Not being so well versed in opening sentences, this one will have to do:Mini Ninjas, by IO Interavtive, came out last month. The trailers looked really fun so I gave it a go.
The first thing that I need to mention is that it is cute, 'little ninjas, samurais and animals galore' cute. I really enjoyed the whole feel of the game art wise, though the simple textures did seem a bit bland at certain points (especially in the snowy levels, no nuances in snow is an awful idea). The art of Mini Ninjas also led me to not take this game too seriously as I played it, which is as much my fault as it is the art director's fault. But again, it's so cute!
One of the main draws of Mini Ninjas, besides the cutesy art, is the six playable characters that you are eventually given. Each of these characters are nice contrast to each other, and allow the player to play how they would like. If you want slow and strong you go with Futo, the hammer-wielding diet-fearing ninja, and if ranged action is more your style you can choose Shun. Each of these alternative characters have their own little back stories, and feel real enough. The only problem is, you can't use your Kuji magic as any other character besides Hiro; a major drawback if that's your playing style.
The game play, unfortunately, does get rather boring. It's basically the same six to eight opponents the entire game. This also lead me personally to just use Hiro the entire game, except for when I needed Futo to take care of the big samurai that came along every one and a while. The action itself is nuanced a bit, as you can do a primary attack, a power attack (overkill attack), and Kuji magic. It's just it's the same attack for the same people over and over again. The attempted diversification with adding white water rafting, snow sledding, and sneaking around on lamp wires was therefor greatly appreciated.
I have a few last things to say. The collection of ingredients and saving animals was fun. The camera was major not fun, it would go all squiggly inside a building when I really didn't want it to. Also, I hated the controls. [Alt] should never be a run button; and the menus were not intuitive at all, asking for keys one second and the mouse the next. Lastly, the quite various environments that weren't snowy and the music were top notch.
+ Cute. May even be cuter than me.
+ Multiple Characters
+ Varied environments
+ Numerous Kuji magic
+ Love collecting things!
+ Loved the rafting and snowboarding
- Too much of a hack and slash
- Who cares about the other characters?
- Opponents not varied enough
Verdict: 6.75 really cute samurai/bunny rabbits out of 10
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