and really get into it. I even enjoyed the laser sections.

I agree with the advice to take a moment upon a button prompt appearing. I too was experiencing a few hiccups with a Quick Draw McGraw approach. It's a lot more about precision than twitch reflexes, which is refreshing.

Finished. Must... resist... playing through again before... Special... Edition.

Great game. With this and, by the sound of it, State of Decay Microsoft studios are releasing some fun little games.

Higgledy wrote:

Finished. Must... resist... playing through again before... Special... Edition.

Great game. With this and, by the sound of it, State of Decay Microsoft studios are releasing some fun little games.

But they suck at indie.

RnRClown wrote:

I agree with the advice to take a moment upon a button prompt appearing. I too was experiencing a few hiccups with a Quick Draw McGraw approach. It's a lot more about precision than twitch reflexes, which is refreshing.

There is also an outfit that lets you automatically succeed at stealth kills, the path of the hunter.

MannishBoy wrote:
Higgledy wrote:

Finished. Must... resist... playing through again before... Special... Edition.

Great game. With this and, by the sound of it, State of Decay Microsoft studios are releasing some fun little games.

But they suck at indie. ;)

Clearly they are failing miserably to live up to their reputation in certain cases :).

Special edition is out on Steam on the 16th of August. Hopefully the 360 version will the out then as well. It's going to be $5.

I may have played through new game plus by then. Mark of the Ninja is the gaming equivalent of Pringles.

Edit: Done. I'll buy the special edition anyway. I have one more run in me. Suddenly I'm into side scrollers. I'm tempted to go out and buy all the platformers but I suspect it's the inherent Ninjeriness of the game that got me.

So what's in the special edition? Also, how do we get it? Is it like DLC or something?

Gravey found a good summary:

Gravey wrote:

Special Edition DLC coming in summer to XBLA and PC (no date or price yet)!

A new level, set in a flashback to the early life of Dosan (the enlightened tattoo artist) that will set the stage for the events that transpire in Mark of the Ninja.

A new style of play, which includes a nonlethal takedown ability, and provides a hybrid of lethal and nonlethal approaches to the game.

Two new items, one more geared to stealth and concealment and one a bit more direct. Both the items and the new play style will be available in the main game as well as the new level.

Finally, we've added a ton of developer commentary to the main game. All the original levels will feature a number of commentary nodes that discuss various aspects of the game's creation, anecdotes, at least two history lessons and other behind the scenes info from nearly everyone on the team.

Developer commentary has been fully localized for English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Japanese.

Hmm ok, so sounds pretty cool then.

I would rather have had them working on MotN 2 than a special edition. I think co-op ninja levels would be a ton of fun where you have to time stuff together like Splinter Cell.

Since when is there a Linux version of this game ?

Just activated family sharing on my ubuntu box, and see new games added, and this one surprise me.

Most of Klei games are on linux as well.

I'm glad I didn't hold off on my second play through to wait for the Special Edition :P.

Wonder where it's got to. Hopefully they said, 'sod it,' and decided to make it into Mark of the Ninja 2.