Less than ten feet away from the Mini Ninjas booth was a playable demo for Batman: Arkham Asylum. From time to time I would glance over, watching the Dark Knight swoop down into a kick or dash behind an enemy and deliver a stunning blow. I watched this every so often, but decided to continue investing my time in Mini Ninjas. I'd like to think I made a wise choice.

That's not saying the game is going to end up being better than Arkham Asylum, but Batman is already on everybody's list for this year. We all know how it looks like it could be the first great comic book game, and we're all prepared to plunk down our hard-earned money to see if Eidos was able to pull it off. Such isn't the case with Mini Ninjas, and most people don't even know it exists. After watching one of the producers play through some of the game and explain the mechanics of the title I was happy to give the cute action game my time.

Players control Hiro, a small, but powerful ninja, as he attempts to defeat The Evil Samurai Warlord. Beyond his sword and a few magical abilities, players have the option to switch between different characters on the fly, and can use their abilities together for powerful combinations. Suzumi, for instance, can play a flute that causes enemies to dance in place for a short period of time. While they're distracted, the player can jump back to Hiro and deliver quick, killing blows.

I use the word "killing" loosely, however, since enemies don't actually die. Instead, they become small, fluffy animals. Apparently the villain, who the producer insisted wasn't Dr. Robotnik (although I did ask), turned the forest animals into Evil Samurai, and defeating them releases the critters back to the world. Besides freeing the animals, they also serve an additional use, as Hiro's magic allows him to posses any of the game's creatures. This can be used for puzzles, combat, or travel, giving the player more options. On top of that, there is also a basic stealth mechanic in Mini Ninjas, allowing any of the characters to disappear into the shadows.



The version I saw was being played on the Xbox 360, but the Wii version was also present, and looked to provide a very similar (albeit graphically inferior) experience. I didn't walk away thinking about how Mini Ninjas would be game of the year, but it definitely made its way onto my radar. I might not really be the target audience for the game, but that doesn't mean I won't be keeping a close eye on this one as it approaches release on all consoles this fall.