Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

"The Turtles are back, but are they better?"

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is the newest Turtles game in the series. It promised to be so much, but did it really deliver? Let's find out...

Graphics - The graphics in this game look alright. I don't mind cel-shading or ''toon'' shading so I didn't really have a problem with the looks. The turtles look like their supposed to at least. The colors are just fine too, so I didn't have a problem with the graphics. They weren't the best I've seen on the GameCube, but the weren't bad.

Overall: Average graphics that get a 7/10.

Sound - Alright, I never have a problem with sounds in game so I'll just say that they are fine. I don't see how one could really complain about sound effects but there is one thing that really bothered me with sound here. The one-liners. Ahh yes, those infamous one-liners that we just all love to hate. It gets really old hearing ''Shell sweep!'' every time you press the B button thirty-five times to attack.

Overall: Damn those one-liners, 6/10.

Music - Once again, I don't really pay attention to this stuff in video games. I do have to say though that the music is average, just average. No remarkable tunes, no bad tunes.

Overall: Average music, 6/10.

Game Play - Overall, the experience with the game is nothing great. This game feels so average that it gets very boring after about fifteen minutes of play. Levels usually go something like this: Start walking, fight a butt-load of guys until you see, ''Go, go, go'' and continue on to the next area mashing the A button. Repeat this process about six times in each level (there are six areas in each level) until you reach a boss. Fight the boss, watch the cut-scene, repeat. This game is very mind-numbing.

The camera is something I had no problems with. I can't remember one time where it bothered me.

The controls worked just fine for me. Controls are all usually preference and they can be changed any ways so I can't really criticize them. The defaults for this version seemed to be just fine though. I didn't like the fact that you were always moving so slow though.

Overall: Repetitive game play, fine cameras, decent controls which deserve a 7/10.

Story - Wow, this is the area that I hated the most. I'm assuming this story follows the newer TV series somewhat. I wouldn't know, I have yet to watch the new series, I was a huge fan of the old and I know this is almost nothing like it.

All that aside, the story in this game is very confusing. Once you start a new level, you see a cut scene that had nothing to do with anything you've done before. It gets very frustrating when you're fighting new enemies that you've never seen before and it doesn't really explain why. Who knows, maybe some people enjoy this, but I sure don't.

Overall: What story...4/10

Replay Value - There is some, but will you actually want to go back through the game a second, third, or fourth time? I'll leave it at that.

Overall: Some replay value...4/10

Buy or Rent - I'd say this one is definitely a renter. I'm a huge fan of the older TMNT series and I still wouldn't buy this game.

Overall: Please, just rent this... -/10

So, as you can see, I feel that TMNT is nothing new or spectacular. It's definitely not a bad game, but it's not even worth the $40 price tag. Hope this helps.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 10/28/03