Everyone loves ninjas. Don’t love ninjas? Well, I’m sorry to say it, but a ninja has already killed you for thinking negative thoughts about it and you don’t even know it yet. Luckily, those of us who do love ninjas are not only rewarded with the sweet joy of not having our head severed from our spine, but also with the latest must-buy DS title: Ninjatown.

If Ninjatown looks familiar, that’s because it’s created with the same art style as the popular toy line created by former gaming journalist Shawn Smith, Shawnimals. Much like Shawn Smith himself, though, don’t let the cuddly, friendly exterior presentation of Ninjatown deceive you, because inside lies a pure cold-blooded killing machine which won’t hesitate to end you for the simplest mistake.

Alright, it’s not quite that dramatic. In fact, if you’ve played any tower defense game in the last two years, chances are you’ll be right at home playing Ninjatown. The game is a straight up DS variation of the new genre – only with ninjas.

As you could probably ascertain, the purpose of the game is to keep monsters from getting from Point A to Point B by building ninja huts (aka towers) along their path in order to impede their forward progress. Starting out, you’ll have only the most basic of ninja troops: the Wee Ninja. These ninjas are the lowest form of ninja in Ninjatown, and are your most basic line of defense. As you advance through the game, new ninjas become available for use, and new monsters show up in the fun-filled waves. Each ninja in Ninjatown has a specific role; the Anti-Ninja is the bruiser, Sniper Ninja takes down air forces, etc.

Unlike most tower defense games, all of the fighting action on the map is conducted between your ninjas (two per hut) and the monsters. Ninjas are brave, proud people; they won’t hide in towers flinging arrows and fireballs at enemies. Despite the appearance of the game and the fact that it’s on the DS, seemingly attempting to reach out to casual gamers, Ninjatown is by no means an easy game to beat. The later levels are as hard as anything you’ll find in similar titles, and often more so. You’ll need plenty of cookies later on to build your defenses to ward off the monsters.

That’s right, cookies.

In case you didn’t know, cookies are the main form of currency among ninjas, and replace the cliché and tacky gold-as-currency format so many games employ. In this game, though, cookies are so much more: they’re the MacGuffin of the entire game.