Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

"Return of the classic turtles"

Well what can I say? I'm a fan of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. But this game has almost no replayability and very tiresome levels so don't expect to get a lot of "fun" out of this game. There are some good points to it, like every character has their own levels and special moves, but more on that later on.

Story:

The story is different for every character but let me sum it for you. Leonardo has trouble with some Mousers (robotic rats), Raphael has problems with street thugs, Michaelangelo has beef with these crazy mutant monsters and Donatello ends up fighting invincible ninjas. But they all have one thing in common, Shredder. He is the one in charge of these crimes and your mission to take him down.

Gameplay:

Well this is what makes the name a game. This is a side-scroller/beat em up type of game. The concept is simple, you walk into a room, beat up several enemies, walk into a new room, beat up some more guys and so on. The are some levels that are different. For example, Leonardo will drive a vehicle in a sewer shredding every Mouser that appears, Michaelangelo will be skateboarding through the sewers collecting special crystals, Raphael with ride in a motorcycle racing against his rival through the streets and Donatello will glide in the air blasting random missiles. So there is some variety in this game.

Controls:

Jump, attack and move. Easy right? Yeah, there isn't any real problems with the controls. You can charge up your power and unleash a combo-type attack to take out multiple enemies and you can also double jump. Well that's about it for the controls.

Sound:

The sound is about average. When you power up your GBA the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle theme song plays; complete with dialogue. The in-game voices aren't bad and the music is good. Again, no problems here.

Graphics:

The graphics are great. There isn't any choppiness or polygon squares anywhere. Everything is solid, they way it should be. The backgrounds are clean and the bad guys look sharp. Once again, no problems here.

Replayability:

Alight, here is where the score drops. This game... let me just say it: It will not last. Oh sure, there are crystals in each stage to collect that do absolutely nothing and there are different difficulty settings to make this game harder, but beat em up games are jut too repetitive. I'll just pass up on it.

Multiplayer:

Four turtles = Four players, right? Wrong. There isn't any multiplayer in this game. But there are single player mini-games to keep you busy. Try those instead.

Overall:

This is a good game while it lasts. Rent or Buy? I would say skip but if you MUST play this game then I would say rent. Only the hardcore turtle fans should own this game. So if you are a huge Ninja Turtle fan, then this is the game for you!

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 08/15/05