Review: TMNT Turtles in Time (XBLA) 8-6-2009

TMNT Turtles in Time Reshelled (XBLA) Review 8-6-2009

“Ow, my toes!”

Just remember that quote, you'll be hearing it a lot if you play this game.

It is the 25^th Anniversary of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, so there is going to be all kinds of stuff Turtle related being released. First up is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Reshelled. WTF is that you ask? Well, TMNT: Turtles in Time was the sequel to the original TMNT The Arcade Game. It was based on the cartoon series that was on at the time, not the comics, although it did have a couple characters that were in the movie TMNT 2: The Secret of the Ooze. The original arcade game made it to XBLA so it was only a matter of time for the sequel to come out, especially since the original arcade game is still to this day one of the best selling XBLA games. This time though, instead of a port we are getting a full remade game.

Although Konami made the game original, Ubisoft are the current TMNT license holders and they had Ubisoft Singapore prepare this game. This was the first game this particular group worked on, but that's not a comment on the quality. I did not see Konami's name anywhere in the credits, so I'm guessing the remake was part of some sort of agreement they came to. They completely redid the graphics to be in fully 3D and you have a bit more control over what your character can do. It is still the basic 80s/early 90s arcade style brawler though. Move around, just, attack. It can also be played up to 4 player cooperatively. In the original game you could only attack in 4 directions (up, down, left, and right) but now you can do it in 8 directions, now including the diagonals. Other than that, the gameplay remains pretty much the same. Another change, and one that some fans may not be happy with, is the voices have all been redone as well. The classic cartoon voice actors are no longer in the game, and the results aren't very good. I am sure this is another legal issue, but it is still a shame to see (well, hear) happen. The music has been redone as well, and I have seen many posts online of people complaining of this concern, so if that is something you care about, you will not be happy. This is something that did not bother me at all, but felt since many complained I would post about it.

As with most games of that era, it is not a very long game, but you can expect a lot of cheap attacks and deaths. This was because their main purpose was to keep those kids pumping quarters in everytime they died so that they could keep playing. With this being a new version though, you no longer have unlimited continues as you would in the arcade (if you had enough quarters, that is). Now you start off with 6 lives and once they are out, that's it. If you are playing co-op and you lose all your lives, you do come back the next level if the rest of your team survive.

The 4 player mode can be done with any combination of players either on the same console or online. My time online was spent with friends of mine that I had invited to play and there did not seem to be any noticeable lag. There would be a lot going on at once at times, but if ever you lose where you are, you can just press the left trigger to locate your turtle. I played it 2 and 3 player, but not 4 player yet, but had a lot of fun each time, and I can still see myself enjoying playing it again and again. There is always the challenge of trying to get a better score than the last time or at least just laughing it up with some friends while you play together. Another nice feature that I was glad to see is the fact that right in game there is an option to press the X button and automatically invite all members of your Xbox Live Party to the game you have created. This made things a lot easier with a lot less menus to navigate. It would be nice if more games would use this since the Party feature has been available for quite some time now, and it's especially refreshing to see that it was an XBLA game supporting this.

At 800 MS Points ($10) this is steeper than most arcade classics on the system, but about on par with ones that get remade (such as Bionic Commando) so it is nice that they did not release it at their original intended price point of $1200 points ($15). You can beat the game in around a half hour or so, but it is a great game to play 1-4 players and can be played again and again if it is the kind of game you enjoy. Younger gamers, or people just more used to games with a bit more length, story, and depth may tire of it though. This is game 3 of the Summer of Arcade, so again, if you get every game, MS will give you 800 points. If you need more points, I have some in My Store at a discounted rate and can even e-mail you the code directly so you get the points right away (and I obviously will not charge for shipping then either).

I will update this review if I can get a hold of the original game again so I can give a better description of the differences. I also believe that there is a PSN version coming out, in which case I will also update for any differences between XBLA and PSN. Will also update on achivements/trophies.