games  anime  |  toys
Destructoid is gaming news, community, videos, and sometimes love. Take the tour or jump in with Facebook:

 



Hello my fellow Ninjas and non-Ninjas! I am Ninjtendo and it has been far to long since I have made a front page appearance. I've been around in the shadows though killing off Destructoid's enemies and keeping a watchful eye on the staff. With that said, it is my unfortunate duty to inform you all that Hamza is MIA.

I was following him earlier today as he went to San Francisco. He was invited out by Gamecock to try out the new Pirates vs Ninjas Dodgeball game coming out for XBLA early next year when he disappeared on me. I'm not exactly sure how it happened but I know for a fact that Hamza would have wanted me, Ninjtendo, to take over his quest to play PvND

And play it I did. I played as the Ninjas and destroyed my life long enemy, the Pirates over and over again. Read about my experience with Pirates vs Ninja after the jump.  

I should first mention that you won't be just playing as Ninjas and Pirates in this crazy dodgeball tournament. Zombies and Robots are also going to be a part of the rooster of as well new classes that will join down the line (DLC).

Each class will perform differently. I only got to play as the Pirates (VERY BREIFLY) and the Ninjas. The Pirates can throw harder than the Ninjas, but are much slower than the Ninjas and have less stamina. The Ninjas are the exact opposite in that their throwing power is weaker, but they're much faster and have more stamina.

Every class will also have special attacks they can use during the battle. For instance, the Pirate Captain can make the ground explode around him, the female Pirate can blow a kiss that will force the opponents to switch sides temporally and another Pirate can summon a parrot to attack opponents. For the Ninjas, one of the Ninjas can throw out some Shurikens and another Ninja can become invisible for a short period. For the Zombies, one of them can bury under ground and shoot out of the ground and another Zombie can summon its cute and un-dead pet dog.As interesting as these special attacks are, they don't hurt anyone at all. They're used to only stun and distract your opponents. The only way to hurt anyone in the game is by using the dodgeball. All of the characters have melee attacks (swords, bones, etc) that are used to stun or deflect the dodgeball. You can also dodge attacks God of War style by using the right analog stick to do flips.

There are three types of attacks that a player can do with the dodgeball. There's the regular throw where you're just simply throwing the ball. Then there's the homing shot where the ball will lock onto a target and hit him no matter what. With both of these attacks though, the ball can either be deflected by the melee attack or caught by the opponent. You can actually go into a counter battle that can last until someone screws up or catches the ball. It's always a good idea to catch the ball though as you will regain health everytime the ball is caught.

The final throw style is the power shot that no one can escape. You can't catch or deflect the power shot but can still dodge it as it's not a homing shot. Basically, imagine the ball as a combination between when a character is "On fire" (NBA Jam style) and a Hadouken. Yeah, it's that powerful.  

The gameplay is very straightforward. There's one ball on the field that you have to get or force out of your opponents hands and hit the other team with it until the other teams life meter is drained. You can play by yourself with up to three computer controlled partners that you can switch between Madden style. Or you can play with three of your friends either on Live or on one Xbox (Halo style).  

There are only four maps to play on when the game comes out next month with more coming as DLC later on. I played on all of the maps and they all pretty much felt the same. Aside from the different backgrounds and locations, there was nothing different at all about them. It's fun running around smacking people in the face with a dodgeball, but it feels like it will get really stale after awhile because of the bland levels. Something that would help immensely would be taking a page out of Bomberman or even Gamecocks other party game, Hail to the Chimp, where the levels have all sorts of things going on to hurt or distract players to spice up the battles. 

Pirates vs Ninja should be out late next month for 800 points on XBLA. The game is going to be up to eight players and there will also be a story mode to help explain why all these groups are fighting each other. Speaking of which, I went ahead and asked why a Samurai was helping the Ninjas because of all the comments from CTZ's previous PvN post. The Cyber Ninja helped the Samurai out somehow so the Samurai is is indebted to the Cyber Ninja and wanted to help the Ninjas out. There. Now shut up about it.  

After I left the Gamecock office's where I promptly killed everyone in the entire building (Gamecock employee or not), I went to a Starbucks as I was very thirsty. I flirted with a beautiful waitress and we ended up sharing our life stories with each other. Of course, I had to kill her ... and everyone in the store that could have heard everything I had just revealed. One day I will find love damn it! I think all the killing made me forget to do something important though ... ah well.  

[Editor's note: Destructoid's servers are on Eastern time and I'm on Pacific time so it's so totally still Day of the Ninja. -- Ninjtendo]


LAUNCH GALLERY (10 IMAGES)
Photo Photo Photo Photo Photo Photo Photo Photo Photo Photo
 

Continue: More Ninjas stories





prev next

19 comments | showing # 1 to 19

Xbudz's Avatar
Xbudz at 12/06/2007 00:20
Let me know when this game becomes an Arcade Hit title. haha
Macca's Avatar
Macca at 12/06/2007 00:22
They should totally make Mr Destructoid a playable character.
topgeargorilla's Avatar
topgeargorilla at 12/06/2007 00:24
those pirate wenches are super cool and cute

but I want there to be a gladiator class, but nobody except me likes gladiators.


:(
The-Excel's Avatar
The-Excel at 12/06/2007 00:40
What's with the dog and why doesn't it have a red scarf?
Husky Hog's Avatar
Husky Hog at 12/06/2007 00:43
I agree with Macca, that would own, but not exactly fit into the theme :P
Macca's Avatar
Macca at 12/06/2007 00:47
@Husky: Ninjtendo says there's a Robots team :D If we disagree with him he might kill our families :O
wardrox's Avatar
wardrox at 12/06/2007 00:59
YAAARRRR!
freeman1's Avatar
freeman1 at 12/06/2007 01:43
I predicted Robots, and I was right. That makes me awesome. I say that the last team will be Cavemen.
bleep's Avatar
bleep at 12/06/2007 02:12
this looks..pretty cool...
oh, and well done on all that killing,
eliminate any witnesses,
it really works out in the end
brainpower4's Avatar
brainpower4 at 12/06/2007 02:37
I'm with you topgeargorilla. gladiators are awsome
Fading Star's Avatar
Fading Star at 12/06/2007 02:54
Happy Ninja Day! Dodgeball!
Aurain's Avatar
Aurain at 12/06/2007 03:01
Samurai > Ninjas. Ninjas are cowards, Samurai are noble warriors
Necros's Avatar
Necros at 12/06/2007 05:18
I wanted a real pirates vs. ninjas game, but I realized why they didn't do it. Ninjas would win every match in about five seconds, hands down.
Holyetheline's Avatar
Holyetheline at 12/06/2007 10:27
This game looks like it is far superior to games such as Resident Evil 4 and Bioshock.
flaming burrito's Avatar
flaming burrito at 12/06/2007 10:39
looks pretty fun

heh "the isle of staten"
king3vbo's Avatar
king3vbo at 12/06/2007 10:48
I'll play it
yourmomX2's Avatar
yourmomX2 at 12/06/2007 16:30
ninjas own. no doubt.
The-Excel's Avatar
The-Excel at 12/06/2007 17:09
You're mad. Vikings own. Ninjas rent.
Sindicate's Avatar
Sindicate at 12/06/2007 23:23
Last time there was a pirates vs. ninjas post..i put a gross ass picture.

this time..i won't.

and apologies again..lol.

but i am stoked for this game.
prev next

Comment with Facebook





Click connect and comment instantly!

Comment with Dtoid





New? SIGN UP - it takes 5 seconds

Comments policy

Destructoid is an open discussion community. You don't need to "audition" to post a comment - just speak your mind. We respect differing opinions on the site, so have at it. Be smart, funny, insightful, clueless, or cute -- but back it up with substance. Keep your cool, keep it fun. We only ask that you act respectfully and above all: don't be a troll and ruin it for everyone else. Don't bring down gamers or we'll, you know, gently shoot you in the face and stuff you into a flaming mailbox. Each comment is your opportuntity to make this community awesomer. Is that even a word?

Avoiding the banhammer only requires common sense: spamming, trolling, racism, NSFW stuff, and other forms of sucking will not be tolerated. If anyone is griefing please report abuse. Be good. Don't suck!

 
New on Destructoid.TV play all videos

Loading
Loading Destructoid Videos




    Win this!
    Reminder: We're giving away six copies of Magnacarta 2!



    Dtoid Twitter    Got news?   tips@destructoid.com

    Reviews & Previews
    Mahjongg Artifacts 2 review
    Dragon Age: Origins review
    Lost Winds: The Winter of the Melodias review
    Osmos review
    Space Invaders Extreme 2 review
    Half-Minute Hero review
    JU-ON: The Grudge review
    Kenka Bancho: Badass Rumble review
    Thexder Neo review
    Domino Rally review
    more reviews
    PS3's 256-player MAG
    Rooms The Main Building
    Skate 3
    Hudson's bringing back the Bonk
    James Cameron's Avatar
    Bomberman Battlefest
    Calling
    Bad Company 2's multiplayer
    Partying like it's 1959 in BioShock 2's multiplayer
    BioShock 2 through the eyes of Big Daddy
    more previews


    - The Dtoid Army is 49556 strong -

    Showing Cblogs with 3+ faps   show all

    Call for entries: do the wrong thing

    New to Dtoid? Read the survival guide




     Originals
    Jim Sterling: How to respond to a videogame review





















    More Destructoid Originals




     Popular now more
























    Destructoid's editorial lovefest is:
    Nick Chester
    Editor-in-Chief
    Jim Sterling
    Reviews Editor
    Dale North
    News Editor
    Hamza Aziz
    Community Manager
    Anthony Burch
    Features Editor
    Rey Gutierrez
    Video editor & director
    Niero
    Founder, publisher
    Letters to the editors
    tips@destructoid.com
    Associate Editors
    Ashley Davis Jonathan Holmes
    Brad Nicholson Jonathan Ross
    Brad Rice Jordan Devore
    Chad Concelmo Matthew Razak
    Colette Bennett Tom Fronczak
    Conrad Zimmerman Topher Cantler
    Dyson Samit Sarkar
    Contributors
    Adam Dork
    Ben Perlee
    Daniel Lingen
    Joseph Leray
    Joe Burling
    Mikey
    Will Maddock
    Stella Wong





     

     
      get involved

    register or login
    post a blog
    post a forum
    enter a contest
    contribute a news tip
    suggest a feature
    be a guest editor
    support

    new member's guide
    login assistance
    tech support
    report abuse
    email our editors
    read our dev blog
    nuclear crisis?
    keep in touch

    RSS feed
    Twitter
    Facebook
    Myspace
    Flickr
    Game nights
    Meetup+play online
    seriously

    about Destructoid
    advertising
    terms of use
    privacy policy
    jobs at MM
    buy our crap
    our network

    Tomopop
    Japanator
    Despingation?




    Destructoid is an independently-run publication forged by our love of video games and the gaming community's need of accountable enthusiast press
    living the dream since March 16, 2006