After introducing the world to the Hitman and Kane and Lynch video game series, IO Interactive is ready show off their game development skills with an all-new new IP in a totally different direction from their previous ventures. Enter Mini Ninjas. Using an interesting, adorable art style, Mini Ninjas is set to showcase some of the more refined elements in modern action/adventure game design.

The first thing anyone will notice about Mini Ninjas is its incredible art style. Boasting environments that are both simple and detailed, Mini Ninja’s visual flair is a bit hard to describe — which is precisely why IO has decided to release several beautiful videos capturing high points of the game’s unique visual style.

Six cartoony, cute, pint-sized ninjas make up the core of the gameplay, each one with various strengths, weapons, and particular areas of expertise. Though only three have been shown so far, each one showcased has had immediate appeal. One player character that has been showcased is Hiro. Hiro has the ability to transform into animals he has encountered throughout the game, and wields a sword as well as various magical abilities. The other characters will focus on strength, stealth, and perhaps magic as well, striking unique balances across the abilities so that players can choose a ninja that suits them best.

Environments seen in the game so far (like at the most recent E3 showcase) have ran the gamut of what we know of games set in feudal Japan — simple villages, forests, rivers, and surely a few dungeons. Videos have showcased weather to strong effect, most notably rain. Also, Mini Ninja will have several enemies based upon Japanese culture — a few ninjas, a few samurai, demon variants of both, and maybe some oni for good measure.

Players will run through connected areas battling enemies, tackling puzzles, and picking up on main story missions and additional sidequests. Characters will be able to be switched on the fly, so that tougher enemies can be fought with burlier fighters or snuck around with stealthier characters. Also, items and abilities will be mapped to face buttons for easy access.

So far, Mini Ninjas looks to be one of the most promising (and first family-friendly) titles to come out of IO Interactive. While its visual style is sure to be pleasing, hopefully the combat, stealth, and puzzle mechanics will be enought to keep the more serious gamers hooked. Be looking for the release of Mini Ninjas sometime this September.

Tags: IO Interactive, Mini Ninjas

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 8th, 2009 at 6:47 pm and is filed under DS, Mini Preview, PC, PlayStation 3, Wii, Xbox 360. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.