The survival genre has provided iPhone gamers with great fun over the past few years. Whether we're talking about early releases like Doodle Jump or Canabalt or recent successes like Superfall and Above, traversing great distances until you just can't go any further has become a staple experience on the iPhone. But while all of these games are precious, they're also incredibly simple. Success is dependent less on skill and more on luck. Come across the wrong obstacle or miss the right platform and its game over. But what if the survival genre could be something more? What if it could be built on challenging gameplay instead of luck and repetition?
In 2008 Venan Entertainment and designer toy studio Shawnimals joined forces to create the critically-acclaimed tower defense game Ninjatown for the Nintendo DS. Now the pair are joining forces once again to revisit their popular town full of ninjas. Much to our surprise, however, Ninjatown: Trees of Doom ditches the successful tower defense formula of its predecessor and opts instead for an arcade-style survival experience.