The fourth feature film in the series, simply titled TMNT is out now, and as you would expect, there is a video game adaptation. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games have typically been produced by Japanese developer Konami, but French publishing giant Ubisoft nabbed the rights to the movie adaptation, and handed development duties to their talented Montreal studio (Splinter Cell, Prince of Persia) – and the results are quite interesting.
With the defeat of Shredder at the end of the first film, the Turtles have gone their separate ways. Leonardo has retreated to a South American jungle to develop a better understanding of leadership. Michelangelo is running his own pizza delivery company, Cowabunga Carls’, and appearing at children's parties. Raphael, growing ever concerned about the level of crime in New York City, has taken on the alter-ego Nightwatcher, a gang-busting vigilante. Finally, tech-headed Donatello has taken up a job in tech support. Evil, however, does not take a break. Multi-millionaire Max Winters has been acting suspiciously, and is believed to be in league with the Foot Clan, which is under the leadership of Karai, after the defeat of Shredder.
Not good for the hips.
The game version of TMNT spends most of its time dealing with the segregated relationship between the brothers, dedicating less than half of its 16 levels to the film’s overriding plot. It is a logical fit, with camaraderie between the brothers being an important mechanic of the game’s fighting system. Many of the levels in the game deal with the brothers’ relationship, and hearing the team constantly bicker, tease and compliment each other through the game really shows the developer’s commitment to making the game feel like part of the TMNT universe.
TMNT runs on a modified version of the engine previously used in Ubisoft’s Prince of Persia revival trilogy. The heavy emphasis on acrobatics in those games has been retained in TMNT, but sped up considerably. As a result, TMNT has gives the player a feeling that they are actually controlling trained ninjas, unlike previous Ninja Turtle games where the crew felt slow and cumbersome. The Turtles don’t feel as weighty as the Prince, but running through the levels, executing all sorts of acrobatic moves at a breakneck pace gives the player a feeling of accomplishment. Much of the game is spent negotiating one’s way through rooftops and sewers – there’s a real old school platformer element at play here. This can be a bit of a problem when dealing with the game’s fixed camera, which often can confuse players as to where they need to go next, resulting in a few unnecessary deaths.
Stop. Hammer time!
Combat takes a backseat in TMNT, with a limited number of fight scenes in each level. The mechanics are quite simple, with one weapon attack button, a kick button and a special team attack. Rapidly mashing the attack button will result in a combo, while charging it will allow the selected turtle to do a ninja-style rush attack on up to five opponents. Each Turtle has a unique special team attack, though Michelangelo’s whirlwind attack is by far the most lethal when fighting gang members and Foot soldiers. There does not appear to be too much difference between the Turtles in terms of fighting prowess – though Raphael does seem to be the strongest of the bunch. Some fans may be surprised by the fact that TMNT is a single player affair, given the series’ colourful history of multiplayer games, but the design decisions made by the developer would not really allow for an effective multiplayer game.
TMNT’s major downfall is its degree of challenge – or lack thereof. The game has 16 levels, which last about a maximum of 15 minutes a piece. Fighting enemies is almost effortless, and platforming is often straightforward. It’s pretty clear that the game was designed with a younger audience in mind, but the sheer lack of difficulty is almost insulting to the gaming abilities of children. We finished the game with all 1,000 achievement points in exactly 4 hours – and we spent 40 minutes on the final boss, and 20 minutes attempting to get the final achievement (getting through a level without being hit). The game does rank players on their performance at the end of each level, but we received a rank of A or A+ on every level, which does not inspire one to redo each level for a higher ranking. Extras are quite lacking, with a few extra challenge mode levels, and some unlockable artwork and movie footage. Much of the game’s bonus footage suffers from an irritating jerkiness, almost killing one’s desire to unlock everything.
Moments later, Mikey's face was smeared across the pavement.
It seems like the sixth generation formats were the focus for the development of TMNT, with the Xbox 360 version being something of an afterthought. Though there are some nice shadow effects, the game’s character models are very polygon deprived and the animation is of a previous generation standard. The environments aren’t particularly varied – many levels are set in either a cave or a sewer, and will fail to impress, with low quality textures and very few special effects. But even more offensive is the fact that the game fails to hold a steady framerate, constantly jumping between 20 and 60 frames per second throughout the experience. Voice acting is pretty good, giving life to the brothers’ antics throughout the game, while the game’s soundtrack is serviceable, but ultimately forgettable.
TMNT has elements of a good game within, but the sheer lack of challenge, effortless fighting system and poor graphical presentation take off much of the shine offered by the fast-paced platforming. With only 4 hours of content, TMNT is most certainly not a purchase, though a rental could be recommended for serious TMNT fans, or folks looking for easy achievement points.
hahaha, get it right. It is pretty crap though that they don't have multiplayer. I mean, it's TMNT and aimed at kids and kids usually like to play with their friends and stuff, it's pretty lazy of them not to put it in.
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