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Metareview: TMNT
Many of us undoubtedly grew up with these turtles. We probably had their comics, loved to watch the cartoon and maybe even owned the sewer playset with all of the figures (Rat King was our favorite villain to fight in there). With such a massive following years ago, the turtles now look to return and capture a brand new audience.And, with the new movie that aims to do this, there are undoubtedly going to be game tie-ins. With Ubisoft at the helm, we thought the game would be in good hands and get the justice it deserved, perhaps allowing us to relive, if only for a few hours, those wonderful days we enjoyed in our adolescence. Looks like that won't be happening, according to the critics: IGN (55/100) says the game needs improvements: "It's certainly not terrible and the rhythmic jumping action has some fun and energy, but the fact remains that the game just ends up feeling inconsistent due to sloppy storytelling and, more importantly, an absolutely awful fighting engine." Nintendo Power (55/100) thinks the game isn't worth the effort: "Success gives you a feeling of accomplishment, but the path is paved with frustration." [Apr 2007, p.87] Video Game Talk (50/100) finds the game a waste of time: "The single player campaign is incredibly short and offers little replay value due to its relative ease. The multi-card multiplayer mode is an average extra, but I doubt folks will sit around to compete for the best times on those odd, jump-laden levels. This is a decent DS title once it hits the $10 bargain bin, but leave it on the retail shelf for now." Have any of you picked this up and care to provide some insight on the game? Or are you waiting to nab a copy (probably on the Wii, based on this Metareview?) at the Nintendo World Store this weekend?
TMNT parties at Nintendo World Store
For all of you who enjoy the freebies (who doesn't?!), Ubisoft is celebrating the release of the latest line-up of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles games, titled TMNT after the movie that releases tomorrow. As you can see above, the party starts Saturday and those who purchase a copy of the game will be given a special gift. What kind of gift? You got us, they do not say; if any of you fine readers out there attend the event, be sure to take pictures and let us know how it was.[Thanks, Andrew!]
Today's mutantest game video: TMNT
Gametrailers posted footage from the main TMNT characters: Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael. Is this the rebirth of a franchise or just another excuse to ring-up nostalgia sales with older gamers? We tried an early version and are looking forward to time with the final release. Watch each half-shell hero's special abilities in turn, or view our pick -- Donatello -- after the break.
Surfing penguins on their way
Penguins are as popular as sugar substitutes lately and so it's no surprise that Sony Pictures is making a penguin movie called Surf's Up. It's also no surprise that a game based on the movie is being created. Especially since screens and info on the game were part of the leaked Ubisoft files from last year. Ubisoft seems to be doing a lot of licensed games lately, we'll have to see how this week's TMNT turns out to garner an opinion on whether they're interested in making them more than just cash-ins. [ Via Kotaku ]
DS releases for the week of March 19th
It seems like we only just found out about Theme Park DS and here it is, shipping to stores everywhere this week. We're willing to bet that a few of you will be bending the stylus in the pursuit of your dream park by the weekend. But hey, if parks aren't your thing, there's a ton of games out this week. Helps to make up for some of the recent lackluster weeks, eh?DS releases for the U.S. Custom Robo Arena Major League Baseball 2k7 Puzzle Quest: Challenge of WarLords Steel Horizon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Theme Park Yu-Gi-Oh! World Championship 2007
Live top ten: Turtle Power
Last week had the return of Arcade titles to the Live top ten, and this week continues to do so. As is the trend of the moment, we have Gears of War, Crackdown, and Rainbow Six Vegas taking the top three spots. Worms moves to fourth, three spots above its introduction to the list, followed by GRAW 2, which had its demo in sixth last week. Now, Call of Duty 3 moves has that slot, with newcomer TMNT for XBLA starting in 7th, like Worms did before. Oblivion and Madden 07 swap spots, and Lost Planet continues to round out the list. For the complete breakdown, check out our list after the break, which includes last weeks results for comparison.
VC Friday: Climbing turtles
Another week and another round of old school games for your weekend enjoyment. This time, there's some variety, so we'll hope that everyone who is so inclined can find something worth playing. As a special bonus, they're all toward the lower end of Virtual Console pricing, which isn't bad, either. Any of these tickle your proverbial fancy? Ice Climber (NES) -- 500 Wii points Splatterhouse (TurboGrafx) -- 600 Wii points Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (NES) -- 500 Wii points
TMNT Arcade impressions: turtle power!
Having had ample time to test out both the single player and multiplayer aspects of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for Xbox Live Arcade, we are ready to pass our stern and final judgment. The game is exactly what you remember from the arcades of yesteryear. From the cheesy dialogue to storyboard cutscenes, it's all there. The combat is as simple and addicting as it ever was. It's still pretty damned frustrating at times, too. Of course, players must keep in mind that this game was designed primarily to suck quarters directly from the pockets of children. Overall, the single player is completely intact, with nary a hitch to be seen. As an added bonus, you can continue as many times as you want (and you will be continuing ... a lot).
X360A holding TMNT Arcade contest
Xbox 360 Achievement's DAKing240 is holding a contest for this week's Xbox Live Arcade release, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The objective is simple, get all 12 Achievements for the game. The criteria is equally easy, first, you must be a member of their forums. Next, your gamertag should have all the Achievements, including the secret one, and then email DaKing240 [AT] x360a [DOT] org with your tag. He's only giving out the unannounced prize to first place, so get on it. Also, don't be put off by the fact that we don't know what you're getting if you win, as they have a pretty good track record of giving out cool prizes, namely retail titles.
TMNT Arcade now available
In a surprise announcement earlier this week, it was revealed that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the classic arcade game, was heading to Xbox Live Arcade (we knew Aaron Greenberg was trying to tell us something). As promised, the game is now available for download. At the very reasonable price of 400 MS points, it's pretty hard to go wrong. For the older fanboys out there, TMNT pretty much represents a no-brainer proposition for Xbox Live Arcade. Now if we could just throw some Simpsons arcade on there, we'd be some super happy campers. We're downloading the game now and will be back with impressions later today.
TMNT Arcade achievements revealed
For those of you who are eagerly anticipating the release of TMNT to the XBLA tomorrow, Achieve360Points uncovered and posted the game's achievement details. After analyzing all the achievement goodness we definitely see a lack of level completion achievements, as it looks the dev team wanted to focus on harder level based tasks. So, earning every achievement will not be a walk in he sewer. We also noticed that TMNT may be special in that it is the first XBLA game to offer a secret achievement. So, kick back, take a look at all the achievements, and get ready to download the game tomorrow with a controller in one hand and a cheesy pizza slice in the other.
TMNT on XBLA this Wednesday
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles will leap onto Xbox Live Arcade this Wednesday, March 14 at 0900 GMT, arriving one week earlier than predicted. For 400 points ($5) you can cop an unadulterated version of the classic seven-level beat-'em-up, complete with 4-player co-op via Xbox Live. For once we're not gonna gripe about another arcade oldie shuffling onto XBLA. Mutant turtles with ninja powers or a soda fountain jockey? There's just no comparison.Two questions: Have you ever tried ice cream on your pizza? And which turtle is your go-to guy?Update: Achievements posted.
TMNT coming to Arcade early [update 1]
Cowabunga. This week's Xbox Live Arcade title is going to be Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, a week ahead of schedule. For the low, low price of 400 MS points you can get your old school beat 'em up fix with one of the most wanted retro titles for XBLA, complete with online co-op, leaderboards and the like. Obviously, you readers agree that this is a no-brainer purchase and we hope to play through a couple levels with you online. What do you think about getting Turtles in Time sometime in the future?[Via GameStooge]Update: James alerted us of this as well on Friday with a link to this thread.
Saturday PSP background explosion
Every week we give you new backgrounds for your PSP. In fact, I'm sure some PSP owners change their backgrounds more than their underwear. Much like that disturbing mental image, this week we have a disturbing background, a radical one and one that is fully loaded. What am I talking about? Well you'll have to see the backgrounds for yourself! Backgrounds after the jump ...
Wiitube wants to give you a copy of TMNT
And who are we to deny them that right? If you're at all interested in a free Wii game, all you have to do is create an avatar and upload a video to Wiitube, and you'll be entered into the contest. That doesn't seem so painful. The dramatic quality of your video doesn't seem to be a factor, so you can always take the easy way out and just read some blog posts out loud (with proper attribution, of course).We want to go on record as encouraging "giving people video games" as a Web 2.0 trend. We'd gladly trade Myspace for free video games.[Via Joystiq]
Want a free copy of TMNT for the Wii?
So do we. However, we've gotta try our hand out and hope the lucky wheel of fate spins our way just like everyone else. We'll be entering WiiTube's TMNT contest, and you should too. Why? Because it's incredibly simple. All you have to do is head to the site, sign up (be sure to give yourself an avatar), and upload at least one video. That's it. A lucky winner will be chosen at random, hopefully by throwing a Wii-mote at a dartboard and seeing who wins. That's how we would do it, and of course we'd film it and upload that for the next contest.WiiTube has really been taking off lately. When we first blogged about it, they had around 400 members. These days they're pushing 1700. Plus we've heard that they will also be giving away an entire Wii system soon, so expect that number to go up. Get in on the ground floor while the gettin' is cheap!
TMNT officially coming to Arcade
Before, we showed you a couple rather suspect looking screenshots for an Xbox Live Arcade version of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. At first, we were a little skeptical about its certitude, then a video came out and we slowly began to let our guard down. After all it would be rather depressing to cling onto a rumor you want to be true to only find it was a hoax. Well, thankfully we can finally give you the official word, straight from Ubisoft, TMNT is slated for Arcade, will cost 400 MS points, and will support 4 player co-op (both online and off) on all the original seven levels. Is this a no-brainer purchase or what?[Via GameStooge]
Ubisoft confirms TMNT XBLA (Cowabunga!)
Konami's classic coin-op Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is officially headed to Xbox Live Arcade later this month, courtesy of Ubisoft. With the TMNT movie out on Friday, March 23, we're flagging the preceding Wednesday (March 21) as a likely release date. The Digital Eclipse rendition will feature necessary 2- to 4-player co-op over Xbox Live (let's hope lessons were learned from Contra) -- no word on an "enhanced" mode. Nostalgia seekers will be asked to shell out a 400-point entry fee ($5). What, no limited-time promotion? We're just sayin' ... maybe give us a lil' something for free; we check out the movie; possibly rent the other game ... whad'ya say, Ubi?Clarification: TMNT will also offer offline multiplayer and can obviously be played alone. We just meant "necessary" online co-op, as in, a 'must-have' feature. And yeah 400 points is also a no-brainer for us -- but it don't hurt to ask for a freebie...See also: Cowabunga? TMNT XBLA images (& video) surface
More kind words for upcoming TMNT game
Gamepro recently got their hands on Ubisoft's upcoming TMNT game and simply put, they were impressed. Like our older brother Joystiq, Gamepro fell in love with the ability to perform team combo moves with the turtles and the uniqueness of each character. They also enjoyed Ubisoft's focus on the free roam element, opting to focus more on the character's ninja abilities rather than their brute force. Not only is the gameplay shaping up just fine, but we learn there there will be a bunch of unlockables including concept art, bloopers, movie clips, and even the notorious "big head cheat". We're not sure if old school TMNT fans will have a tough time cuddling up next to the turtle's new image, but this game has the potential to actually be (dare we say it) good.[Thanks, Jonah]
Joystiq plays TMNT (it's fun!)
Joystiq got a chance to sit down and play Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the Xbox 360. We'll have to preface this by saying that we were unimpressed by the recent trailer that was released. The Joystiq preview is proof that trailers aren't always the best indicators of fun. The above video is a developer walkthrough, and TMNT looks much more entertaining now. The animation is fluid, there are tons of enemies -- the 360 version sports more enemies than other consoles -- and the visuals are crisp, though not spectacular. Players can switch between turtles on the fly, utilizing their unique weapons and combo tactics. There are a few special maneuvers to look out for too. All in all, Joystiq came away feeling that this is the best TMNT game since the 16-bit era. Not bad. Hit the "read" link for the whole preview.See also:Rumored XBLA version of TMNT video surfaces
