Ninja Must Die

Despite a few extraneous elements, this generally fast-paced game should be able to hold kids' interest and won't immediately try to sell them things. In Ninja Must Die, kids frantically flip around a path to avoid incoming wasps and other concerns. Their success will depend on how quickly they can react to threats that appear ahead of them -- which sometimes don't provide much warning -- by hitting the buttons that make them duck or jump. They can also run through coins floating in front of them to gather cash.

The game's graphics are great -- the dragon's wings flutter convincingly, and embers of fire glow like they're really burning. Kids can perish if they come into contact with too many items in front of them, but they'll be dropped back in the scene close to where they left off without much penalty. Maneuvering the game controls can be a bit tricky at first -- things start to move fast fairly soon in the game, and it's easy to, for example, not tap the screen quickly enough to move from running in a straight line up onto a slightly elevated area, ending the round. The automated sequences that play after the action's done in game segments aren't always too compelling -- watching the character soar through the air, for instance, doesn't add too much visually; it just slows down the gameplay. Kids can skip some items, though, by hitting a button. There can be a fair amount of violence, depending on how well you play. If you slam into a bat or bird, you'll be injured -- and there's no shortage of challenges to avoid. The gore that's shown is pretty tame, though. There's a little blood, but the character is moving so fast kids may not even notice it. Overall, the game may not be the most in-depth or unbelievably engrossing experience -- kids are pretty much just trying to keep moving forward. But the speed they move at and constant stream of roadblocks in their way tend to make each Ninja Must Die run pretty fun.