Game Profile: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Sadly, not how you remember it.

After hearing that Ubisoft was making an updated portable version of TMNT to launch alongside the upcoming action film, I got so excited that I immediately began scouring the internet for information about this game. Here is what I have been able to find out:

What?  A 3d action-adventure game in which players take control of one of a squad of four turtles to perform acrobatic ninja moves through urban and jungle environments.  Players can combine their skills with other AI controlled turtles to perform more devestating attacks and be thrown in the air to access new parts of the level. Designers have chosen to “focus on the single player experience” which as you all know means no co-op or versus multiplayer.

When?  March 13th in North America, March 23 in Europe.

Who? Ubisoft Montreal, the same folks responsible for Prince of Persia.

Where?  All platforms known to human kind, including PSP, Ps2, Ps3, Xbox 360, DS and GBA (phew!).

Our Verdict: I was desperately hoping for an updated 2d sidescrolling game in the spirit of the old SNES beat-em-ups.  We have already seen brilliant remakes of classics like Mega Man and Ghosts ‘n Goblins made possible on the PSP, and TMNT would be a perfect candidate for such an update.  Sadly, it seems like what we will be getting instead is an over-baked 3D port of a movie tie-in.  Way to crap all over my childhood, Ubi!

Ever the optimist, I am willing to hold out hope that the talented developers at Ubisoft can STILL make this a worthwhile game, albeit in 3d.  This description of gameplay from a Games Radar interview is helping me keep the hope alive:

“One of the elements important to us was capturing the experience of being a ninja, a teenager and a mutant turtle and with that in mind we created game systems that encourage you to be as flamboyant and speedy as possible. So, we say the turtles are more acrobatic because every move flows into the next - you can perform a leap, call a brother to throw you further, land on a wall from the throw, run along that wall, leap off the wall on to another wall to run along that, then leap on to some poles and then at the end of the poles leap off and again call a brother to throw you further, and so on.”

Lets keep our fingers crossed.  PVG will have a full review of the game when it is released on PSP and DS, so stay tuned for the final word.