Mini Ninjas First-Look Preview

It's safe to say that I'm quite surprised to see that IO Interactive's (Kane and Lynch, Freedom Fighters, Hitman) next game consists of adorable panda bears and squat ninjas taking on large samurai demons; it seems the developer is tired of heading home to the rugrats with garroting on the mind. This upcoming action adventure game is called Mini Ninjas, and its colorful, anime-esque art style definitely has that "family-friendly" quality to it. But from what I saw during an early demonstration of the game (of the 360/PS3 version; Mini Ninjas will also be on DS/Wii/PC), it looks to provide some entertaining gameplay features, but served up with Japanese flare (you'll even hear some of the enemies speaking in Japanese).

The story starts with a ninja-training village sending its most talented pupils off to fight an evil-doer who's messing with the forces of nature. One-by-one, those students leave but never return, until soon there's only Hiro and his best friend Futo left; they then are sent out as the last resort. You might say they're the bottom of the barrel, but the tiny Hiro and the massive Futo have a lot of the spunk you'd find in a typical boy-oriented anime.

Hiro's the main protagonist, and though he's small, he shows a spark of nature-controlling magic (the same stuff the main baddie uses -- curious...). Futo, on the other hand, is really slow for a ninja, but has a giant hammer that packs quite the punch. You start off with just the two of them, but as you progress through the game, you'll come across all the other lost ninjas. Once you free them, you'll be able to use them and their varied combat abilities. The third ninja I've seen so far is a girl named Suzume -- her battle skills aren't the best, but when she whips out her flute, she can hypnotize enemies with her music.

Since you play as ninjas, you can sneak around behind enemies, or lurk in the shadows to gain a tactical advantage; when you finally get down to the fighting, Hiro and the others seem to have a few options available to them. Basic combat looks to consist of typical single-button mashing, but you can also build up combos to power special magic attacks. The ninja aesthetic -- everything from character design to the way you silently run on tiptoes -- and the fact that you can swap between each unlocked ninja on-the-fly mid-battle, saves the combat from being mundane.

My favorite part of Mini Ninjas (for now) has to be the use of adorable animals. The enemy uses magic to transform forest creatures (e.g., bears, rabbits, and birds) into the demon soldiers you're fighting. Much like in the Sonic games, once you defeat them, the demon samurai disappear in a puff of smoke, and thus releasing the spell's hold on the critters. It's an adorable and clever way to get around the concept of "killing" in what could be considered a kid-oriented game, but it also serves a gameplay purpose. Hiro can actually possess an animal with his magic and use its innate abilities to his benefit. Bears, for example, are great for swiping their claws at enemies, and boars are good for ramming them. And the animals' superior sense of smell also help you locate buried roots and seeds -- ingredients you can collect in order to craft ninja tools.

As this was the first time IO Interactive showed off the game, I don't have very many details other than these to share. The game's set to release later this year, and I'm hoping that while Mini Ninja's underlying structure seems cookie-cutter, the game will ultimately prove to be more than a by-the-numbers affair.