Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

"A great game beat em up fans will love!!"

TMNT is a great game!! I own Dynasty Warriors 4, Tekken 4, Virtua Fighter 4, Shinobi and Tenchu 3. TMNT fits right in with this group of great games. Any fan of beat em up games will like this title.

Graphics 9/10
Considering how TMNT started as a comic what better way to present the game than through cel shading. The animation is also very smooth and there is no slowdown in the game at all. The motion capture animation for the Turtles is really awesome, I was glad to see Konami present the Turtles this way.

Sound 9/10
Many people find the in-game trash talking by the Turtles to be annoying, that's ok I understand. I for one don't find the voices it bothersome at all. I think it adds to the game, rather than detract from it. I wish fighting games had more trash talking during gameplay. Anyone remember River City Ransom? HAHAHAH!! The music is also well written, and I enjoyed the tunes I heard well playing.

Gameplay 10/10
I think the combo system in this game is excellent. It's not as deep as VF 4 or Tekken 4, but I enjoy it because it doesn't require weeks of practice to master, as I already have many games that require mastering. TMNT providesdme with a much appreciated break. Not every game has to be 60 hours long. I think the length of the game is just fine. Gamers like me who are in college, and work part time don't have many hours available to play games. I like beat em ups because they are fun, short, and sweet. I can find time in my busy schedule to play shorter games like these. TMNT by beat em up standards, is actually a fairly lengthy game. Turtles in Time can be beaten in 30-45 minutes, were as the new TMNT is at least 2 hours long.

What I like most about this game is that each level in the game is fairly unique and offers something new which keeps you playing until the end. You can take your fight on top of many different objects in the game such as cars, platforms, tables etc. This adds great variety to the game and allows for a large amount of end user creativity. Which brings me to another point, when you play games;

BE CREATIVE!! Beat em ups will be repetitive if you do the same maneuvers over and over. Mix it up a little. My friend and I had a blast coming up with some pretty sweet 10, 20, and 30-hit combos. We used the interactive environment in our combo creation as well. We came up with some awesome and hilarious moves. If you allow you self to really get into this game, you can create your own unique experience each time you play.

Control 10/10
The game controls well and is perfectly responsive. I never had to gripe about the controls at all.

Replay Value 10/10
The game is fun every time you put it in. Although there isn't nearly as much material to unlock as in Dynasty Warriors 4, secrets and unlockables are not the only factor that determines a game's replay value. Turtles in Time, Streets of Rage, Double Dragon and Final Fight; none of these games had had a lot of unlockable content, but their replay value is extremely high. Why? Once you beat a storyline driven game, the experience is over and you don't have any real need to play through it again. Beat em ups are action driven games and who doesn't like action?

Overall 9.5/10
Overall I give this game a 9.5. The Turtles could have used some more moves but the ones they have are fine. Frustration from gameplay is virtually non-existent because the enemies aren't cheap (excluding bosses, who can cheap in any game). The controls are responsive and you can interact with the variety of different stages available. The game has a great combo system (similar to Sengoku 3). The game is also fun even in single player mode, which is rare among beat em ups. Remember be creative!!

Rent or Buy: If you like beat em up games such as Dynasty Warriors, Streets of Rage, Final Fight and Double Dragon. You won't be disappointed with this game. If you aren't a big fan of beat em ups, rent it and see if you like it first.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/12/03, Updated 09/22/05