He laughed in miniature

Remember the original Mini Ninjas? Otherwise we will take care of clearing your mind: it was an action adventure starring the mythical oriental warriors. Comic atmosphere and great humor, shocking the fact that all this came from the minds of IO Interactive, the creators of the sagas of Kane & Lynch and Hitman. Three years have passed since then and Square-Enix has well thought of resurrecting the brand for an exclusive spin-off on Xbox 360, a relatively inexpensive project conceived as digital distribution and based on the Kinect motion sensor. The work ended up in the hands of SideKick Ltd, the result is this Mini Ninjas Adventures, basically a mixture between a real tower defense game and a shooter that sees the return of the ninja Hiro as the protagonist. Everything else, starting from the story itself becomes exquisitely accessory in the name of pure entertainment, however the title retains ingredients capable of capturing the player's attention, let's see them in detail.



I'll break your katana

Our fearless Hiro must fend off growing hordes of enemies, who come from the top of the screen and must be shot down both with the help of close and ranged blows, respectively with sword and bow, but above all our muscles, since every action it will have to be imposed by the movement of our limbs. There is no shortage of mythical Shuriken, such as magical attacks and devastating combos, even it is possible to repel opponent's shots by adding a pinch of strategy to everything. The same enemies come in different types, from infantry to samurai, and as the game progresses they reveal themselves to be more and more tough; periodically we also face bosses.


He laughed in miniature

Perhaps the most interesting side is the development capacity granted to our protagonist, which grows in the clashes and can be enhanced in the various skills. It is an effective stratagem to encourage the player to invest more time in the product, also because the conceptual emptiness and the absence of any story undermine the long-distance usability. The problems are quite different and reside in the repetitiveness and the effort necessary to endure lasting sessions, thanks to the not exactly idyllic temperature we soon found ourselves at the mercy of exhaustion and totally drenched in sweat. After all Mini Ninjas Adventures he does not have very clear ideas on which type of market to orient himself, the visual style, simple and cartoonish, goes well for a young audience, while the playful structure is anything but extraneous to the stylistic features of the genre. What matters is that everything works quite well, with a satisfying responsiveness from Kinect. Online competitive modes are totally absent, while the main campaign, if we want to call it that, should arrive at five hours ... if you get there. The game is fully localized in Spanish.


Xbox 360 achievements

Mini Ninjas Adventures features 12 achievements for a total of 400 player points. Being a single player only title it will be enough to complete the campaign to get them all. Just remember to take down at least 300 enemies to get 40 juicy points!


He laughed in miniature

Comment

Version Tested: Xbox 360 Required Device: Kinect Digital Delivery: Xbox Live Arcade Price: 800 Microsoft Points Resources4Gaming.com

6.5



Readers (11)

6.3

Your vote

Mini Ninjas Adventures it is a title with an unclear location. Aesthetically it looks like a project dedicated to the youngest, while its mechanics require a fair amount of effort, going to align with a rather elementary tower defense game, but which associated with a peripheral like Kinect leads to a physically onerous experience. The gameplay all in all works, thanks to the good response to commands and the ability to develop the skills of the character. For about ten Euros it is a product that can offer several hours saturated with fun and sweat.

PRO

  • The commands respond well
  • Possibility to develop the character
  • Fun...
AGAINST
  • ... but tiring in the long run
  • Technically functional and little more
  • Repetitive
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