7. Mark of the Ninja (XBLA)

(Klei Entertainment Inc.)
Original US Release: September 7th, 2012

“Sometimes platformers and action titles call themselves ninja games because one of the characters is dressed in black and can wall jump. They might as well be green and walk funny and be called zombies. This is not one of those games. In fact Nels Anderson – the game’s lead designer – says that rather than look at kitschy martial arts films from the 60′s and 70′s, he and writer Chris Dahlen studied actual Japanese history and the period called “sengoku jidai” when ninjas were most actively deployed into combat and affairs of matter and state. So in spite of the modern technology found in the game – from automatic weapons and halogen searchlights to motion detectors and laser beam grids, the spirit of ninja here is pure…

If I had to describe it to a gamer I would say it’s like n+ meets Ninja Gaiden and Splinter Cell. That’s a terrible description, because it is far better integrated than someone who just put a bunch of tropes in a blender and prayed it worked.”

– From the original IGR review of Mark of the Ninja by Indie-Game-Freak

And it does. In fact, like a Ninja, it delivers.

Top 10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. HM1 HM2 HM3 MA