The 2007 CGI movie “TMNT” was a surprisingly good adaptation of the Ninja Turtle franchise that satisfied fans both old and new. Predictably a movie game was put in the works and I got my hands on the Xbox 360 version to see what it was all about. Now it is no surprise to anyone that movie license games usually aren’t too good, and most are downright awful, but this one is not bad at all, in fact it is a pretty decent game.
The story of the game practically follows the story of the movie and it is told in by the turtles after the fact, they are reminiscing about the story. The game uses a comic book to show the action as the turtles introduce each new level and situation. Then the turtles chatter can be heard sometimes in the level itself. At the beginning of the game you play as one turtle at a time, mirroring the separation that is seen in the movie. But then as the levels progress you get to switch between characters on the fly and utilize “family attacks” where you call on another turtle to help you do a special move.
Throughout the game you will encounter numerous purple dragons, foot ninja, and few other enemies, all from the movie. You have two attacks but you will usually only use one. The character’s main attack uses their specific ninja weapon and the more you press the button the more of a combo that develops. Each turtle also has another special move that isn’t an attack; Leo can pass through certain walls because of a medallion he obtained in the jungles in South America; Mikey can use his nunchuks as a helicopter blade for a short time; Don can pole vault with his staff, traveling a long distance while staying low; Raphael can use his sais to climb certain walls. These special moves help add variety and some minor strategy to the game.
The game leans heavily on its platformer element and some parts are genuinely hard (like Donatello’s romp through the sewers) but for the most part it is a simple formula; climb/jump over obstacles, fight, then repeat. You are given a grade for your performance in a level and it depends on how fast you did the level, how quickly you defeated your enemies, and how many tokens you picked up along the way. Then when the “family moves” are instituted they add an extra grade for that. You will gain a lot of achievement points for this game on Xbox, if you beat it you will get, in total, 1000 gamer points, so it’s an easy way to boost your gamer score.
TMNT is a solid movie game but could have been better; the other three turtles should have been on the screen as NPC’s throughout (why is this so uncommon in turtles games?) the platformer elements got a little annoying at points, the fighting got a little repetitive, and the auto camera really didn’t get the angles that were necessary at all times (ie you couldn’t see where you were going because of the location of the camera) But overall it is a decent game that will satisfy turtles fans and, in the end, it is a child’s game.
Gameplay: 6.5
Story: 8
Replay Value: 6
Graphics: 7
Overall: 6.9
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