‘TMNT: Mutants In Manhattan’ Reviews: Are The Turtles A Hit Or Miss?


The reviews for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants In Manhattan are in, and it doesn’t look good for the crime-fighting heroes in a half-shell. Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Leonardo swing into action against Shredder and his army of monsters.

Fans of the longtime TMNT series were anxious to get their hands on the latest from Platinum Games, the makers of Transformers: Devastation. If you’re familiar with the latter, then it’s not hard to recognize that both games appear to have similar graphics. The cel-shaded visual is a giveaway, and the gameplay is similarly constructed.

TMNT has multiple levels, and it allows up to four players to take on the roles of the turtle brothers on their quest to stop Shredder and Krang, the main antagonists in the game. There’s plenty of punching, kicking, jumping, and slashing to do through the sewers, but the game’s success appears to be steeped in little more than a few hours worth of fun.

According to Gamespot, TMNT falls short of the formula that should have made it a success. Perhaps the most noteworthy of the game is the fact that it lacks local multiplayer. The game is designed to accommodate four turtles at once, but the only way to join in with a friend is to do so online. Many critics consider this a detriment to the game as a whole, and the artificial intelligence of the turtles that accompany players in solo mode don’t do much to make it better.

Still, TMNT covers the basics for those who don’t mind the requirement of online multiplayer. The game features your standard attacks, consisting of light and heavy moves that vary depending on what turtle you’ve chosen to fight with. They also have many skills unique to each character, and there are also duo attacks that allow players to pile even more hurt onto the baddies. Item drops give the game a sense of an action RPG, but it appears that this doesn’t give the game the depth that one would have hoped for.

TMNT also features a parry system, allowing for the turtles to defend in a variety of ways. Depending on how these are utilized, the encounters with enemies can be approached with a more evasive style. However, the simple spamming of attacks appears to be the only thing necessary to be successful. If players are looking for difficulty, then it’s likely that the only tedious portion of TMNT is attacking until the enemy’s health bar has been depleted.

According to IGN, TMNT features nine levels altogether that take around four hours to complete. This appears to be another criticism with the reviews in general, most of them state that paying $50 for such a title isn’t justified by any of its features. Each level is open for the most part, but players won’t find themselves getting lost. The combat is chaotic, and hordes of enemies pour out to ensure that every battle requires the effort of all four turtles.

Once players advance far enough into the level, they’re met with the stage’s boss. The encounter usually consists of one large enemy, whose attacks are brutal and easily capable of incapacitating the heroes if they’re not careful. Defeating the big boss is satisfying, though it still leaves the game with much to be desired.

All in all, TMNT appears to be mildly enjoyable at best. It satisfies the desire to mash buttons and join friends in online mayhem, but it doesn’t appear to be as enjoyable as the former TMNT games as a whole.

How do you feel about TMNT: Mutants In Manhattan? Did you enjoy the game, or did you feel that it was lacking? Let us know in the comments section below.

[Image Via Platinum Games]

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