Ninja Captains (Wii) - Review by Chris

Introduction

To say we've seen our fair share of mini-game collections on the Nintendo Wii would be an understatement. Each month goes by and a new one appears in an attempt to squeeze its way into an already saturated genre on the console. Yet this hasn't stopped developers from trying to jump on the cash cow. And so here we have another mini-game collection, brought to us courtesy of upstart publishers Nordcurrent, which looks to set itself apart, at least on the surface, by putting you in control of a collection of ninja cats as they attempt to do what they do best - save the world! Unfortunately, the end product brings you nowhere near the sense of satisfaction you'd expect for completing such a task.

Gameplay

The story, for what little there is, goes that the four ninjas, named Warrior, Gadget, Fat and Clumsy, are sat at home watching TV when a giant robotic mouse appears and starts to destroy the ninjas' city. At this sight, they jump into action so as to save the day. The only problem is that after following some misleading directions, they end up in London and so ensues a course of mini-games that will have them travelling all over the world in the hope that they'll eventually get back to their home so they can stop the robotic mouse before it destroys everything. It's not much of a story but besides some cutscenes, you won't get much more added to it than that as all characters are mute and there are no subtitles to tell you what is going on, but the way in which the cutscenes have been done means it's never hard to work it out what is going on. It's just that the lack of semantics to fill out the detail may annoy people.

Unlike many other mini-game collections on the console, Ninja Captains isn't exactly as fleshed out as it could be. From the main menu, you have four options available, only two of which are playable modes. Story mode is the obligatory mode to tie in with the farfetched story arch running through the game letting you tackle it on your own, with the game taking control of the remaining characters, or with up to 3 of your friends, while Party mode lets you and 3 other friends play through the mini-games that you've unlocked in the hope of ascertaining a higher score, although these aren't tracked in anyway outside one of 3 different coloured and shaped shuriken. The fact that you can play through the entirety of the game in multiplayer is a big plus point. The only problem is that with the many other mini-game collections on the market, everything on here feels so lacklustre in comparison that any fun that you think you'd gain from this is negligible.

The game presents 20 mini-games in total which, when you think about it, isn't a whole lot of playability. And it certainly doesn't provide much longevity outside of the first playing of these mini-games. While they range from the likes of running through the streets of Pamplona in Spain, ducking under or jumping over obstacles so as not to be trampled by a bull, to climbing to the top of Uluru in Australia to staying aloft on a surfboard precariously sat atop a giant wave, they lack the imagination and excitement to make them any fun to play, which is a travesty because the title of the game alone shows great promise yet it seems the developers haven't managed to provide the substance to live up to that promise and as such, Ninja Captains languishes in gameplay that never moves outside of mediocrity.

Controls

Making use of the Wii-mote and the Nunchuk, the mini-games will have you using the controllers in all sorts of ways. At times, you'll be twisting and turning to prevent your character's mine cart from hitting obstacles on the track while at others, you'll be flicking and shaking the controls. It's your typical set up for this type of game then, making use of ever available feature of the controller but never utilising them to their fullest. Gestures seem to lack any significance as they fall flaccid and feel unresponsive when attempted and the pointer controls seem to track behind your movements so keeping up with things can be difficult. Younger gamers, the demographic for the title, while surely be more forgiving but the controls have been done in similar mini-games and done to a much better standard.

Graphics

The game utilises two distinct graphical styles. In the games, you'll encounter a simplistic yet easy on the eye visual presentation that while never stunning, isn't exactly poorly done. Character models are well realised and animated well while the environments within which the activities take place lack some overall detail, they get the job done. Cutscenes are done in a somewhat crude way, with hand drawn images making up the scenery and an almost stop motion effect used for conveying what is going on. It's by no means bad as it allows the simplistic humour to seep through but it's nothing special.

Sound

Some mini-game collections make good use of sound in their games but this isn't one of them. The music between and in games seems to be on a constant loop with there sounding to be only one piece of music throughout the entire game. It's a poor showing even if it was never going to be a strong point for the game but they surely could have done more to make it appealing on an auditory level.

Final comments

3 years into the Wii's life cycle and mini-game collections are still being made left, right and centre. Unfortunately, owing to a genre that's at saturation point already, Ninja Captains does not fair too well. Its lack of gameplay holds it back from being anything other than mediocre at best and put up against the many other similar titles, it looks downright lazy on the developers' behalf as its clear this has been designed in the hopes of getting a quick turnaround for them. As the game is, it's one that you should definitely stay away from and if you really do need something for playing in parties, then there are far, far better games available to choose from at the same price point.

Pro: Art style has some charm and conveys the basic humour well
Con: Lacks substance to be enjoyable, controls aren't as responsive as they need to be, audio seems to have been forgotten about
Final score: 2.8

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