Those lucky enough to be young in the 1990s probably have a special connection with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and probably even more-so to their famous entries into the videogaming arena (I still say TMNT IV: Turtles in Time is the best beat-em-up ever made).

You've probably already heard about the new CGI Ninja Turtle movie in the works, a teaser trailer was just released this week. Well, did you know that Ubisoft is making the game adaptation? Every other Turtles game in history has been made by Konami, but sadly the latest creations have been... less than awesome. Well, for the people on the fence regarding whether or not to be excited about this new TMNT game, Ubisoft has released this behind-the-scenes video for Comic Con.

Ubisoft is one off the most infallible game publishers right now; they're responsible for Prince of Persia, Splinter Cell, GRAW, and pretty much every game that plays as well as it looks. This game is being made specifically by the Montreal office of Ubisoft, the same office responsible for the upcoming Rainbow Six: Vegas. From what we can see of TMNT from this video, it looks like they're working on their trademark specular and bloom lighting, as well as a very fluid Prince of Persia-esq acrobatic movement system.

The game is set to release along with the new movie in March of 2007 (that means PS3, folks), so there's still plenty of time to (hopefully) make this the best TMNT game ever.

 You'll need the Divx web player if you want to watch the embedded version, or you could download the video directly here (23mb).

divxMovie('http://files.gaminghorizon.com/TMNT_Comicon_2006_Final.divx',true); ]]> Sat, 22 Jul 2006 14:29:00 -0500 Tim Grube http://www.gamebump.com/go/turtles_on_xbox_live_arcade http://www.gamebump.com/go/turtles_on_xbox_live_arcade http://www.gamebump.com/go/turtles_on_xbox_live_arcade# This article was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Certain formatting, imaged, and embedded content may have been lost in the transition process.

Our friends over at Joystiq are running a story that announces an online petition for Konami to bring the 1991 classic game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV: Turtles In Time, or any other games in the series to Xbox Live Arcade. As of press time, there are a total of 22 signatures. Head on over and sign it by clicking the link below.

Online Petition]]> Fri, 09 Dec 2005 13:41:00 -0600 Shiva Stella http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_teenage_mutant_ninja_turtles_3__mutant_nightmare_ds http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_teenage_mutant_ninja_turtles_3__mutant_nightmare_ds http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_teenage_mutant_ninja_turtles_3__mutant_nightmare_ds# This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare’s console renditions have not been well received, but Turtles fans should be pleased by Konami’s DS version, which utilizes the same storyline as its big brothers but with more functional gameplay mechanics. In a lot of ways the game is a return to Konami’s successful handheld past, but while it’s certainly better than its console relatives, it’s still not the Turtles handheld experience of a lifetime.

Mutant Nightmare’s plot is the same one utilized in the console versions with little variation. There are four episodes (three normal, one nightmare) and the plot revolves around Fugitoid, a robot that the turtles need to save from the triceratons because he’s... super smart, and it’s the right thing to do. Along the way players encounter the “mysterious Bishop” (the guy out to snatch turtle DNA to create monsters), Shredder (the franchise’s famous bad guy), and – once again – Ultimate Drako (an evil dragon creature just thirsting for revenge). The storyline’s strongest twist is that game allows each turtle to personalize the experience some, as each gives a different version of each world’s introductory events.

The game offers four typical modes of player. You can enter the story (single-player campaign) mode, select a turtle, and go through the six stages/four worlds for the meat of the game. Each stage takes about five-ten minutes to complete depending on its difficulty (levels in the latter worlds pose a significantly greater challenge than in the first two), and essentially you just walk through, defeating enemies as the exclamation icon pops on-screen. You can also check out the battle mode, which sports 12 stages and has you collecting crystals under a time limit; this mode is perhaps the game’s best aspect, as the levels get progressively harder (and thus, much more fun) as you go on. Practice mode is just a light training level for each turtle, and multiplayer grants you access to 2-4 player matches in battle mode (once again, collecting crystals against each other), practice mode (a training arena), and cooperative mode (again, you’re collecting crystals; this is not the actual story mode played out with the four turtles).

The turtles have very basic and effective maneuvers, aided by a simple control scheme. The A button performs jumps and helps swing you up or down a ledge; Y does a special attack (be forewarned: this attack drains your own health when used); X summons a turtle brother for a special screen-clearing attack (you get at least three of these attacks/level); and B performs basic swipes, kicks, and grabs. Enemies in Mutant Nightmare aren’t very bright – sometimes they’ll sit below you for a few moments until they finally decide to swing themselves up to your level – but they’re functional; they punch, charge, shoot, toss bombs at, and throw mutant goo at you. The game includes boss fights which provide some variety, along with vehicular control (motorcycle, sky vehicle) and ally characters that you sometimes get to fight side by side with (or simply carry throughout) during a stage. A few levels also feature jump platforms that hoist you into the air, watery areas, electrical shortages, steel gates, giant boulders, and wall poles for swinging, and to help you navigate, the game includes a boxed map.

Mutant Nightmare’s presentation isn’t too bad, and the Turtles franchise is more visually suited for the DS than the consoles. Characters are highly detailed, down to the turtles’ bandannas blowing in the wind, and certain special attacks are very cool to observe (especially the tag-team ones, which involve turtles flying through the air, slicing and dicing). Environments feature detailed backdrops usually visible through windows, and the color palette is appropriate, if typically dull. The music isn’t bad either, but it is monotonous, with almost the same song looped throughout each level (with the exception of boss fights or “important” stages).

You’ve probably noticed that I haven’t mentioned the game’s distinct feature for the DS, that being the unit’s touch screen capabilities. This is because there is extremely little player interaction. You tap the screen to turn water valves or line up pipes, and not only is this the bulk of your use of the stylus during actual gameplay, but these segments are very sparse. On occasion you may find it convenient to tap the appropriate turtle for a help maneuver, but it’s faster to just hit the X button. That I used the stylus more to navigate through the menus than I did in actual gameplay is extremely disappointing. Why not just make it for the GameBoy Advance?

One of the title’s biggest problems is that once you’ve played through a world or two with a single turtle, you won’t have much interest to finish the game, much less switch to another turtle and complete the same levels all over again (though a few of the levels are restricted to a particular turtle). The battle mode is fun, but the single-player mode – especially if you’ve experienced the console versions – is just a bore. A few stages that utilize AI friends or a boss aren’t going to make up for this. And multiplayer is out of the question – how are you going to convince friends to buy this thing just so you can collect crystals together? A versus mode would have been more appropriate. 

The previously mentioned map could use some obvious adjustments, like the inclusion of an actual layout. The map presents levels in long boxes and shows a gold star to head to, but it’s quite useless except in battle mode, where it displays a crystal marker so players know what part of the mini-stage to run to next.

There isn’t too much wrong with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare for the DS, except that it’s lackluster, dull, very rarely uses the touch screen during gameplay, and is repetitive to the point where you know you won’t even convince one friend to pick up a copy for multiplayer “fun”. And yet the battle mode is actually enjoyable as its set to a timer, and offers the only real challenge to be had in Mutant Nightmare for the DS. Pick it up if you really love the Ninja Turtles, because although the game does have more merits than its console brethren, that’s not saying much.

Functional, but quickly becomes dull. Battle mode is its saving grace.

Not bad for the DS, though little to no flash. Decent character animations, but dull environs.

Not bad, but monotonous. Music could have used some additional tracks.

Do you really enjoy playing the same levels over again, just with a different colored turtle?

You’ll enjoy battle mode and maybe single-player.

]]> Thu, 08 Dec 2005 20:49:00 -0600 Shiva Stella http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_teenage_mutant_ninja_turtles_3__mutant_nightmare_ps2 http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_teenage_mutant_ninja_turtles_3__mutant_nightmare_ps2 http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_review_teenage_mutant_ninja_turtles_3__mutant_nightmare_ps2# This review was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare is the third installment in the recent batch of Turtles games released for this generation of consoles, and is based on events in the currently running cartoon show. The game of course stars everyone’s favorite reptiles – Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael – destined to save the planet from all sorts of evil beings, and casts players as their chosen turtle (with computer-controlled allies) or allows them to team up with three friends (all in single-player mode). The game sports a few improvements in comparison to its predecessors, but they’re clearly not enough, and Mutant Nightmare’s one glaring, unavoidable fault make it a bust: it quickly gets repetitive and dull.

Mutant Nightmare doesn’t have a storyline per se; it utilizes episodes to tell several individual stories and then tie them all together in the final, bonus episode. In one you protect the planet from angry alien invaders; in another you stop a crazed government agent from creating fiendish monsters with the Ninja Turtles’ DNA. The episodes aren’t dramatic, but function as a backdrop to the gameplay.

Mutant Nightmare features three modes of play but focuses mostly on its normal mode, which contains three regular episodes of about sixteen-eighteen stages each as well as a nightmare mode, which pits the turtles against a sum of the group’s “nightmares”, i.e. past foes and opponents from other worlds. You can select one turtle and allow the computer to control the other three, or grab some friends for a foursome. Each mission has a single objective that, when completed, unlocks the next level and occasionally grants a fun cartoon clip from the series. Most of the levels, usually the ones providing boss fights or minigames, are rather short, but there are lengthier ones that require navigating an area accompanied by a decent radar highlighted with arrows and target bubbles. The bulk of the gameplay has you and your computer-controlled brethren taking on various opponents – either dinosaur aliens, specialized government agents, or foot soldiers – sprawled throughout the stages. The AI is functional and sufficient for single-player progression, but it’s far from genius – your turtle buddies will routinely jump into walls, swipe at the air, and run into laser beams. Thankfully you can always gather them on you with a simple call, which keeps them from unnecessarily gobbling up health items or getting themselves pulverized by a boss.

Mutant Nightmare also makes fair use of several minigames that are sprinkled throughout the episodes, including fancy shuriken shooting (opponents rush directly into the camera for prompt disposal), hovercraft racing (you race against bad guys on bikes), and hang gliding (you dodge air mines during your descent). While they’re not the most engaging, they do break up the repetitiveness of walking through the same areas to kill stuff.

During regular play, perhaps to lighten the monotony, players can swipe things (canisters, barrels, etc) into the air and target them at opponents, and levels are dotted with breakable items. Some of the missions involve safely escorting characters (April, Master Splinter) throughout a small environment while others are more ordinary: get from point A to point B, or get from point A to point B to destroy target C. The objectives and minigames aren’t too grandiose or interesting, but considering the game’s target audience – Ninja Turtle fans watching the latest series – this is probably fitting.

The most intriguing aspect of Mutant Nightmare concerns its ninja scrolls, which are purchased by exchanging crystals (points) for spells/abilities. Some of the feats grant additional health or attack power while others enable the turtles to slowly drain an enemy’s HP or even don “ultimate” gear sets to annihilate any opponent. The ninja scrolls provide a light RPG touch and enable players to modify their teammates, but each turtle can only wear so many scrolls at a time. To offset this, Konami included special group attacks that flash button combinations on-screen in succession; if each player hits his buttons quickly enough (ideally in the right order) then the gang gathers for a devastating attack.

If you’re tired of normal mode you can always try out challenge or arcade mode. Challenge mode pits one turtle against a stack of foes for prizes, while arcade mode offers a true gem for the old-school gamer: Turtles in Time, revamped for a new generation and updated to present more enemies on-screen at once. Turtles in Time accommodates four players, which is a refreshing inclusion in Mutant Nightmare.

Due to the game’s top-down camera I can say that the turtles are graphically well presented and appropriately cell-shaded, but you’ll hardly notice. The 3D environments (accented by cell-shaded cars, items, canisters, and so on) are also nicely done, but again the game isn’t going to win any visual awards. What’s most important is that all the turtles move fluidly and spin about the stages independent of the player, performing flashy “strong” combos or dull “weak” ones. The cartoon cutscenes are a pleasant bonus, but more enjoyable is the inclusion of short CG sequences presented in the cell-shaded style, granting the game some graphical consistency.

To support the visual presentation, Konami included a light techno-rock theme played throughout every level as well as voiceovers done by the actual new cartoon voiceactors. The swipes, kicks, and punches are decent combat noises, but I personally preferred the music (and ambient sounds) from Turtles in Time over Mutant Nightmare’s bland offering.

There’s so much wrong in Mutant Nightmare that it’s a wonder Konami was able to get anything right. The game is extremely boring and dull, as its hack n’ slash gameplay becomes tiresome after the first five minutes of initial playtime. You run, you swipe, you run, and you swipe some more. The minigames are cute additions that don’t detract from the title’s insane boredom, and that they’re splattered throughout only does little for variety; tweaking the gameplay and giving players a reason to go through Mutant Nightmare would have been a tremendous improvement. Instead, on occasion you may use the special turtle attack, but it’s unnecessary as the game’s ninja scrolls, which you don’t need until the last boss battle in the nightmare mode, unbalance the gameplay. Mutant Nightmare is easy enough to play through without the slightest worry or concern that you’ll need this or that ninja scroll to win. Just tap the attack button and wait for all the opponents to run up and die. And without the ninja scrolls, you’re essentially just re-visiting the last Turtles game, which was also a flop. To complicate matters further, using the ninja scrolls for any other stage than the last boss fight makes the gameplay incredibly easy; just sit back and let the AI turtles swipe for you. Riveting.

The AI turtle buddies do function and make the game playable, however they also routinely bounce off walls, gobble up health items at inappropriate times, and run into laser beams. During boss fights they also become practically useless, as they don’t “think” about a boss’s attacks and only run up to get pummeled, placing the bulk of the fight on you.

The cutscenes that cut off prematurely in my preview build did not do so in my final version of the game, however they’re still presented in a cut-and-pasted manner. You hop from one level to the next with barely any connection or idea as to what the hell is going on, or why you’re even playing the game. The level descriptions don’t help: “use the hoverboard”, “fight the bad guys”, and so on aren’t enough to set the game. The audio catches also appear to have vanished from the final build, but that doesn’t make the audio any more enjoyable. The bland, silly background music alternates from unmentionable to annoying, and the dialogue delivered between turtles is plain and uninspiring. The game has its presentation moments, but they’re both few and still dull.

The lag that I experienced with a multitude of enemies on-screen at once has not disappeared, though it mostly worsens when you throw explosions into the mix, which apparently is too taxing for the game to handle. The bigger problem is the game’s use of repetitive, boring environments like sewers, laboratories, and street corners, and Mutant Nightmare has several stages per episode that utilize the same environmental setting. There’s nothing like spending an hour running through the same setting in multiple stages.

I also have a problem with the game’s overlay map, as it uses the same marker for both target objectives and new areas, and the two are not one and the same. Sometimes you’ll circle around in search of the target because you’re not sure if that highlighted circle is a new area, or a new area that leads to the target, which further wastes your time. 

I remain unimpressed with the updated Ninja Turtles franchise; Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare does offer some multiplayer support which should be fun for children, but the game would be better if it just consisted of Turtles in Time and a few party games. As it stands, it’s a boring, repetitive, dull hack n’ slash game with bland visuals, unbalanced gameplay, and useless ninja scrolls. The cut-and-pasted presentation and lack of a consistent storyline (or even a more intense focus on the individual episode plots) also lower its quality. Pick this up if you’ve got kids in love with the Turtles franchise, but only as a rental.

It’s playable, but incredibly, horribly dull. Supports four players. Uninspiring hack n’ slash.

The visuals aren’t too bad, but they’re still extremely bland and don’t help the stale gameplay

Audio is equally as boring and repetitive, but quirky. Decent voiceacting for such bad dialogue

Maybe you’ll enjoy yourself by reliving some old Turtles memories. But I doubt it.

The odds that you’ll actually finish this game the first time do not look good (for the game).

]]> Wed, 16 Nov 2005 11:42:00 -0600 Shiva Stella http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_preview_teenage_mutant_ninja_turtles_3__mutant_nightmare_ps21 http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_preview_teenage_mutant_ninja_turtles_3__mutant_nightmare_ps21 http://www.gamebump.com/go/gh_preview_teenage_mutant_ninja_turtles_3__mutant_nightmare_ps21# This preview was originally published on Gaming Horizon, GameBump's predecessor. Its format does not match our own but we support its content.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare is the third installment in the recent batch of Ninja Turtles games released for this generation of consoles, and is based on events in the currently running cartoon show. The game of course stars everyone’s favorite reptiles – Donatello, Leonardo, Michelangelo, and Raphael – destined to save the planet from all sorts of evil beings, and casts players as their chosen turtle (with computer-controlled allies) or allows them to team up with three friends (all in single-player mode). From what we’ve played so far, it seems to have a host of improvements from its predecessors and should give Ninja Turtles fans a fun multiplayer game to enjoy. 

Mutant Nightmare features three modes of play but focuses mostly on its normal mode, which contains three regular episodes of about sixteen-eighteen stages each as well as a nightmare mode, which pits the turtles against a sum of the group’s “nightmares”, ie past foes and opponents from other worlds. You can select one turtle and allow the computer to control the other three, or grab some friends for a foursome. Each mission has a single objective that, when completed, unlocks the next level and occasionally grants a fun cartoon clip from the series. Most of the levels, usually the ones providing boss fights or minigames, are rather short, but there are lengthier ones that require navigating an area accompanied by a decent radar highlighted with arrows and target bubbles. The bulk of the gameplay has you and your computer-controlled brethren taking on various opponents – either dinosaur aliens, specialized government agents, or foot soldiers – sprawled throughout the stages. The AI is functional and sufficient for single-player progression, but it’s far from genius – your turtle buddies will routinely jump into walls, swipe at the air, and run into laser beams. Thankfully you can always gather them on you with a simple call, which keeps them from unnecessarily gobbling up health items or getting themselves pulverized by a boss.

Some of the minigames that I’ve sampled include fancy shuriken shooting (opponents rush directly into the camera for prompt disposal), hovercraft racing (you race against bad guys on bikes), and hang gliding (you dodge air mines during your descent), and while they’re not the most engaging they break up the repetitiveness of walking through the same areas to kill stuff. During regular play, perhaps to lighten the monotony, players can swipe things (canisters, barrels, etc) into the air and target them at opponents, and levels are dotted with breakable items. Some of the missions involve safely escorting characters (April, master Splinter) throughout a small environment while others are more ordinary: get from point A to point B, or get from point A to point B to destroy target C. The objectives and minigames aren’t too grandiose or interesting, but considering the game’s target audience – Ninja Turtle fans watching the latest series – this is probably fitting.

The most intriguing aspect of Mutant Nightmare concerns its ninja scrolls, which are purchased by exchanging crystals (points) for spells/abilities. Some of the feats grant additional health or attack power while others enable the turtles to slowly drain an enemy’s HP or even don “ultimate” gear sets to annihilate any opponent. The ninja scrolls provide a light RPG touch and enable players to modify their teammates, but each turtle can only wear so many scrolls at a time. To offset this, Konami included special group attacks that flash button combinations on-screen in succession; if each player hits his buttons quickly enough (ideally in the right order) then the gang gathers for a devastating attack.

If you’re tired of normal mode you can always try out challenge or arcade mode. Challenge mode pits one turtle against a stack of foes for prizes, while arcade mode offers a true gem for the old-school gamer: Turtles in Time, revamped for a new generation and updated to present more enemies on-screen at once. Unfortunately my version’s Turtles in Time wouldn’t operate, but I assume that’s due to a faulty disc, as I occasionally ran into audio catches, excessive lag (worse with multiple enemies/explosions), and cutscenes that cut off mid-sentence, but the final product should lack these problems. 

Due to the game’s top-down camera I can say that the turtles are graphically well presented and appropriately cell-shaded, but you’ll hardly notice. The 3D environments (accented by cell-shaded cars, items, canisters, and so on) are also nicely done, but again the game isn’t going to win any visual awards. What’s most important is that all the turtles move fluidly and spin about the stages independent of the player, performing flashy “strong” combos or dull “weak” ones. The cartoon cutscenes are a pleasant bonus, but more enjoyable is the inclusion of short CG sequences presented in the cell-shaded style, granting the game some graphical consistency.

I can’t speak much for the audio because my version has a few bugs, but the voiceovers are done by the actual cartoon voiceactors (or seem pretty damn close) and the music is a light techno-rock theme played throughout every level (or it’s just so predictable that it sounds like it).

My version has some obvious flaws – cutscenes that end prematurely, sounds that catch and replay until the level is completed, music that’ll just stop halfway through a stage, etc – but judging from the build we received Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Nightmare should be a light, easy action game for kids that supports fun multiplayer. The inclusion of Turtles in Time, for traditional Ninja Turtles fans, is the perfect boon for the franchise-faithful. Expect this one on November 1 for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, GameCube, and Nintendo DS.]]> Fri, 21 Oct 2005 22:45:45 -0500