Ninjatown

"Stop. Ninja Time!"

Ninjatown is a delightful game that almost slipped under the media's radars. Ninjatown is a game very similar to popular Tower Defence (TD) games, where the aim is to place weapons along a path to prevent waves of enemies from reaching the end of the path, where the 'tower' is positioned.

Story:
Ninjatown has a rather basic, if humorously told, story. The evil Mr. Demon has sent various minions to invade Ninjatown, so he may steal the secret recipe for the Ninja Star Cookies, on which the entire economy of Ninjatown is dependent on. Ol' Master Ninja is tasked with defending Ninjatown, whilst the mayor cowers under his desk in fear.

Most of the dialogue is humorous, with a broad range of humour. It's one of the few games that would dare insert internet jokes it, and it is all the better for it.

Gameplay:
Ninjatown is played by placing huts along the 'path'. Each hut houses two ninjas, which will automatically target any enemy within its range and start beating them up.

There are three different types of buildings: Melee Ninja Huts, with have Ninjas such as the Wee Ninjas, who are average, but are immune to status effects, the Anti-Ninjas, which are slow but powerful, and Business Ninjas, who attack fast and can distract some of the more steadfast enemies. There are Ranged Ninja Huts, which include Ninjas like the Sniper Ninjas, who are one of the few Ninjas who can attack air units, White Ninjas, who can toss snowballs at enemies to slow them down or freeze them, and Forest Ninjas, who are equal skilled at attacking air AND ground units. The last type of buildings are the Modifiers, which can increase the strength, the range or other things of all Ninjas next to them.

The range of Ninjas and Enemies is good, with varied units throughout the level, and the tutorial does a good job of introducing each of the elements one-by-one.

The difficulty is easier than most other Tower Defence games, but like most TD games, the difficulty curve gets quite steep, giving even experienced players a bit of trouble. Players can use Ol' Master Ninja's special powers to get out of messes, which include energizing your Ninjas, stopping time so you can build and think without worrying about enemies, giving direct damage to enemies, and blowing enemies back down the path they came from.

Unusual to TD games, Ninjatown offers a multiplayer experience, both single- and multi-cart, where two players go head-to-head, each trying to beat the other. It's nice that Ninjatown takes advantage of the DS and its abilities.

Graphics:
Graphic are clean and crisp, with the Ninjas, the enemies and the landscape clear and smooth. There will rarely be situations where you can't tell what is what, and the cut scenes are bright and add to the character of Ninjatown.

Sound:
The sound is a bright but generic, and the sound effects are repetitive, but useful in telling you what is happening. Sound doesn't really add much to the experience, but it doesn't ruin it either.

Replayability:
The maps are varied, and various conditions make some maps are pleasure to play again. The ranking system inspires the urge to get the best ranks on all of them, and multiplayer is fun is short bursts. If you purchase this, you wouldn't be disappointed.

Buy or Rent:
If you are new to TD games, I suggest renting and seeing if you like the formula. For everybody else, I highly recommend for a delightful game that you can always fall back on. It helps if you have a friend with a DS, to take advantage of multiplayer.

Final Verdict:
This is a cheerful game with solid gameplay, bright graphics, decent music and fun multiplayer options. The game is humorous, and doesn't take itself too seriously. It's worth anybody's money.

Trust in the Ninja Consultant and his magical pie-chart.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/03/08

Game Release: Ninjatown (US, 10/28/08)