Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Growing up in the eighties, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles hold a very place in my heart.  I can fondly recall cereal bowls bearing their likenesses, movies featuring white rappers with absolutely no street cred, and playground arguments over who got to play Leonardo (I was always Donatello).  I also recall fondly a few games that came out based on the franchise, side scrolling beat ‘em up titles (Turtles in Time for the Super Nintendo was by far the best).  Now, it seems that the heroes in a half shell are experiencing a bit of a resurgence in popularity with a brand new TV show, a movie in the works, and a new game based on the new show.  However, while the game does a fine job of capturing the feel of the show, it falls prey to repetitive and simplistic gameplay.

The game’s plot covers a bunch of various aspects from the new Saturday morning cartoon.  You choose from one of the four Turtles (Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo or Donatello) as you fight your way against a variety of campaigns against many of the villains from the show, like Baxter Stockman, the Nano Monster and the evil Shredder himself.

If you’ve played any previous Ninja Turtle game, (save for the very first one on the NES) then you probably know what to expect here.  The levels are divided up into about five stages each, and each one stands alone as an episode.  The gameplay is executed with a very old school feel, in that it’s essentially a beat ‘em up from the old days.  You scroll along fighting off hordes of enemies and progressing through the level when they all are defeated, not to mention the occasional boss battle.  After completing certain stages, you can earn new abilities, like jump kicks, to aid you in your quest.

The gameplay feels pretty fun at first.  You fight off enemies using your Ninja abilities, which are executed with a lot of flair and style from the show.  However, after a while, the gameplay gets really really repetitive, and each enemy begins to look exactly the same as the last.  The game is also quite simplistic feeling.  The combos are nothing too spectacular; you basically pound on the same key in succession to perform a simple little combo.

The game does make some great aesthetic use of its license.  The cel-shaded graphics are done very well, as the characters look every bit as good as their TV counterparts.  The animations are fluid and look great, and the environments, while not terribly filled with detail, are still nothing to scoff at.  The only real glaring problem in the graphics department is the fact that you can only choose from three resolutions (640x480, 800x600, 1024x768).

The sound effects are pretty good for the most part.  The character voices are well acted by the TV show’s voice cast and the music sounds very good, adding a nice sense of atmosphere to the game.  The character voices, although well acted, can get very repetitive after a while.  Hearing Michelangelo say “Cowabunga” for the 50^th time will have you turning off your speakers.

I went into Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with some lofty expectations, being an old school fan of the franchise.  However, while I did appreciate the sense of style and retention of atmosphere from the show and the characters, the gameplay was a little too redundant and simplistic to hold my attention for too long.  If you are a hardcore turtle fan, then perhaps you should at least check it out, but everyone else can sit this one out.

Gameplay: 6.0
Straight forward, run-of-the-mill beat ‘em up.  Overall very simplistic, and kind of boring after a while.

Graphics: 8.5
The cel-shaded graphics do a fine job of recreating the visual style of the TV show on which it’s based.  The animations are fluid and the backgrounds, while not very detailed, still look quite good.  The only drawback was there were only three available resolutions.

Sound: 7.5
The music is very good and sets the atmosphere for the game nicely, but the voice effects, while well acted, can get extremely grating after a while.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium

Concept: 7.0
Reviving the Ninja Turtles is a good idea, and the game does a great job of recreating the atmosphere of the show.  If only the action were up to snuff.

Multiplayer: 7.5
The two-player co-op mode is a great touch, giving the game that extra old-school feel.  There is also a versus mode that allows two-players to duke it out.

Overall: 6.5
The presentation is great and looks a lot like the show, but the repetitive gameplay leaves a lot to be desired.