Mini Ninjas

Even the boss fights are solely dependent on context sensitive actions, which takes the whole thrill out of beating them. Frankly I would've loved to go toe-to-toe with the big guys and probably have the context sensitive action kick in when I'm close to finishing off the boss. But I guess the developers wanted to keep things simple for their target audience — children.

Don't get me wrong, Mini Ninjas is still a thoroughly enjoyable game. It's just not challenging enough to make your victory a satisfying one.

Io Interactive, the developers have done an excellent job of capturing the right look and feel of Japan for this game. The art style, the environments and the lighting give you a sense of serenity. Though the levels are quite linear in nature, there will still be times when you stop playing to just admire your surroundings, or enjoy a bit of Koi fishing.

Hiro is pretty much a silent warrior, but there's a bit of voice acting every now and then with some cheesy Japanese accents. But all of that fits perfectly with the light theme of the game. Even the soundtrack is made up of traditional Japanese instruments which keeps things pseudo-authentic.

Mini Ninjas could have been a highly recommended title if it had a cooperative mode in it. Considering it does have enough heroes placed throughout the game, going the coop way (or even throwing in a bunch of coop levels) would have made the game even more appealing.

Mini Ninjas is a great game to buy for your kids. It has good action but no violence, and the overall theme of the game makes it a great family title. Experienced gamers may want to try out the demo first, as they may not really get the sense of gratification here that they'd get from more challenging titles.