Have Game, Will Play: Atomic Ninjas
Arena combat platformers have been popular since the late 90s. The best of them have the ability to offer button mashers and more finesse players a chance to have fun. Grip Games’ latest offering Atomic Ninjas with its deathmatch and objective modes falls somewhere in between.
Atomic Ninjas has taken the idea of offensive power-ups and extended them to traversal. This is an interesting approach but the camera is so close that moving around never really felt all that great. Some levels have lava pits, ninja-launchers, laser beams, traps and obviously combatants. You often don’t know those hazards are present until it’s too late.
Each type of ninja has a two power-ups to start off with, one for traversal and one for attacking in addition to one unique ability like invisibility. As you unlock new characters you can begin a match with different items. The full arsenal in Atomic Ninjas isn’t that large and the same items can be found throughout the arenas so that advantage doesn’t last long. I found it somewhat frustrating that a weapon like the punch has a cool down. That seems like a basic move that should always be available. Combat felt more just crashing into the bots and hoping for the best rather than something I was actively involved in.
Atomic Ninjas seems like it could have some legs with friends via couch coop or online, if you can find a game. I recognize its potential and I hope that a patch or two can provide that little spark that’s missing.
Developer/Publisher: Grip Games
Genre: arena combat platformer
Price: $9.99, Buy it at $5
Platform: PS3, PS Vita