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»TMNT
"TONIGHT I DINE ON TURTLE SOUP!"
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series has had some of my favorite
beat-‘em-up games I’ve played – particularly, Turtles II and Turtles in
Time. Unfortunately, Konami hasn’t been able to do much with the
franchise, as seen with their recent 3D "attempts" and their less than
noteworthy 2D beat ‘em up games. However, thanks to Ubisoft, we finally
have a new good TMNT game, even if it has way too much Raphael. Does it
live up to Konami’s best? Read more to find out.
TMNT is based on the recently released-in-theaters TMNT movie of the
same title. As expected of a Game Boy Advance title, it’s 2D.
Unfortunately, I have no idea what the movie’s about, because I skipped
all plot scenes; I mean, who cares about the plot of TMNT anymore
except for children? And believe you me; this game is far too difficult
for children. The game is a traditional beat-‘em-up game, where the
player pretty much has to mash the buttons as fast as possible, trying
to create the biggest combo he or she can do while fending off a
variety of enemies, including Foot Ninjas, Thugs, Robots, Monsters, and
more. The game is pretty fun, although on occasion, the precision
required to hit an enemy gets in the way and I keep missing, although
that’s more my fault than the game’s.
TMNT is really a top-tier Game Boy Advance game and a great effort at
making both a new beat-‘em-up game and a new Turtles game – and
ironically, it seems that good games in those categories are a dying
breed! You can play as Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, and Donatello;
however, in two of the seven levels, the game forces you to play as
Raphael, which is either a good thing or a bad thing depending on your
preferences. Each turtle has their own unique weapon and own unique
stats, making them ideal in different situations. Raphael is more
strength and less speed/jumping ability than the other turtles, for
instance. Each turtle can use a variety of attacks, such as a roll, air
kick, uppercut, etc. Additionally, when the power meter is filled from
attacking enemies, the player can summon a second Turtle to help him or
her fight the enemies for a short period of time.
Ubisoft tried really hard to make this game good. Not only is the hit
collision almost spot-on, but it’s a very challenging game that can
support many enemies on-screen at any given time. It also does a good
job of not being too repetitive, unlike some beat-‘em-ups which think
it’s okay to recycle the same enemy over and over again. The levels are
not on a 2D plane, and allow the player to move all around the area.
While the game appears to use palette swaps for things like foot
soldiers, each foot soldier following the basic soldier has a unique
attack. Gotta give them props for adding both obtainable weapons such
as crates or swords dropped by enemies, as well as featuring
destroyable environments (albeit somewhat minor). At the end of each
level, the player gains experience depending on several factors.
The player can explore the town, which hosts a variety of locales
including the Sports Gear Shop, the Martial Arts Shop, a Chinese
Medicine shop, the sewer, the roof top, and an area that I think is
just for the sake of battling enemies. There is which he or she can
purchase weapons, items, and power ups from using coins dropped by
enemies in the levels. Certain items can be purchased which increase
your abilities, such as stamina, speed, and strength. The sewer is
where the Turtles and Splinter live, and where the player can access
both the levels and the trophy wall. The levels can be replayed as many
times as the player likes, and by pushing Select, the player can see
how good he or she did in any level. The trophy wall contains 12
different trophies, although in the beginning, none are present.
Trophies are acquired through completing a certain task; for instance,
destroying a certain number of objects will get the player Hun’s
Bazooka and a Bronze medal. 50 objects destroyed is required for
Bronze, while 100 objects gets the player silver, and 250 objects gets
the player Gold. On top of the roof, you’ll find one of three
characters – April O’Neil, Casey, and Splinter, who each have one
mini-game that you can play, each with a harder version.
The visuals are really nice. It has great animation and good detail in
both character designs and background designs. On top of that, I can’t
think of any time I experienced slowdown, even in the most intense
situations. The sound quality is good as well; each character and major
enemy has their own sound bytes for when they attack and receive
damage, which is some nice attention to detail. The music isn’t
anything special, although by that I mean to say that nothing really
grabbed me. Despite this, I’d say that the soundtrack is good overall.
The only problem with the presentation is that it’s not nearly as
charming as the older TMNT beat-‘em-up; it just feels way too dark.
TMNT has pretty good replay value. Not only can all levels be replayed
as many times as the player wishes, but there are also
“accomplishments” like mentioned above. In addition, there are three
modes, so that everyone can play – Easy mode, Normal mode, and Hard
mode. The combinations of these three features help make this game
replayable enough. However, if I had to do something to improve it, I’d
have tried to add many more accomplishments and levels – while the
levels are long, that’s the problem. There are many areas, and it takes
too many hits to defeat an enemy. If I were working on this game, I
would have made Easy mode harder, Normal mode easier, and made more
levels (but not quite as long).
Overall, on the scale of TMNT beat-‘em-ups, it definitely deserves to
stand along with the earlier Konami TMNT beat-‘em-ups. I don’t know
what happened to cause Konami to stop making good TMNT games, but they
at least deserve credit for establishing the series as a key player in
the beat-‘em-up genre. Now, Ubisoft, just abandon the 3D TMNTs and
return to the golden age of the series. Please? 3D just does not work.
Article by: Alttp
Posted on: Apr. 18th, 2007 |
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Review Recap |
| Gameplay |
| A great attempt by Ubisoft, and I really hope they don’t ignore this game’s quality by focusing on 3D installments. |
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Graphics |
| Really, really good visuals – great animation, great detail, but not nearly as much charm as the TMNT greats like Turtles in Time. |
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Sound |
| Nothing too memorable, but good anyway. |
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Replay Value |
| Long levels, several things to unlock, and three difficulty modes, but I wish the levels were shorter. |
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