DS Roundup

Ninja Reflex

Ellie's review of the Wii version of Ninja Reflex revealed that it is, well, pretty much exactly the kind of game we've come to expect Ellie to review - so it's fair to say that expectations were not running terribly high for the DS version when it popped through the letterbox.

The concept, unsurprisingly, remains the same. The path to becoming a cold-blooded and fearsome stealth assassin, it seems, is paved with mini-games - ranging from shuriken-tossing and katana-swinging through to that old ninja reliable, catching flies with chopsticks. The line-up of games closely mirrors those available on the Wii, but the controls have been pretty well converted to the DS. They're simplified in some instances, but they generally work nicely, and the whole thing is very slick and responsive - as you'd rather hope from a game that tests your reflexes, really.

Actually, "slick" is a reasonable description for the whole package. The presentation is great, and is arguably the most polished aspect of the whole thing - it's got nice visual design, and really clear, crisp graphics in the games themselves make it very clear what you're meant to be doing. Even the sound is pretty good, in a plinky-plonk traditional Japanese instrumental style.

What isn't very good, though, is the fact that the game only boasts six mini-games. Yes, six. Now, the developers would probably argue that the addition of multiple modes in each mini-game means that there's far more to the whole thing - but honestly, we're not sure we care whether we're catching a Super Fly who buzzes around like a six-year-old who's just been fed Skittles for half an hour, or just twenty normal, less buzzy flies. We're still catching bloody flies by tapping on them.

The basic lack of content is a crippling problem. The game has a range of belt rankings to move through which increase the difficulty level as you progress, and it's all quite nicely thought out - aside from the baffling omission of any actual new games to play. Once you realise that you're stuck with those six, and that's your lot, all the great progression systems in the world aren't worth a rusty shuriken.

It's a genuine shame. The game is well-presented and polished, the control system works nicely, and the progression lays the groundwork for a really enjoyable experience - but the team decided to come over all Zen minimalism when it came to the games themselves. It's by no means bad, but there isn't enough of it to justify picking it up from anything other than the bargain bin.

5/10