Oh so sneaky! Microsoft to bring 360 Tenchu to North America

According to IGN, Microsoft has nabbed the rights and will be publishing the stealth-based ninja title, Tenchu Z (known as Tenchu Senran in Japan). Developed by From Software (who have previous 360 experience with Chromehounds and the upcoming Armored Core 4), the game is the eighth entry into the Tenchu series.

Last year, a demo of Tenchu Senran appeared on the Japanese XBox Live Marketplace, and I quickly snatched it up. While I’ve never been a fan of the series (or any other stealth-based title, actually), I was eager to see what a next-generation Tenchu title would look and play like. Visually, the game was pretty bland — high-res textures and fancy lighting effects do not make a next-gen game. After making my way through the quick ninja creation mode, I found that, gameplay-wise, it played like all of the previous Tenchu games. Five minutes later, I decided the game was not as good as Geometry Wars and decided to play that instead.

But, like I said, Tenchu (in any form) is not my bag. But hey, it might be yours; if you’re interested in getting a sneak peek, track down Official Xbox Magazine issue #65. The Japanese demo is unlockable on the included demo disc, so get to hunting.

It’s unclear whether the North American release of the game will be any different (graphically, gameplay, online modes, etc.), but I’m sure we’ll get more information soon. Maybe it’ll ship with a Project Gotham Racing 4 beta key!