shawnimals
Latest
Holiday weekend giveaway: Ninja pack!
Memorial Day: in the US, this is the holiday where we honor the service of our brave men and women in uniform who have given their all in the defense of our nation. Also, we have fireworks, attend barbecues and often go to the beach. Viva America! We know that TUAW readers love three-day weekends almost as much as they love free swag, so we thought "Why not combine the two?" We'll be posting giveaways all weekend long to help you get set up for summertime. Our first pack of goodies comes courtesy of Shawnimals and Venan Entertainment, who are the folks behind the new $1.99 Ninjatown:Trees of Doom game for iPhone.
NinjaTown: Trees of Doom half price for a 'limited time'
Between scaling deadly pines and being adorable, NinjaTown franchise star Wee Ninja somehow found the time to pow-wow with Business Ninja and work out a price drop for NinjaTown: Trees of Doom. The Doodle Jump-like series spinoff game landed on iPhone earlier this month for $1.99, but apparently developer Venan Entertainment decided that it's "not yet satisfied" with sales, despite remaining atop the Top 25 paid app charts for some time now. No official end date is given for the sale, though the game's iTunes App Store listing says it will stay on sale "while featured by Apple." Better get it while the getting's good then, eh? NinjaTown: Trees of Doom (Venan Entertainment, $0.99):
Metareview -- Ninjatown (DS)
We have a tendency to miss metareviewing portable games, especially when they're caught up in the mad flood of holiday releases. But Ninjatown has been getting such good scores we figured it deserved its moment in the sun, especially since you'll be able to pick it up for $15 on Friday. ... And yes, OK, it's kind of a slow news day. So sue us. GameShark (91/100): "Ninjatown has 'sleeper hit' written all over it. It certainly looks innocent enough on the outside – it's cute and goofy, and oozes sugary sweetness, as it's actually based on a stuffed toy line (the Shawnimals, created by ex game journo Shawn Smith). But underneath that fluffy exterior is a seriously addictive tower defense game that is as hardcore as it is adorable." Game Informer (90/100): "Don't let the cutie-pie exterior fool you - Ninjatown is a gamer's game through and through. The units in this tower-defense title are versatile and useful, enemies are diverse and deadly, and there are enough power-ups and options to keep things fresh. Best of all, levels don't seem to have a preset way to beat them, unlike many tower-defense games on the market." 1UP (B+): "Ninjatown's layered in a coating of sickly sweetness that no amount of scrubbing will ever get out of your DS slot, but this obviously wasn't a game rushed out just to peddle Shawnimals merchandise. If you can get past the saccharine coating of the Ninjatown world, you'll find a surprisingly good tower defense?style filling hidden inside the hard candy shell." GameDaily (80/100): "Once you're done admiring the charming and colorful artwork that encompasses the Ninjatown box, you'll soon realize there's a deep, addictive and challenging game for your DS inside. Ninjatown takes the fast-thinking, reactionary gameplay of tower defense and combines it with simple real-time strategy elements, creating one of the more compelling and unique games in recent memory."
Hanging out in Ninjatown
Come my ninjaCome come my ninjaYou're my defenderMy wee ninjaOops, wrong town. Today, we're on about Ninjatown, the adorable Tower Defense-style game which uses cookies as currency. In fact, we've got ten cutesy new screens. Even though Ninjatown is based on time-honored gameplay principles, it takes such a fresh approach that we're always happy to see something about it. The enemies, the minions of Mr. Demon, can't resist the Ninja Baby, and neither can we.
E308: A sneaky visit to Ninjatown
I don't know a thing about Tower Defense, so Ninjatown was scary and alien to me. But, unlike most strategy things, the world is so super-cute and appealing that it motivated me to try to play it. The game begins with an adorable cutscene in which the mayor, on his way to a good cower, entrusts Ol' Master Ninja to defeat the incoming minions of Mr. Demon.Playing Ninjatown is like a sort of strategy Actraiser. You pick a square parcel of land and place the ninja group of your choice there; the building gets built, then ninjas of whatever kind come out and start working. Wee Ninjas beat up on enemies, Sniper Ninjas shoot peas, and Snow Ninjas freeze enemies with snowballs. You can also build training centers and other enrichment buildings nearby. The ninja fortifications can also be leveled up for more stamina and attack power. All of these use cookies, the official currency of Ninjatown, which are replenished by defeating enemies.%Gallery-15839%
Ol' Master Ninja's ol' magic
Ol' Master Ninja has plenty of techniques at his disposal to help take care of the denizens of Ninjatown. This trailer illustrates some of the ninja magic that can be used in-game to augment the monster-killing abilities of Ninjatown's silent, cuddly assassins. One special ability allows the player to refill ninjas' health by humming into the mic while they are on screen. Another gives Ol' Master Ninja a magnifying glass that can be directed onto enemies with the stylus. Ninjas aren't helpless on their own, of course: Forest Ninjas shoot barrages of arrows, and Business Ninjas can ... smack dudes in the head with cell phones.%Gallery-15839%
Ninjatown: Tower Defense with ninjas
We knew developer Venan Entertainment and Shawnimals creator Shawn Smith were intending to create an "action-strategy" title with Ninjatown, but, for some reason, it never occurred to us that what they meant was a ninja-themed Tower Defense game.Reviewing IGN's gameplay clips and Joystiq's hands-on preview, it's obvious now how Ninjatown will play: During a brief building phase, you'll build ninja huts along a path which will produce varied ninja units. Enemies will start to charge down the path, and your newly created ninjas must try to stop them.Managing and commanding the ninjas from a hot air balloon as Ol' Master Ninja, players can jump into the battle with special attacks, such as smacking enemies with the Ol' Master Ninja's cane and slowing them down by blowing into the DS's microphone.Publisher SouthPeak expects to include 30+ scenarios total, encompassing five different gameworld areas, for Ninjatown's fall release. Though there's already at least one other Tower Defense commercial title due for the DS -- 5th Cell's Lock's Quest -- the cute character designs, playful approach, and use of the system's features could be enough to turn Ninjatown into something special.%Gallery-15839%Read - Joystiq hands-on: NinjatownRead - IGN's Ninjatown videos
Joystiq hands-on: Ninjatown
Designed by artist and former EGM editor Shawn Smith, Ninjatown is so sugary-cute that it should come packaged with flavored DS screen protectors. Its looks are just as sly as ninjas themselves, as we found a (so far) surprisingly deep action-strategy game underneath all the serious eye-fluff. We got some stylus time with a nice and solid pre-release version of the game yesterday. At first, we caught ourselves giggling a bit as the game's mechanics were explained. After all, it's not every day that you see a special attack where you literally blow away ah-dorable fire demons using the DS microphone. Keep reading for more silliness and our full impressions. %Gallery-25123%
What's going down in Ninjatown
We're confident in our belief that Ninjatown is the only ninja game in history to feature cartoon hearts on its box. It's all due to the super-cute style created by Shawn Smith that the bizarre dichotomy between cute and cold-heartedly murderous can be maintained. For example: the game is a strategy game, which means war. The black-suited ninja is less than one second away from committing an act of violence on the boxart, and yet the ninjas' Smurf-Village-like dwellings overpower that and elicit an "awwww." We've got the first direct-feed screens of the game in our new gallery, and the same feeling applies: yes, these are people who primarily identify as ruthless assassins, but ... we want to huggle them.%Gallery-15839%[Via press release]
EGM visits Ninjatown
Shawnimals creator and Electronic Gaming Monthly alum Shawn Smith finally broke his silence on Ninjatown, sitting with EGM to talk about the game and share a couple screenshots. We knew to expect plenty of characters from the Shawnimals plush toy line when the Ninjatown trailer debuted, but, until now, we've been left in the dark on how the "action-strategy" title would play.According to Shawn, battles will be split into two phases, building and combat, the first of which allows you to drop in structures and create/upgrade the different ninjas at your disposal. While combat hasn't been finalized, it's expected to include a "puzzle element." We're not sure how that would work with the two screens shown so far, but it certainly sounds interesting!
Ninjatown: Real ultimate cuteness
Publisher SouthPeak Games announced today that it will be showing off Ninjatown, a previously unannounced DS title, at Germany's Leipzig Games Convention. The awesomely-named project transforms the shinobi Shawnimals license into a "quirky but intensely addictive strategy title."We're not sure what sort of hijinks the plushie assassins will be getting into, but they're bound to be adorable! What else would you expect from a clan of ninjas whose primary attacks consist of "stealth hugs, sneak snuggles, and fists of tickle fury?" Check past the post break for a trailer introducing Ninjatown and the black-pajama-clad characters.
