Pirates Vs Ninjas Dodgeball Nintendo Wii

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Videogames have long combined popular concepts to create new experiences. Here we have Ninjas, Pirates, Zombies and Dodgeball - what more could you ask for. The resulting casual team game is more fun and focused than its name suggests.

It's one of those type of game genres...

Sporting games recreate a wide variety of real life competitive activities. Depending on the sport, these will either have an action or strategy focus. Popular sports games are often released on an annual basis, each year the game receives new player rosters and game improvements.

But why is it any better than the others...

Pirates Vs. Ninjas Dodgeball will attract younger players who like the idea of a sports game with a difference - here being the aforementioned Ninjas and Pirates.

The controls are simple with the Nun-chuck's thumbstick for movement and aiming, while the Wii-mote's A is for jump and B for pass and catch. The D-Pad offers a quick dodge. The Wii-mote motions are then used when throwing, or for using your sword.

The game follows the basic rules of dodgeball, with a little more bodily contact thrown in for good measure. Players have a health bar that allows them to be hit a few times before being out. Their stamina bar then limits how much you can move before needing to rest. This combination adds in a tactical aspect to the gameplay and keeps those a little older interested.

Although there are a few single player campaign modes, it's the multiplayer game that holds the lasting appeal. With friends this is alot of frantic fun.

So what experience should I play this game for...

Players will be drawn to the fun side of this motion based sport game. Although there is not as much depth to this as there could be there is enough to make some evenings in with friends a lot of fun. Moments when you just miss a hit, or manage to pull off a last minute dive out of the way generate some knife edge show downs. With the focus on hilarity rather than sport, we soon found ourselves in heaps of giggles - not least because of our four year old's antics to try and win.

And when can I take a break...

The game length can be adjusted to suite the available time. Whilst players may want to spend longer sessions working through the single player modes, it's the multiplayer that will soak up the most hours long term.

This is a great game for who...

Novice and very young players may find the frantic action and amount of buttons to press a little daunting at first - an EA Sports like easy control system would have been ideal here.

Those with a little more experience should find there is enough to the game to keep them interested for a good few sessions.

Experts will rightly balk at the lack of real depth though, and the fact that the game seems undecided about whether it is a sport or fighting title - maybe something that comes from the real world game.

Thanks for reading the reivew, visit our Family Gaming Awards - the best games for the different people in your family.

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