Mark of the Ninja

Mark of the Ninja (PC, X360)
this game is frigging awesome!

Story: 9/10
You play as an unnamed ninja.
You wake up after the "marking" ritual (more on that latter) to find out that your stronghold is under attack by a private army. Without real understanding of the circumstances you set off to (stealthy) deal with the intruders and save your master (who already managed to get captured).
After you save him he tells you that he was expecting this and that why you where "marked". He sends you to an mission to attack the headquarters of the intruders.
(I know it sounds a bit cliched, don't worry, it's just the first level)

Now about the marking.
During the menji restoration most of the ninja clans gone out of business because they couldn't compete with the appearance of firearms.
Your clan was different. They found a flower that can be made into red ink and used for tattooing. When someone is "marked" with it, he becomes faster, stronger and with unbelievably sharp reflexes.
Yet, the ink is poisonous.
It will cause hallucinations that will lead to madness. And mad super human ninja killers roaming free aren't something you want to see in a dark ally.
This why all bearers of the mark swear to commit seppuku at the end of the mission they where marked for.
Less cliched now, right? still you may think now: "it is great and all, but 9/10?"
well till yesterday i was planning to give it 7.5/10 for the story.. then i saw the ending.
it breaks all records of awesomeness and earns the game 9/10 for the story.

Gameplay 10/10.
Yup, perfect score. This is the only game for a very long while. i can't think of even one small detail that should be added to it. it is perfect.

You sneak around taking your enemies one by one, exploring the large levels while fulfilling your objectives.
You are almost invisible in the darkness (except for really miniature cone in front of your enemies), on the other hand in the light you'll be spotted almost immediately as long as your enemy faces you.
You can destroy most light sources but that doesn't necessary means that you want to.
Smarter management of them can bring much better results. Getting seen for just a split of second won't make the enemies sound the alarm, instead they'll go and investigate that location drawing them right to your traps.

You have large amount of tools to help you in your job, kunais, smoke bombs, mines and noisy firecrackers to draw attention.
You can also *manipulate* your enemies in other ways. Imagine you are on a guard duty. You stand there and talk to your partner. Then you turn around, just one second, because you thought you heard something. When you'll turn back you'll see your partner dead, hanged from an lamppost, strangled with a chain. How you would react?
The guards in the game piss their pants and go crazy with fear. Shooting at everything making the tiniest sound. Including other guards.. that a firecracker exploded next to them. ^^

On each mission you can earn up to 9 seals that you can use to upgrade your skills.
The first 3 come from score. You get score for everything you do, killing enemies, avoiding them stylishly, distracting them, hiding bodies, breaking power sources and so on. If you'll get enough score you'll get those seals.
The next 3 are found in the level, inside hidden scrolls and by completing challenge rooms.
The last 3 you get from completing achievements. Reaching the ending undetected, killing number of enemies in a specific way (hanging them, using the environment and so on, different for every level).
Those last 3 seals are categorized into categories. power, shadow, predator or terror.
When you earn 3 seals of an specific type you'll earn different "style".
Each style provides you with completely different gameplay experience.
for example "power" makes it a visible option fighting enemies head-on. without stealth.
"Shadow" makes your sneaking much better but will take away your sword.
and so on.

Graphics: 2/3
Nice anime-styled cutscenes.
In-game graphic is acceptable. nothing special. no complains.

Replayability: 2/3
It's possible access any level at any time and replay them, if you missed something.
The different styles give you very different gameplay options.
New game+ (more difficult, you keep upgrades)

Summery:
It is the best game i played for a while, and if you read my previous reviews you know that i played a few good ones recently.
If you like stealth games, it is an capital offense not playing this game. and even if you don't, play it anyway.
final score: 9.5/10.