Gaming Target - Xbox: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Written by Leigh Culpin on October 17, 2003

First Impressions: Turtles in a half shell!!

I haven't really been around long enough to find too many games that give me that oh-so wonderful sense of hardcore nostalgia, so it's understandable that when I do find such a game, I get pretty excited about it. Hence I'm pretty excited about the latest Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game, set to come out this month.

For the unaware Ц TMNT is an age-old concept of 4 ordinary turtles who were mutated by this amazing slime (dubbed the УOozeФ) into super-hero like beings who, mentored by a mutant rat named Splinter, fought for the causes of justice and good, etc etc. Each one was trained with a specific weapon and named after a famous artist Ц Leonardo carries two swords and is the leader of the group with a blue headband, Donatello's the mechanic type guy who wields a Bo Staff and a purple headband, Michelangelo carries two Nun Chucks, an orange headband and is the goof-off of the group, and Raphael's the local hot-head who's armed with two Sais, and is symbolically enough dubbed the red headband.

Now I was always a fan of the original TMNT TV series, and when the movies hit I was the first to buy СemЕ and I also managed to wade my way through the vast majority of the games as they came out Ц The first related release was simply entitled УTeenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesФ on the NES way back in '89. I didn't play it when it first came out since I would've then been 4, but I did eventually pick it up. The release of the following year, УTMNT 2 Ц The Arcade GameФ presented an even more fun-filled adventure for the quad of green heroes.

My turtles experience has continued on with УThe Manhattan ProjectФ (released in '91 for NES), УThe Hyperstone HeistФ (one of my all-time favourites, released in '91 for the Sega Genesis), УTurtles in TimeФ (same year for the SNES) and УTournament FightersФ (released in '93 for the Genesis), along with the various arcade incarnations of the series. I had all the toys, most of the comics, and you could pretty much say I was a hard-core TMNT geek for at least a few of my younger years. Then the fad kinda died down Ц the series stopped, they decided against making more movies, and the УTurtles in a half shellФ kinda went back into the sewers for a while. Publishers for the comics came and went Ц Archie Comics and Image both picked up and then dropped the series. Now, well known publisher Mirage Studios has decided to revive my childhood memories with a new comic book series, new cartoon show (the original lasted from '87 to '96, followed by a rather embarrassing reincarnation which was very short-lived) with an updated look, and best of all, a new game.

The latest TMNT game (once again entitled УTeenage Mutant Ninja TurtlesФ as was the first ever game release) is going to be released on all three next-gen systems and presents the user with a very basic yet proven formula, one which all the other games followed (with the exception of УTournament FightersФ) Ц you constantly defend yourself against attack from innumerable enemies, be it non-descript street thugs, robotic mice or major characters from the TMNT universe. That's it, and as simple as it is, it works.

This time around you can only have two players going co-operatively at once (a shame considering how amazingly fun the 4-player arcade game was) but you still get your pick from any of the four turtles, and you'll even have some more advanced options this time around, with not simply an attack and jump button but a light attack, heavy attack, throwing attack and other various moves you can collect as you progress through the game. Pickups will be similar as in the other adventures, such as pizzas for health as well as other varied powerups.

Graphically TMNT is a treat Ц cel-shaded, a feature which may initially disappoint hardcore TMNT fans, yet it's been pulled off in a way that makes it look like the original comic books have come to life. Add in an XIII-esque approach to sounds (УThud,Ф УBangФ and the like will appear when you execute certain aspects) and you've got yourself a true comic-like experience. Naturally the game will have all your favorite corny one-liners which are oh-so-funny when you're say, 5 years old, and still ring true today, and various characters from the broad expanses of the TMNT universe will make appearances as both friend and foe.