Ninja wannabes can now make the leap from couch potato to warrior with just a few smooth moves with the Wii remote
“Ninja Reflex,” developed by Nunchuck Games for Electronic Arts, offers a collection of ninja-based mini games. However, don’t expect to see enemies decapitated by a sword. The game’s rated E10+ and is basically designed for kids and parties.
After selecting a cool — or goofy — ninja name, you embark on your training regimen. This involves:
• Shuriken — throwing stars at targets painted like ninjas.
• Hotaru — clicking a button as quickly as a firefly flashes.
• Hashi — catching flies with chopsticks and dunking them in bowls.
• Koi — grabbing fish bare-handed.
• Nunchaku — smashing flying objects with a nunchuck.
• Katana — striking down demons with a samurai sword.
Each of these categories contains several minigames, only a few of which are available at the beginning. The early games are pretty easy, but harder games are added as you gain levels and move toward a black belt.
“Ninja Reflex” is played with the Wii remote alone — which should comfort parents who see “Nanchaku” and fear Junior will be swinging the Wii Nunchuck around his head.
In addition, none of the games involve violence against humans — although the demons look a lot like traditional Samurai, at least until they evaporate.
Although most of the games are fun, my favorites involved the Katana. They’re about as close as you’ll get to an actual Wii sword fight at this point. Although the sword’s motion doesn’t exactly match your remote’s motions, you do have to swing to parry blows from different angles and then swing to reposte.
In keeping with the game’s young audience — and its bargain price of $40 — the graphics are relatively simple and cartoony. However, they get the job done.
Overall, “Ninja Reflex” isn’t particularly deep, but it’s plenty of fun when played with family or friends.
Platform: Wii
On the Web: www.ea.com/ninjareflex/
