If a game is built merely on the factor of sex appeal, you run the risk of not only alienating so many people who fail to see the reason behind T & A in a video game, but also of insulting the integrity of gamers who enter into such an effort looking for something deep to back up the slummy visuals. Dead Or Alive: Xtreme Beach Volleyball arrived last year from Team Ninja and, while not the deepest volleyball game on the market, it somehow survived on its lush visuals and customization options. BMX XXX from Acclaim, however, only further pushed the company's eventual descent into nothingness. Last year held some hope with Majesco's enjoyable Bloodrayne 2, putting a beautiful woman that was barely dressed back into the thick of the action, between the ridiculous gunplay and the limb-hacking insanity. And now we have another heroine, courtesy of Vivendi Universal, with Red Ninja: End of Honor.

The game focuses on a girl named Kurenai, dressed only in a red robe of sorts and a pair of black underwear. But don't let the basic attire fool you- she's been well trained by her father, the leader of an ancient Japanese clan, in the art of the ninja. In fact, the game begins by telling the story of how a war erupted between his clan and another, and the enemy soon ambushed both Kurenai and her father, finishing him off right in front of her and then leaving her for dead, hanging from a weapon known as the tetsugen. She survives the attack and soon vows to go after the enemies that killed her dad, using the tetsugen every chance she gets.

The gameplay, I admit, was catchy at first with this new little weapon. The tetsugen is a piece of wire attached to a small dagger of sorts, allowing for a number of purposes throughout the game. Some parts will require you to set it up so you can swing across chasms, and others will require you to use it for both up-close and distance attacks. Through a lock-on system (utilized by the right trigger button), Kurenai can throw the business end of the tetsugen, a miniature dagger of sorts, at an enemy, and then drag them around or reel them in (think lethal fishing) to finish them off. She also has a number of athletic moves all her own, like grabbing onto ledges and being able to run up walls, although not as smoothly as, say, the Prince from the Prince of Persia games.

In fact, the problem with the gameplay is that there's very little variance in what can be done with your attacks. Some may find pleasure in the basic moves that are supplied, and, yes, some have a stylish, bloody appeal to them. But the game never really allows you to build up into a more sophisticated control system, introducing you to new techniques. It follows a basic pattern and then lets you go your own way. As a result, it may grow a bit boring to some, especially those who couldn't get enough of NInja Gaiden's in-depth gameplay. It's still somewhat solid stealth/action variety, with only slight moments of quirkiness, but never really graduates as it deserves to.

The graphics are about the same way. The visuals aren't anything bad, they just seem to follow a basic pattern. Take the animation, for instance. Nothing bad about it, but nothing that really sets aside any individual characterization either, aside from some awkward "booty" moments like when you're crawling or climbing. The level design isn't bad but doesn't have any sort of complexity to it either, barely capturing the essence of an ancient city and its innards. And the camera? Don't even get me started. It has the tendency of running into objects and occasionally getting you in an ambush spot that will leave you frustrated. This should have been fixed.

Then you have the sound, which also walks the fine line of trying to be somewhere but not really getting anywhere. The sound effects are good, for what they are, and the music's alright, attempting to recreate the mood of an ancient world, but both run into problems with repetition a bit too often. The voice acting never really rises up either.

But the real disappointment of Red Ninja: End of Honor is the game's lack of replay value. And, boy, is it lacking. No extra modes, no multiplayer, not even some extra outfits for Kurenai. This is really a letdown, considering the $50 price tag and the fact that the main game doesn't really take too long to whip through. Even the boss encounters, which are supposed to be vendetta-fueled, pass by like uninteresting events. Bleah.

So, sadly, Red Ninja: End of Honor ends up in a category where the game relies mostly on its T & A to have any sort of appeal, as the rest of the categories where the game lies fall into an average slot. This is a shame- some more direction in terms of design, camera, and even gameplay and this could have been the female equivalent of Ninja Gaiden. As is, it's just a quick rental fling for some bootylicious kills and then back to the shelf. I require something with more substance- and that's a shocker coming from a guy like me.