Mini Ninjas

[Thrik]

I can't find any information about this at all other than its new premiere trailer:

http://video games.yahoo.com/events/mini-ninjas/mini-ninjas-videos/1280250

... and its corresponding caption:

From Eidos comes a new martial-arts adventure about a diminutive ninja with big skills.

Looks like it has a lovely art direction though, and it's by IO Interative who are capable of making games that're good and not bad.

[gdf]

Interesting move for IO, just a shame it's not a Freedom Fighters sequel.

Looks quite intriguing though, the aesthetic reminds me of the fairly underrated I-Ninja.

[brkl]

Huh, IO? Wow, doesn't seem like their style. The video is very promising, though.

[DanJW]

With the three different character with different abilities, my first guess would be something along the lines of Lost Vikings.

So a win then.

[Nick]

With the three different character with different abilities, my first guess would be something along the lines of Lost Vikings.

So a win then.

That would be awesome.

I get a sort of next gen i-Ninja feel from it though so... meh.

[elmuerte]

With the three different character with different abilities, my first guess would be something along the lines of Lost Vikings

That would be awesome...

must play LV again some day

[Thrik]

Some shots of the Wii version can be had here:

http://gamersyde.com/news_7455_en.html

And the DS version here:

http://www.computerandvideo games.com/article.php?id=206120

The Wii version looks pretty decent considering, so I'm looking forward to how the PS3/360 versions will look.

[brkl]

For some reason Wii "screenshots" tend to use a higher resolution than the system is even capable of.

[Chris]

As much as I like Io, I very rarely find games in this genre and style to actually be good.

[Chris]

For some reason Wii "screenshots" tend to use a higher resolution than the system is even capable of.

The Wii ones are all 640x480, which is the Wii's resolution, although Wii games never end up having that much anti-aliasing.

[syntheticgerbil]

...games in this genre and style to actually be good.

What do you mean by that? Also what are similar games.

Sorry, it just seemed sort of vague what you were talking about.

[Chris]

What do you mean by that? Also what are similar games.

Sorry, it just seemed sort of vague what you were talking about.

Just...games that look like this, I guess. I have seen a billion other third-person "action/adventure" games that look exactly like the screenshots of this game, and they're all forgettable.

Also "mini ninjas" seems like the kind of concept that somebody thought up before any meaningful game concepts were thought up, which is of course why it turns out to be a third person action adventure game, the go-to genre for uninspired game premises.

I could be totally wrong about this game. But I'll be very surprised if it's not completely bland.

[syntheticgerbil]

Yeah, the "mini-ninja's" aspect seems like it's totally ready for merchandising.

I do like some of the concept work for the non-humanoid characters, but other than that, I've never heard of this game before today, so I'm not really anticipating anything.

I'm also not getting a Lost Vikings vibe like some of you.

[Wrestlevania]

Nice CG, hate the name though.

Will be interesting to see how it turns out. I think a cross between Lost Vikings (different characters/abilities) and Freedom Fighters (free-roaming combat) would be about right.

Not my cup of tea, however.

[miffy495]

Hmm... Count me intrigued...

[Erkki]

These vignettes look more interesting to me than the gameplay shown so far: http://www.gametrailers.com/game/mini-ninjas/10730

But I guess we'll see how it plays this week as a demo is coming.

[Garple]

I am really excited about this, mostly because I've always found standard-sized ninjas too cumbersome. I was always like "why won't someone invent a ninja that combines deadly steath with portability and ease-of-use?" People are starting to realize that my cello case doesn't hold a cello as word gets around. I need a ninja I can slip into the cellphone compartment of my backpack.

[Garple]

As much as I like Io, I very rarely find games in this genre and style to actually be good.

By genre/style...do you mean shooters and brawlers that use cute, kid friendly characters? If so, I guess I mostly agree.

[Erkki]

What the world actually needs is not mini-ninjas that can fit in a cello case, but GIANT NINJAS whose disguises enable them to blend in with skyscrapers!

[Garple]

What the world actually needs is not mini-ninjas that can fit in a cello case, but GIANT NINJAS whose disguises enable them to blend in with skyscrapers!

But how would I carry that around?

[gdf]

I played it at Edinburgh Interactive last week. If you can be bothered and don't mind me plugging my shit, then follow this link immediately.

For those less inclined (and I can't say I blame you), basically it was enjoyable and polished, but I can't see it having lasting appeal for anyone over the age of maybe ten. It's too simplistic to satisfy over the course of a full game based on what I managed to get through.

[Patters]

I played it at Edinburgh Interactive last week. If you can be bothered and don't mind me plugging my shit, then follow this link immediately.

For those less inclined (and I can't say I blame you), basically it was enjoyable and polished, but I can't see it having lasting appeal for anyone over the age of maybe ten. It's too simplistic to satisfy over the course of a full game based on what I managed to get through.

It coud easily have mechanics added in during later stages. In actual fact I woud be surprised if it didn't.

[gdf]

Yeah, I know, there seemed plenty of scope for additional abilities, but I never got the feeling they'd make too much of a difference or be particularly distinct from each other. You know, it's either hide or fight, and fighting was pretty inevitable anyway.

[Erkki]

So I played quickly through the demo. Not sure what I think. It seems like there could be quite a lot of depth to it, but on the other hand it only seemed slightly more interesting than the Kung Fu Panda demo.

[Avalanche]

I grabbed the demo the other night without any info as to what the hell it was before or who had made it. Biggest surprise was the IO name during the boot up, second biggest surprise was that I had a decent amount of fun with what was in there. I went fishing while using my gigantic hat as a boat!