However, for those of you that didn't check out the preview, I'll go into a bit of detail here. First off, the property of Ninjatown is based on a series of toys/figurines/plush characters from a former EGM editor named Shawn Smith, who went on to create his own company known as Shawnimals. The denizens of Ninjatown aren't quite your typical cutthroat bloodbath style Ninja, instead these guys are all pretty cute, albeit a bit absent-minded, and definitely geared to an all ages demographic. Their enemies, likewise, might all be demons and devils, but these aren't quite the ones that reside on the 7th level of Hell either.

The actual gameplay in Ninjatown is pretty similar to other Tower Defense titles like the popular Pixeljunk Monsters. You're given a certain amount of points to use that goes towards the construction of various Ninjatown huts that each contains two Ninja of a certain type. These huts can be placed in pre-determined spots spread out on each map, signified by a square marker typically along the roads or paths that the enemies will take when marching thru the town. The Ninja in each hut all have particular strengths or weaknesses, like the basic black Ninja that you get which are cheap but efficient melee fighters who completely lack any airborne attack or solid defense, while the business themed Ninja are designed to slowdown the quicker devils but are less useful when it comes to basic combat. As you advance thru the game you'll progressively unlock more and more variations, usually around the same time that a new devil type is introduced.

Along with the variations, you can level up the huts to make your preexisting Ninja stronger, or if you're finding a placement to be less efficient in it's current location, you can choose to wipe out a hut and gain a bit of your points back, but not quite as much as you originally spent. Also, there are other structures that you can unlock that provide bonuses to your huts, typically when placed adjacent to their structures, such as providing a larger range of effect for your little fighters, or a few other attack bonuses. All of this adds up to giving you a lot of freedom in how you want to defend each map, and by the end of the game you'll realize you have quite a few different options at your disposal.

Topping off the list of things you can do in game, your character of the Ol' Master Ninja has a few skills that can come into play with limited use, that basically act like small power-ups. There's a three-tiered meter on the top left that signifies his walking stick, and depending on the level you can pull of certain skills, like a magnifying glass that'll fry enemies when you hit them with a beam of light. There are also tokens that you can gain at the end of each map that you can put into play provided you have one in stock that will also create certain obstacles or hazards for devils that advance along the map.

On the flip side of things, the enemy devils have quite a few variations on themselves. There are the basic ones that are the equivalent of the standard black Ninja, but then there are fliers, roller skating speedsters, zombies, and quite a few more. Usually there's a particular type of Ninja that's designed to take down a corresponding devil, but you'll really need to focus on creating the right mix that will work for any given combo that's thrown at you. The devils will come thru the maps in waves, and you'll usually have a minute or so to try and plan your defense before they advance. Some maps will even have a boss encounter at the end, which will typically require all your Ninja in play to take it down before it reaches the end of the map.

If your defenses aren't quite up to snuff, the devils will advance thru the map and out the other side, which will then cost you a heart. You only have a limited number of hearts to waste, so if you let too many of the devils thru, then it's game over. Also, certain maps will have different requirements, like protecting a certain structure, which requires you to take out the devil waves before they manage to destroy a particular object, which provides a decent variation from the typical maps.

There are over 30 different maps to try out in Ninjatown, and a decent multiplayer mode to boot, so there's plenty of content here that'll appeal to strategy fans. Don't come into it expecting a challenge on the level of Pixeljunk Monsters though, and while there are a few later maps that will be a bit taxing on most players, the challenge is really relatively low. However, the core gameplay is pretty addictive, and you'll definitely have a hard time putting this one down. I can see the cutesy art style not quite being the thing for everyone, but I promise that if you can get past the exterior there's a really solid strategy title underneath it all. Well worth checking out, and I recommend picking it up when you get the chance.