NinJump Review

Backflip Studios’ move to ad-supported free games is looking like a better and better idea with every new game. NinJump, which plays like an on-rails version of Ninjatown: Trees of Doom, proves that they're bringing the same quality to their free titles as they did with their premium content.

Like Ninjatown, you climb back and forth across parallel walls. The big difference is that NinJump has been simplified for casual sessions. This ninja runs up the walls on his own, and all you need to do is tap the screen for him to leap between walls.

The goal is to avoid obstacles while scaling the walls. Making timely jumps, collecting shields, and slashing birds, squirrels, and shuriken while airborne can help you avoid falling. In fact, slashing three of the same obstacles in succession will result in you instantly gaining about 200 feet.

For high-scorers, OpenFeint has been included. It does cause a slight bit of lag at the start of the first round when you open the app, but this quickly goes away and may simply be due to a poor connection on our devices.

NinJump is free, so we have no problem with the game having ads. In fact, we generally support this model. However, ad placement in NinJump is pretty intrusive. An ad banner takes up the top part of the screen while you play, resulting in a smaller view of the gameplay area. Since you're constantly watching to see what's up ahead, the ads can end up being a detriment until you remove them for $0.99.

Intrusive ads aside, there's no reason not to give NinJump a go. It’s easy to play, addictive, and best of all, free.