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Hanging out in Ninjatown

Posted Aug 30th 2008 4:00PM by Alisha Karabinus
Filed under: Screens

Come my ninja
Come come my ninja
You're my defender
My wee ninja

Oops, 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

Posted Jul 16th 2008 2:30AM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: News

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: Ninjatown

Continue reading E308: A sneaky visit to Ninjatown

E308: SouthPeak's lineup has some hidden gems

Posted Jul 10th 2008 6:00PM by Candace Savino
Filed under: News

Big Bang Mini is one of those delightful-looking, under-the-radar games that people should be paying more attention to, so we're glad that SouthPeak will be showing it off this E3. Then again, we're shmupoholics, so we can't help but be seduced by this trippy, fireworked shooter. An honorable E3 mention also goes to Ninjatown, though, for its cute and clever ways of portraying the deadly assassins.

The other two DS games on SouthPeak's lineup are Brave: Shaman's Challenge and Igor the Game, neither of which we can muster up much enthusiasm for at the moment. Hopefully we'll end up pleasantly surprised, though -- at least by the former, as licensed-based games would probably have to make us breakfast, too, to incite a reaction.

Gallery: Big Bang Mini

Gallery: Ninjatown

Ol' Master Ninja's ol' magic

Posted Jul 1st 2008 1:15PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Video

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: Ninjatown

Ninjatown: Tower Defense with ninjas

Posted Jun 14th 2008 6:00PM by Eric Caoili

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: Ninjatown

Read - Joystiq hands-on: Ninjatown
Read - IGN's Ninjatown videos

October may be Ninjatime

Posted Mar 3rd 2008 1:30PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Rumors

Gamefly, the online rental service that takes too long to ship things to our apartment, now has a release date for the adorable Ninjatown: October 16th of this year. This is the first we've heard of even a ballpark release date for the action/strategy/awwwww game based on Shawn Smith's characters. Gamefly tends to know their stuff, too, so if this release date turns out to be inaccurate, it's probably because the publisher changed it.

Now that we know when the game is coming out, we can start budgeting our expenditures of hundreds of Pocket Staches and plush ninjas versus the actual game.

[Pocket Stache available here]

What's going down in Ninjatown

Posted Feb 12th 2008 12:00PM by JC Fletcher
Filed under: Screens

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: Ninjatown

[Via press release]

EGM visits Ninjatown

Posted Jan 13th 2008 7:00PM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: Screens

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

Posted Aug 21st 2007 6:10PM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: News

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.

Continue reading Ninjatown: Real ultimate cuteness

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