Ninjatown is the latest action strategy DS game release from Southpeak Games and is based on the popular Shawnimals designer toys. The story goes, as a community, Ninjatown is a vibrant yet peaceful place however it is about to be attacked by the sinister Mr Demon and his army of wee devils. Protecting Ninjatown is the game’s objective and this is done by progressing through a series of districts each increasing in difficulty as you go.
As in all these types of games each of your characters have special abilities or skills and it is up to you to utilise them to your best potential. Progressing through Ninjatown ,you will discover new Ninjas as well as new enemies, new buildings, tokens and powers.
Interface
As well as the standard controls of the main menu (start, load, quit etc.) in the pause menu there is a nice feature called “consultant’s files” this will allow you to research you enemies, units, buildings, tokens and powers . Handy for when you resume play if you can manage to tear yourself away for a while ! You can also play Ninjatown in multiplayer mode and the winner will be determined as to who can put up the best defence.
Playing in single player mode the game is spread across nine districts and 36 maps and to defeat Mr Demon you must strategically build defensive huts which the Ninja then guard and engage any enemy within the hut’s defence zone radius. You can also upgrade successful or destroy ineffective huts and you can earn modifier huts throughout the course of the adventure. These modifier huts are key as they can increase your powers and your speed.
Tokens are also available at the end of each level to use during missions eg. Baby tokens can be used to slow the enemies down.
On first appearances the artwork looks pretty basic with the cute characters however ,don’t be fooled as the level of challenge and strategy are pretty impressive. Your enemies are quick to take advantage of any weak units and its possible that you will end up playing battles multiple times before finding the right strategy. The Ninja’s are going to appeal to most ages with their simplistic form, bold colours and the humour throughout the game will keep you engaged and interested. Look out for the caffeine induced business Ninja’s easily recognisable in their ties !
Pros:
Funny and interesting characters
Easy to approach and play
Appeals to all ages
Multiplayer mode
Length of campaign (36 missions roughly)
Wide variety of available units
Utilising the DS features such as blowing on the mic to push enemies back up the map
Vibrant map, graphics and character models
Bonus levels and mini games
Quite addictive
Cons
No chance to play maps outside of campaign mode
Soundtrack not great
In multiplayer it would be nice for the players to assume Ninja vs. Devils
Summary
Ninjatown is enjoyable from start to finish and it’s ones of those games that you’ll probably be smiling to yourself while playing. I have to say though it is pretty hard to put down once started, it really is that engaging.
