Ninja Reflex (Nintendo DS)
© 2008 Electronic Arts, Inc.
Fun, creative and fast-paced, this collection of reflex games for one to four players makes a great party game. It is specifically designed to take advantage the Wii and DS touch or move control scheme. After you choose your Ninja, you are presented with six martial arts challenges, each with multiple challenge levels. In Shuriken, you practice defending a courtyard from attacks on all sides by throwing stars (flicking the DS stylus, or the Wii Remote with a sharp jabbing motion). In Hotaru, you test your quickness against the flash of a firefly, again with a sharp jab. Your reaction time is presented on the screen -- the fastest player wins. Other games have you catching flies with chopsticks, grabbing at fish, or stopping aerial assaults with nunchucks. The violence is animated, and was not a problem for our test families, with no bad language or gore. But some parents will want to note that nearly all of this game deals with a fighting theme. As you play, your progress is automatically saved, and there are 11 belt ranks for you to master. Other content includes meditation lessons from your Sensei when you need to take a break from the training. Testers called the game "a lot of fun, with simple games although the controls could be explained better." Created by Nunchuck Games and developed by Sanzaru Games Inc. exclusively for EA. The game is sold for $30, or $40 for the Wii version. See also http://ninjareflex.com.
$4030, Nintendo DS
Teaches: timing, fine motor coordination (DS), gross motor coordination (Wii), martial arts
CTR Rating: 88%