Review: Ninja Sprint (iOS/Android)

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With literally millions of games flooding the iOS app store and Android devices Google Play service it’s getting increasingly hard to tell the good from the downright right.

Luckily, Ninja Sprint is one that stands among one of the better mobile games released in 2012.

The game follows the exploits of one Neko the Stray Cat who, has been struck by lightening and is given humanoid form and supernatural ninja powers. Now considered a freak, Neko is banished from being with the other cats. Lost and alone she decides to fend for herself the only way a stray, humanoid, super-ninja cat can. Run and slice through hordes of monsters and steal their gold!

What I like about Ninja Sprint, and something that’s true for a lot of mobile games these days, is how crazy and unique the games premise can be, yet have such stripped down and accessible gameplay. Could you imagine this story working on a console or dedicated handheld? I couldn’t, or at least not without it becoming dull and bland.

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If you were looking at a popular game to compare to Ninja Sprint to, I’d say Rayman Jungle Run. Ninja Sprint uses that same constant run gameplay, yet adds its own flavour to the mix by way of jump/slide and power-attack buttons, not to mention the insta-attack mechanic that sees monsters cut down in gory detail.

Gameplay wise, Ninja Sprint is rather solid. You auto-run through the game while Neko slashes through hordes of monsters. Each level have 3 coins that are needed to collect, with numerous smaller coins scattered throughout. Collect these and you’ll be able purchase upgrades in the in-game store such as extra life hearts, quicker energy gauge refill and gore filters.

Much like other dash titles, Ninja Sprint requires a certain amount of skill. While levels start out being rather simple and straightforward, they soon become more complex with branching paths and more obstacles and hazards requiring quick reflexes. To help you out if things get a little too much, you can unleash a power-attack which not only destroys all enemies but also whatever hazards that appear on screen.

The jump/slide/power-attack buttons are fixed to touch-sensitive areas of the mobile screen, indicated by different coloured areas. Familiarising yourself with each is recommended since the further into the game you go, the increasingly complex the level designs get. While the buttons, especially the attack/slide mechanics, are vitally important in overcoming environmental hazards, they can sometimes be entirely unresponsive, resulting in rather cheap deaths.

This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, after all it boil down to the device you’re using. For this review I was using an iPhone 5, which is known to have the best multi-touch interface. Take that however you will, though I’ll be quick to point out that it’s not overly an important drawback.

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The levels themselves, as pointed out above, are well designed and fairly nice to look at. The art direction used for Ninja Sprint is quite eye-catching, with a water-coloured like Japanese design. However as nice as the levels are to look at and play through there is just too many. From the get-go there’s 4 different areas to play through, each with 20 levels each – with more to no doubt come later through free updates.

Offering consumers with as much bang for their buck is great, but I felt it was the wrong choice to go for quantity over quality – in a manner of speaking. Playing through each section tended to drag a little and would had much preferred a smaller batch of levels with maybe more interest gameplay hooks added.

But, for what Ninja Sprint is, it does everything well. Mobile games are designed for short ‘on the go’ play experiences, not sitting down for extensive amounts of time – which I did for the most part. Over the course of a few days I did pull my phone out and play 5 minutes here and there, to get a feel of how the game worked in that context, and my feelings of repetition and “is it over already” were replaced with “just one more go” syndrome. If a game can keep you wanting more in short bursts, especially mobile titles, then I’d say that’s mission accomplished.

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If you’re looking for that next mobile-game fix and want something that is challenging, nice to look at and allows you customise your experience via the in-game store and micro-transcations, I certainly recommend Ninja Sprint.

8/10

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Ninja Sprint is developed by Eastasiasoft and is available now for Google Play and on the iOS App Store.

Ninja Sprint Dashes onto Google Play

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Eastasiasoft are proud to announce that its latest game, Ninja Sprint is available now for download on all Android based mobile devices via Google Play.

To mark the release a new trailer (shown below) has been released.

Ninja Sprint is a ‘dash and slice’ game that stars Neko the Cat, a feline who has unexceptionally been struck by lighting and granted humanoid form and supernatural ninja powers.

Cast out by her fellow cats, Neko needs to fend for herself. The way she decides to do this how any stray cat would… slice, dice and hack through hordes of ancient monsters and steal all their coins.

Featuring 80 colourful and brightly detailed levels, set in 4 differing scenarios, players will be able to hack through waves of enemies using a wide range of blood effects – such as gore and flower power – while pulling off devastating special attacks. At the end of each level, players will also be able to share their high scores through any number of social networking platforms.

Ninja Sprint also features a sharp and catchy soundtrack provided by Rafael Dyll.

This new game is available now for download via Google Play. A trail version has also been made available. Please check your respective region’s for price.

An iOS version of Ninja Sprint will be released soon.

First Impressions: PlayStation Vita

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It’s happened! This long time Nintendo ‘fan-boy’ has given in and submitted to the gleam of the shiny and admittedly sleek PlayStation Vita.

Well… to be accurate my fiancée bought it, and I put money in for it, so it makes it ‘ours’, but still. Personally, I wanted to put our money towards a PlayStation 3 along with a tonne of cheap games, but win/win I suppose.

So what was my initial reaction when I got the system in my hands?

Turned on, aroused? No, ha-ha. Though I was surprised by how sleek and nice it felt in my hands. Despite being quite long the system is incredibly comfortable and doesn’t feel cheap like I thought it would. All the on-face inputs feel solid and responsive. I also was really impressed with the back touch panel. Though I felt the placement of the analog sticks could have been improved, especially the one on the right side of the unit under the face buttons. Pressing the ‘X’ button can be cumbersome thanks to the stick being just that little too close.

But maybe that’s my unfamiliarity with Sony and their controllers/control set-up rather than a flaw of the units design. I’m not the biggest fan of the re-used controller design for the past 15 years. I will say this though, and while I loathe the analog sticks on the PS3 controller I found the Vita’s to be easy to use.

As for how the system runs, well… I was a little less impressed than I was with its physical aesthetic. While I enjoyed the sleek and easy-to-use home screen, swiping your finger up or down and all around is certainly cool, I found excessive load times between applications, loading menus and sub-menus and loading a game itself incredibly annoying. Perhaps it’s my experience with Nintendo and their systems minimal loading times… and while the 3DS does have you sit and wait for a few moments longer than is comfortable it at least shows a nice flashy screen to keep you amused. The Vita just has a black screen that made me think the system froze up each time I loaded a game up.

Speaking of games, the first one I tried out was Rayman Origins. I’ve played this on Xbox 360 with my shiny HDTV as well as the 3DS, and in terms of quality with the former at the better end and the latter at the bottom, the Vita fits in nicely in the middle. If not a little towards ‘better’. The 5 inch screen helps the games bright and colour visual pop out, and I absolutely love how the layered environments look on the Vita. As for how it handles, it’s not all that different to the Xbox 360 version… which is fantastic considering I wasn’t happy with how it handled on the 3DS. In fact, I wasn’t impressed with the game on the 3DS, other than the stunning 3D effect.

Another game I tried out, and finished the demo for (!) was Escape Plan. The game requires the use of both the front and back touch screen/panel, as well the Vita’s tilt features to solve puzzles and advance forward. It’s simple in design and adds layers to its gameplay at a nice pace. I’m keen to pick this game up and play the full version.

My partner also got me to try out the quirky RPG/RTS/Rhythm hybrid PSP game, Patapon, and my gosh is this game both annoying yet addictive all at the same time! “Pat pat pat PON!”

I’ve only started to begin my Vita experience, but am looking forward to getting more time hands-on with it so I can play through a few games (and of course, review them). At the moment I’ve got Uncharted: Golden Abyss, Gravity Rush and Escape Plan lined up, with no doubt more to come as I discover them!

Review – Wario Land: The Shake Dimension (Wii)

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Say what you will about the Nintendo Wii’s lack of graphical muscle, the console is home to some fine-looking games. It’s actually a testament to the skills of any one developer that can overcome the apparent shortcomings of the system and craft a game with a compelling and gorgeous art design. Japan based studio Feel Good are quite capable of doing this, and before they gave the world Kirby’s Epic Yarn they cut their teeth with their first home console game, Wario Land: The Shake Dimension.

As ever, the lovable Wario is on the prowl for riches beyond his greedy wildest dreams. After receiving a parcel one morning from one-time antagonist Captain Syrup, Wario learns of a crisis that has engulfed the alternative universe known as ‘The Shake Dimension‘ by one of the worlds inhabitants, the Merfles. Not only that, Wario learns about a secret treasure known as the ‘bottomless coin sack’ that when shook will spit out an endless stream of gold coins. Eager to obtain the sack for himself, Wario agree to help the Merfles rescue their Queen and so he sets out on his journey.

What will pop out at you from the get-go is the games remarkably clear and crisp hand-drawn graphics which make Wario Land: The Shake Dimension look very much like a Saturday Morning Cartoon. This is no doubt thanks to the games gorgeous Anime cut-scenes, provided by Japanese animation powerhouse, Production I.G. On the in-game side of things everything looks remarkably sharp, and highly detailed. Unlike other Wii titles, where there is a noticeable blur around the finer edges of a character model of piece of the environment, there is barely any trace of fuzziness here at all.

Each time I started a new stage, or when I had to revisit earlier stages for coin hoarding (more on that below) I was at awe with the visual aesthetics that I was met with. Each level has its own unique art design and theme, setting itself apart from all others. The only downside, and where I suppose this wide range of variety is compromised is with the games underwater levels. I mean… how much varied get you get? Apart form that however, the visual design of Wario Land: The Shake Dimension is absolutely magnificent.

An issue I think a lot can identify with the Wii is that most games developed for the system rely too heavily on the systems unique motion sensing control set-up. Using the Wiimote + Nunchuck as a major driving force in gameplay, or simply getting the player to ‘waggle’ the Wiimote at the screen usually sees the game in question referred to as ‘gimmicky’ or worse still, ‘shovel-ware’. In that respect its the games that use the Wii’s motion sensing to enhance the gameplay, and not rely solely on them, that are truly remarkable. And Wario Land: The Shake Dimension fits somewhere nicely in the middle, albeit a little more towards the latter.

Playing Wario Land: The Shake Dimension is easy enough, and really sells the idea of the game being a classic Wario Land game. Much like any 2D platformer released on the Wii you hold the Wiimote on its side, using the d-pad to move and the 1/2 buttons to jump and perform Wario’s signature shoulder-dash attack. The game plays and handles like any other Nintendo platformer which isn’t a drawback, per se… though it is a little disheartening to see Wario playing to convention rather than bending the rules. It’s only when the game requires you to start playing around with the tilt/motion sensing capabilities of the Wiimote do things start to break away from familiarity.

Like the games namesake, ‘shaking’ becomes the primary gameplay hook at use here. Pick up an enemy and shake the Wiimote up and down and Wario will do the same action on-screen, which always invokes a little laugh since the expressions of your victim is priceless. As humorous as it might be at times, shaking the Wiimote can become dull when you’re having to shake it every few minutes. Shaking the Wiimote isn’t only just for shaking enemies or coin bags, which will give you a nice hefty stash of coins, but extends to attacking and interacting with the games environments.

At various points you’ll come across massive pillars that seemingly block your path. While stationary shake the Wiimote once and Wario will perform a massive ground pound with his fist causing the block to move either up or down, depending on its default position. This move also allows you to stun groups of enemies, which is handy for later stages where you can become surrounded. Not that Wario can particularly be harmed by enemies walking into him, but it’s still nice to be able to do it.

Where the motion sensing reaches its apex in Wario Land: The Shake Dimension is in the games brief vehicular sections. Most notably of these are the underwater stages where Wario either becomes, or is inside a Wario-esque submarine (or, Subwarine). Navigating these stages is a little more involved that others as you’ll need to do two things at once to simply move forward. Pushing the d-pad left and right will move you in the corresponding direction though to move up or down you will need to tilt the Wiimote. This can become easily frustrating when you have multiple enemies coming at you, and need to navigate through a literal undersea mine field and are attempting to tilt the Wiimote and move yourself forward all at the same. Thankfully these levels slightly scroll to the right.

While the underwater stages can be frustrating, they only are that as much as you make them. The tilt mechanics in The Shake Dimension are surprisingly accurate and responsive. I found this the case not only while navigating subwarine but directing cannons, or using the games other quirky little vehicles, such as the little rocket ship.

It wouldn’t be a Wario game, or a review of a Wario game if I didn’t write about coins. Much like past games, the titular anti-hero is obsessed with the round shinies and spends most of his time hunting them down. While your goal is to ultimately rescue the Merfles at the end of each level, your unwavering object is to collect coins, and collect them you must!

Coins in Shake Dimension acts as in-game currency… much like any other Wario Land game actually… which you use to buy new hearts to increase your health meter, or a new area map which allows you to progress further in the game. Each area is made up of four stages, and a boss battle. Much like I remarked earlier on the games stages, each are varied and are set in a nice range of different locals. I particularly enjoyed the late game stages, which are set in places such as an Imperial Chinese temple, a spooky medieval mansion and a glittery casino.

Fans of Kirby’s Epic Yarn will be pleased to see the games treasure finding side-quest got its start in The Shake Dimension. Every stage has three treasures to find and will take a lot of work to collect each one. Further onto that are set in-stage missions that you will need to complete to earn stars. These missions range from not suffering any damage, finding and defeating the illusive golden enemy or after rescuing the Merfle at the end of the stage, racing back to the starting point before the countdown timer reaches a certain time.

While not pushing any boundaries, Wario Land: The Shake Dimension still offers some remarkably tight gaming. It perhaps does rely heavily on puzzle based mechanics that are tried and true in the genre and brings very little new to the table, but where it excels is in its gorgeous visual design, complete with its eye-popping hand-drawn aesthetic, and its use of the Wii’s motion sensing capabilities to enhance its rock solid gameplay.

If you’re hungering for some retro platforming game, I highly recommend you give Wario Land: The Shake Dimension a look.

Positives:

- Sharp, colourful visual design makes the game look stunning.

- Uses the Wii’s motion sensing features to enhance gameplay rather than rely on them.

Negatives:

-Doesn’t really push anything forward within the platforming genre.

-Underwater stages can be a little frustrating, drawing away from some of the fun.

Score: 4/5 Stars

Jayden is the sole guardian for Joystick Culture. You can follow his exploits on Twitter, or keep up with his other musings over on Aussie-Gamer

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up Review (Wii)

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The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are childhood hero’s for me. Apart from Batman and Optimus Prime, this band of genetically mutated reptiles pretty much defined my early childhood. While I eventually learnt in my late teen’s that the franchise actually started as a comic book series in the mid 1908’s, it didn’t stop me from continuing to enjoy the hell out of the first animated TV show and live action movies.

With success in television, films and of course comic books, the four teenage turtles have failed to really ‘take’ in video games. The first gaming experience I had with the franchise was with the 1989 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles NES title… and until 2012 I’d not played another game starring the turtles in the half shell.

That is, until I played Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up is a classic brawling game developed by Game Arts, a Japanese based studio who prior to developing Smash-Up worked on Super Smash Brothers Brawl for the Nintendo Wii. And it shows in almost every aspect.

Smash-Up is made up all the various game modes you’d expect in a typical brawling game. You’ve got the Tournament Mode, the Online mode, Practice, Endless Mode and of course, Arcade Mode. The game also makes a rather large nod to its primary inspiration in the case of Mission Mode, where the games stages are reworked with a particular goal, usually making you play as a specific character.

While each game mode shakes up the gameplay a little differently, the same basic structure is shared right across the board. Players will choose their character and take part in a series of matches with the goal of beating their opponent’s life meter down to zero. Quite jarring when this is your goal and not knocking your opponent off of the stage, given the games Brawl like gameplay.

Upon loading up your first match things will seem familiar right off the bat. The way Smash-Up handles is very much in line with the Super Smash Bros. games. I played with the Wii’s Classic Controller (though you can use the Wiimote tilted to the side or a GameCube controller) so you move your character with the left analog stick. The face buttons are allocated to jump, attack, ‘heavy’ attack and ‘ninja power’ (more on that below). Jumping feels the same as in any Smash Bros. game, in that very loose double jump way and ‘smashing’ the analog stick in the direction you’re facing and tapping the ‘heavy’ attack will trigger a special move.

This is by no means a drawback of the game. Game Arts have had the chance to take what they’ve learnt developing a widely successful video game and reworked it (to put it more kindly) to a different aesthetic. Sure, the gameplay is of less standard compared to the game which its built on and the controls are a little awkward, but where Smash-Up begins to falter is in its lack of charm and inspiration for the franchise its supposed to be celebrating.

Given the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles long, long publication history, there has been dozens of different variations of the franchise. Yet Smash-Up doesn’t draw on any in particular, instead offering a rather bland collection of primary characters while using the visual/artistic design of the 2007 CGI film, TMNT.

Another drawback is in how little content on offer. I was able to see all the game had to offer within two or so hours, and most of that was spent in the Arcade Mode, which is the most interesting. In Arcade Mode you choose from either one of the four Turtles, Splinter, April O’Neil or Casey Jones to play through a series of matches strung together by a loose story, told through some rather stylish cut-scenes. While you can replay the Arcade mode as many times as you’d like in an attempt to unlock all the secret characters, it just begins to get monotonous after a few times through.

Actually, the cut-scenes are one of the highest points of the game. So to is the over all visual presentation. Super Smash Bros. Brawl, much like any first part Nintendo game, looked amazing on the Wii. Since Smash-Up uses a modified version of the same graphics engine it’s no surprise the game looks incredibly smooth. Each stage is varied and detailed enough to look visually appealing, and if you’re using Wii component cables then the game will have just that little bit extra edge. Likewise, character models look great for the ‘little console that could’, proving that not all Wii games can’t put out great looking visuals.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Smash-Up is a great game to fill an afternoon, or to have some fun with a few friends. It’s Brawl inspiration is so strong that any one who’s even had one round with Nintendo’s all-star battle royal will be able to pick up and play, the game is so incredibly accessible.  The lack of substantial content is a major drawback for the game, so to is its apparent disregard of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles rich universe. While more ‘casual’ fans of the franchise will get a kick out of taking the role of their favorite character, there might not be enough here for the more ‘core’ and dedicated TMNT fan. They deserve more than a Super Smash Bros. Brawl clone re-skinned with their favorite pizza eating turtles.

Positives:

Enjoyable and accessible, good for an afternoon of fun.

Fans of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will get a kick out of playing as their favourite Turtle.

Negatives:

Not enough content to keep you playing for too long

More dedicated fans may be disappointed by the lack of inspiration from the source material.

Score: 6.5/10

Jayden is the sole guardian for Joystick Culture. You can follow his exploits on Twitter, or keep up with his other musings over on Aussie-Gamer

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