Ninja Joe Review

Posted in Paid Win8 Games, Paid WP7 Games, Paid WP8 Games | 2 comments

Description

Ninja Joe is an action adventure game from AmnesiaGames, which combines simple gesture controls with a fun and engaging story, which will force you to have at least a couple of sleepless nights.

Supported Platforms

Windows Phone 8
Windows Phone 7
Windows 8
Windows RT (Surface)

Ninja Joe Trailer

Screenshots

Ninja Joe Video Review

TBA

Ninja Joe Review

Introduction

Can I confess you something? I never liked those “endless” run games, mostly because they are more frustrating than fun, there is no story and I see no point playing them. However, trying to be as open minded as I should, I have downloaded the “Ninja Joe”. So, has it changed my opinion? Let’s find out.

Gameplay & Controls

I don’t want to spoil you the very beginning of this game but let’s just say that once you launch Ninja Joe, there is a high probability that it will make you smile, thanks to one of the best achievement names I have ever seen, and they just keep coming.

The controls are simple and do feel responsive most of the time (that is when your fingers are not sweaty yet), you swipe forward to run faster, backwards to kick obstacles, downwards to slide and upwards to jump. As you might expect, first few levels are pretty straightforward and offer little to no challenge.

However, this is where the real fun begins: upon launching Ninja Joe, you are told that to get the perfect story, you must collect all the gems in the game. What’s the catch? Well, the levels themselves do not necessary become an absolute nightmare to play (aka frustrating, which is great), but if you really want to collect all of them, Ninja Joe will make you work for it, hard. To me, this is one of the best decisions in this type of game, you can either have some fun and complete all the levels or go another route and practice, practice, practice.

Did I also tell you that there is a way to rewind last few seconds of the game in case you fall into the hole? And before you say that it’s only for casual gamers, let me tell you… Once you start going for all the games, it will be a life saver. Thankfully, Ninja Joe prevents you from abusing the system as you must earn them by collecting “clocks” in an endless run level or simply buy them from the store. Unlike the majority of the games where you are pretty much forced to either pay money or grind for hours and hours, Ninja Joe won’t leave a bitter taste in your mouth.

What about the negative aspects of the game? If you play it on your Windows Phone, you might end up smashing the phone to your wall as for some strange reason, this is the first game where I just kept hitting and hitting the Bing search button. The worst part? Once you hit the button, the gameplay does not stop and you are dead. For example: during my last run, I had only one rewind left, I collected two gems (that were very oddly placed) and was proud of myself. Suddenly, I hit the Bing button and my ninja dies. I hit the rewind button and get back into the game, collect third gem and guess what I accidentally press again? Same Bing button. My ninja is now dead, there are no rewinds left and I will have to collect these cursed gems again. Just writing this triggered these bad memories again so excuse me while I get some green tea to calm my nerves.

Conclusion

So what’s the deal with Ninja Joe? After being pretty pessimistic, I can honestly say it made me a believer and from now on, Ninja Joe will serve as a golden standard for this type of game play. This is the first game to get a perfect 10/10 rating too.

So should you get it? Here is the truth: the most frustrating part about Ninja Joe is not the gameplay itself but rather the number of reviews in the market place (barely any). It’s as fun as the game can get and you should definitely try it.

Pros

► Optimized for the HD screens
► Beautiful graphics and environments
► Absolutely awesome achievements
► Can be either challenging or simply fun
► Does not force you to collect everything at once
► Rewind button is a life safer
► There is more than one way to complete later levels
► Isn’t frustrating for the newcomers
► Interactive and humorous story
► Cheaper than a lot of similar games
► Boss battles

Cons

► Windows Phone capacitive buttons will make you curse
► No data sync between Windows Phone and Windows 8
► Windows 8 version is jerky and not in full screen
► Volume controls could be better

Rating

10/10 (Windows Phone Version)
8/10 (Windows 8 / Surface Version)

Price

$1.49 (Windows Phone)
$1.99 (Windows 8 / Surface)

Download

Windows Phone

Windows 8 / RT

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