Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

"Cowabunga!"

The turtles we all know and love are finally coming back to games as an arcade hack in slash game. This time we're in 3D however. Is it still as fun as the old TMNT games? YES! Now, on with the review!

Gameplay- 7/10
The gameplay in this game is simple. Anything that moves other then another TMNT member is EVIL! KILL IT! So you run around with three fairly simple regular moves: A short ranged attack for single enemies, an attack for enemies all around, and an attack done by the R2 button that swipes the opponent off the ground if they are on the ground. Then there's also the jump attack, and (if you have any) you can also throw shurikens (aka Ninja throwing stars). There are three types of these stars: Regular, electric, and explosive. Even with this, the game is still basically fighting the same enemies a lot. But wait, aren't these basically all the enemies in the TMNT universe? Yes! So it's still fun. It's just that sometimes enemies can gang up on you and they will attack a such a precisely right time that right when you get up, they take you back down. Also, there aren't really too many attacks. Oh well, the gameplay is smooth and easy.

Graphics- 10/10
Wow. First off, there are segments from the actual T.V. show! Woohoo! The game is a cell shaded world. It's effective though. Come on, it's a comic book characters were using here. There are also these ''BLAM!'' and ''CRASH!'' that appear when you hit an enemy. Oh I love it. The environments are smooth. During one level the grass sways beautifully in the wind. The headbands of the turtles also move in the wind. It's just all good.

Sound- 9/10
Voices in this game are all perfect for the characters. Part of the voices, however, take this score down. Whichever turtle you use, they all make comments when they hurt an enemy. Donatello's ''Dumb goon, corner pocket'' is funny the first few times but becomes repetitive after a while. There should be a wide variety of voices. The music also makes this score down to a nine. It's all basically good, but the stage select music makes me feel like I'm playing Sly Cooper (A game about being super sneaky). I dunno, just kinda didn't fit in my opinion. Overall though, everything is done very well with music in this game

Story- 10/10
This is a short category. The story follows plots from the actually T.V. show. Easy enough, it works.

Replayability- 10/10
Play all of the turtles, see what they do. There are also some extra unlockable characters, and items to find that let you view production artwork of all of the characters.

Overall- 8/10
This game is such a great new 3D rendition of the old games. Everything fits almost well. The only true complaints about this game are a few extra things. More comments by the turtles. More ways to fight. Other then that, this game is perfect for series lovers or hack 'n slash/arcade game lovers. Or if you need something new, pick it up

Rent or buy?
If you are a series fan, buy it. I got it for 40 bucks and I got an extra little Raphael figure that I now consider my lucky charm aka my ''Pocket Pimp''. If you like hack 'n slash games, buy it later for cheap if you're willing to play as our favorite turtles. However, most of you will just want to rent it, as the story mode is short.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/28/03