The perfect gateway game? - G&M reviews Mini Ninjas

Have a game-loving kid who's at that tricky age of being old enough to crave something more from their interactive entertainment than simple Spongebob and Dora adventures but is still years away from the mature pleasures of a game like Resident Evil 5?

Then you may want to investigate Io Interactive's Mini Ninjas. It's an action/adventure game about a group of heroes who wield weapons like katanas and shuriken and employ advanced stealth attacks and magical abilities. It also has a strong narrative about six unlikely heroes struggling against a despot who controls an unstoppable army of dark samurai.

It might sound like something suitable only for teens and up-and, indeed, it's meaty enough that older gamers will likely get almost as much out of it as younger players-but everything has been pleasantly kid-ified.