I've always considered Namco to be a conservative company. Not known for taking many chances, they've seemed content building solid franchises and prospering off their sequels. Therefore, I-Ninja is a very intriguing game, not only because it doesn't have Tekken, Soul Calibur or Time Crisis in its title but also because it's not being developed in house but by Argonaut Games. Regardless of who's making it Namco may have a winner on its hands. Ninja's sell videogames (I wish literally) and I-Ninja may be the dart blowing shuriken throwing action hero you've been craving.

The story behind this action adventure is pretty standard. As Ninja, you've been sent on a quest by your sensei (who's name is Sensei) to recover the lost Rage Stones, ancient relics who corrupt all who touch them and to also stop the evil O-Dor and his army of robotic Ranx from invading The World (where have you heard The World before in a videogame)? You'll island hop to four various locales and a moon base while combating enemies using ninja abilities and weapons such as running along walls, blowing darts, throwing lethal shurikens, hovering using the sword copter and performing special manga-style ninja moves. Different weapons and abilities can be obtained by completing levels, where Ninja is awarded different colored belts. Of course, if you'd rather keep your sword clean you can cause some collateral damage with the special ninja rocket launcher.

I-Ninja looks like it's going to be a fun little game that should carry the polish most Namco games are famous for. The graphics aren't the best I've seen but because it's being released on all platforms the lowest common denominator has to be considered. However, they're very pretty and colorful, cartoon-like in appearance and they shouldn't disappoint. The game appears to be a mix of action and platform elements and I'm looking forward to it. If anything, Namco has another edition in its character stable because Ninja's very cute looking, but not in a wimpy way, more of a bad-ass-cute-I-need-a-plush-toy-or-a-tiny-figure-to-hang-off-a-car-mirror kind of cute. Argonaut's done a great job giving I-Ninja its own personality and this will be key if Namco expects it to survive against competition from Ninja Gaiden and Tenchu this holiday season, although both games are releasing for the Xbox so it'll be a less brutal fight on the PS2 and GameCube. I'm also happy it's rated Teen because younger gamers will be able to get their ninja fix without being subjected to blood and gore.

Bring on the Ninjas! I-Ninja looks like it's going to be a great game and I'm keeping an eye on it and I'd advise you to do the same, because as I'm sure you're well aware it's easy to lose track of what's coming out during the holidays. Good luck Namco and Argonaut! Now where's my Ninja plush?