Videogames.com visited Activision's offices recently and got a chance to look at the upcoming US version of Sony Entertainment's PlayStation ninja sim, Tenchu.

　　Quite a few changes are planned or are already made in the game. The graphics have been cleaned up and brightened a bit, and the frame rate is said to have been fixed so that up to five enemies can be onscreen at once without any slowdown. We witnessed a battle against three foes that was moving very smoothly. Speaking of movement, the running animation for the male ninja Rikimaru has been tweaked so that he no longer appears like his pants are, um, uncomfortable.

　　Second in importance behind the frame rate fix are enemy AI improvements. The guards are now much more aware of their surroundings. For instance, if a dog barks at you, a guard, if in the same general area, will come to investigate. You're also much less likely to be able to assassinate an enemy without drawing the attention of a nearby guard. Also, breaking totally new ground for the game, foes are now able to spot you up on rooftops, and if they're archers, shoot you.

　　And, of course, two completely new levels have been added, rounding the title off at a full ten missions. But we can't tell you anything about them. Sorry.

　　Tenchu was released in Japan several months back and has reportedly sold over 300,000 units. Sony will reportedly be releasing this new version of the game overseas as a "director's cut."

　　For more information on the title, be sure to look up our import review.