Ninja Pong HD: A Cross Between Pong and Break Out

Ninja Pong HD Review-1

Ninja Pong HD Review-1

[rating: 3.5]

Ninja Pong HD Review: One of the first games I ever played was the original game of Pong which, as I’m sure you know, consisted of bouncing a group of pixels across a dark screen against your paddle which was made up of a few more pixels than the ball.

Well things have moved on a bit since then and this is certainly evident in the changes between that original version of Pong and this one that adds the words Ninja and HD to it’s name. Gone are monotone graphics and simple sounds to be replaced by high quality cartoon graphics and a suitably oriental influence sound track.

Ninja Pong HD Review-2

Just like the stars of Crouch Tiger, Hidden Dragon the protagonists in Ninja Pong HD for iPad leap between roof tops and tree tops and it’s your task to aid this by acting as a movable bridge preventing them from falling to their ghostly death. It’s a little like the game of BreakOut just without the bricks.

The Ninja’s come at you think and fast, as do the power ups which will grow your paddle/bridge and give you extra points. However, for every good power-up there is a negative one such as the bombs that will immediately lose you a life and the flaming arrows which will set your paddle alight.
There are two game modes, Arcade where you are targeted to earn as many points as you can before the time runs out and Endless where you can continue as long as you like as long as your 6 lives remain intact.

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Points and coins are earned based on the number of Ninja’s you help traverse the skyline and you can also pickup extra coins which will appear on the screen in the same way as power-ups do. These coins can then be exchanged for a whole range of items from the Ninja Shop.

The Ninja Shop offers both Ninja accessories that simply change the look of Ninja’s such as Chef Hats, Sombreros and Berets to more practical artifacts such as Slow Motion, Longer Bridge and a x2 multiplier. These purchases certainly add a degree of fun to the game and for added longevity there are 4 environments to unlock as well as 30+ GameCenter achievements and leaderboards.

Ninja Pong HD Review-4

Ninja Pong HD isn’t a ground-breaking game but it is fun while it lasts even if it is rather one-dimensional. It’s available in the App Store now for $1.99.

What we like:

  • Fun, retro inspired gaming
  • Lot’s of power-ups
  • Colorful, clear graphics

What to know:

  • One-dimensional game-play
  • Limited long term playability

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