Latest shots of Tenchu's Xbox debut

We haven't seen anything of Tenchu: Return from Darkness since August, so these new shots released today by Activision have come as a pleasant surprise - not least because the game's looking to be the most visually impressive and violently bloody Tenchu yet.

An updated version of PS2's superb Tenchu: Wrath of Heaven, the game retains the classic traits of the third-person ninja series: namely a combination of stealth-based gameplay and remarkably nasty kills. The new shots, for instance, show a (somewhat surprised looking) guard receiving a sword straight through the throat and another hapless victim spouting a fountain of blood from a nice jab to the knee.

Tenchu titles have always been good games but their rather scruffy presentation and niggles with the camera have been problematic. Moving to Xbox should certainly help Tenchu out in the graphics department. We'll be previewing it soon to discover if the gameplay can match up to the visuals.

Tenchu: Return from Darkness is due to be released for Xbox on 19 March