Wii

Ninjabread Man

I know I sound really harsh towards this game, and as I was writing this, I almost felt guilty for writing such a negative review. So I employed my two little brothers (aged thirteen and fourteen) to try out this game as well. The younger one told me he was changed for life, and would probably have a fear of gingerbread for the rest of his life. So in short, I have witnesses who concur that this game is probably one of the worst games you could ever have the misfortune of playing. If you decide to take a chance and play this one, I applaud you for being very brave because I really don't think it gets much worse than this.

After embracing the Ninjabread Man idea and seeing the screenshots I thought this game could be half decent. Having the played the game, I now feel violated that my Ninjabread Man dream has gone. The game is quite simply the worst Wii game I've played to date. Don't waste your time with this one.

Is Ninjabread Man actually a good game? No chance. It’s buggy, oftentimes completely broken, somehow manages to have frame issues in tiny levels, and is completely ruthless if (and when) younger players die. We’d be silly to go any further than this to seriously critique the game, as it’s a low-budget shelf-filler. The game has its hilarious moments, even if only because we’re controlling a tiny Ninjabread Man (with a rad weapon, nonetheless), but in the end we of course can’t endorse the game whatsoever, as it’s a broken mess of a product. That being said, it may in fact be in the running for Game of the Year 2008. We just love it too much to deny it.

It really is hit or miss as to whether your character will perform the desired action, and given the limited range of moves available, even more damming that the developer couldnt even get the controls correct.An added bonus is the camera that fails to adapt to changes of direction or new positions, before you make that leap. In a platform release it is a fundamental flaw and extremely irritating, on top of everything else that Gamestyle has already outlined. More often that not, youll be presented with a viewpoint of no use whatsoever. Prompting you to reposition your character in the vain hope that the game will offer you a useable viewpoint.Given the festive time of year this review is being written, we could quite easily talk about turkeys but Ninjabread Man really is in a league of its own. It has no redeeming aspect except that thankfully the pain is short-lived, but then again you should heed our warning and avoid this title at all costs.

The biggest shame though, is that a name like Ninjabread Man should be wasted on a game like this. Everyone who I’ve mentioned it to has found it genuinely amusing and wanted to know more. There isn’t enough humour in games these days and this was a prime opportunity to make one with plenty in. Ninjabread Man could be a cool guy with a bad attitude, in a stark and ironic contrast to his surroundings. He could be the Jack Bauer of the bakery, but instead our hero is silent and lifeless. Don’t be tempted by the great name and cool cover art; this is one to stay well away from.