Ninjago is without a doubt, one of my favourite things on TV. It’s not that it has this amazing storyline or some spectacular groundbreaking innovations, but it is a really fun throwback to the classic cartoons of the 90s. So, when I had heard that they were creating another game out of this property, I was superbly ecstatic. However, when I found out that it was again a handheld game, I started to have my reservations. Still, LEGO games always prove to be a good time and this was one experience I couldn’t afford to miss. The platform I played this on was a PS VITA, so I was really hoping for an experience that properly made use of the PS VITA hardware, but unfortunately that is not the case at all. In fact, it isn’t much of a good game at all. Lets start with the main things that are a draw for LEGO games. Firstly, the level design. The level design in most LEGO games is top notch and cleverly thought out, as not only is it fun to traverse through the levels the first time, but they have this semi-openness to them that implores you to replay the levels. There are multiple collectibles lying around as well. Unfortunately, that is not the case at all with Nindroids, where the levels are so linear that you have to pretty much get from point A to B. Even the collectibles have no challenge to them whatsoever, and can be easily acquired by breaking everything in your sight. Secondly, LEGO games are known for their puzzles, which require you to constantly but cleverly switch between characters to get out of a sticky situation. Although character swapping is available in this, it feels extremely limited. It never feels exciting switching characters, like it should in a LEGO game. The puzzles on the other hand are also very lacklustre, where pretty much every solution is being thrown at your face. Lastly, the combat. The combat in LEGO games is very simple, where most of the time you just have to mash one button facing a specific enemy, but combined with the usually cute animations and the response time, is it “oh-so-fun”. In this game, the combat is varied for the different characters according to their weapons, which also help you traverse certain parts of the environment. Unfortunately, the combat itself never feels responsive or engaging, and I found myself dully ramming the attack button. There are also specials you can do, which actually feel awesome, bringing in the iconic hurricane attack from the show. Another thing I liked were the cutscenes, whose writing and dialogue were akin to the show’s amusing tone. They were definitely well animated. Even the in-game dialogue is pretty funny most of the times. To add variety to the gameplay, the game itself includes several vehicle combat levels, where you either take control of a vehicle, or play through on-rails section. The on-rails sections are nothing special, but aren’t broken and are definitely fun. One particular vehicle I was really looking forward to control were the mechs, as they are one of the staples of Ninjago. Unfortunately, I left unhappy as the level you get to control this giant robot, just felt like a slower version of the main game. There was no sense of Awe as the warriors would have felt in the TV show, controlling a mighty towering knuckle pounding machine. As I mentioned in the beginning, the game doesn’t make good use of PS VITA’s capabilities and from what I have seen so far is a direct port of the 3DS version. I wish they would have added specific mini games or graphical features that made use of the PS VITA’s touchscreen and the 3-axis Gyroscope (which the 3DS also has, but less accurate). However, they don’t make much use of them, due to the missed opportunities as there are not many interesting mini games available. So for most of the time, touchscreen will be used during the menu UI, lazily like other games. The back of the box lists Dual Analogue Sticks as a selling point, which I don’t see why. I don’t remember making proper or active use of the second analogue stick during most of the gameplay. Overall, even though I was lucky enough to get an evaluation copy thanks to the awesome publisher, the game itself is absolutely not worth the £29 asking price from popular retailers at the moment as there isn’t much inside the game to justify it. It feels like another rushed game without any carefully thought out mechanics, cashing in on the LEGO game brand. Not once did I feel like any of the characters from the great TV show, nor did the game have the allure of a LEGO game.

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