Ninjatown returns with “Trees of Doom!” – (a review)
When I first heard there was going to be a new Ninjatown game, I nearly lost my cool. The DS version, which came out in late 2008, was one of the best tower defense titles I have ever played, and I’ve played a good number of them. So it’s no surprise that I was eagerly awaiting the release of Ninjatown: Trees of Doom! for the iPhone.
At least I was looking forward to it, until I found out it wasn’t to be tower defense. How could I ever love anything more than the first game? So I passed on ToD and went looking for other games. A few days went by and I started seeing rave reviews, like this one from FingerGaming.com. I guess it was worth looking into after all.
Let me be the first to call myself an idiot. This game, while nothing like the original, is worth every penny! I’ve been draining my phone’s battery for the last four days doing nothing but striving for numerous Plus+ achievements (21 in all). So let’s get down to the finer points of the game.
The game is a new version of a platformer. You have two trees (of Doom!) that your Wee Ninja jumps between. The controls are simple to understand and more complex in practice: tap the opposite tree to jump over to it, tap and hold the tree your currently on to run up it. That’s it!
Throw in some environmental pitfalls, power-ups, global high scores and achievements through the Plus+ network, and a great art style and you have yourself a fantastic iPhone game.
I think the best part of this game (aside from the fact that I have a pretty comparable high score) is the re-playability. Whether you are just going for a high score or aiming to get all the ridiculous achievements, there is plenty for you do.
In my traditional comparison of entertainment-to-movie-ticket-price, this game, at just $1.99, only had to be good for about eighteen minutes to be worth it. Quickly checking my stats page, I note that I’ve currently logged over two hours of play time. That, my friends, is a deal.
Buy the game and a bunch of cool collectibles at ninjatown.com. Also, hit up the creators of the Wee Ninjas and the whole Ninjatown world on twitter @shawnimals. They are great with consumer comments, complaints, or questions and all around great guys. Thanks for the great games and I look forward to what is to come.
