Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan

Its hard to determine whether the craze of mutant animals has grown or diminished since the 1990s. On one hand, it seems like there are thousands of new ideas floating around that revolve around the premise of sentient, intelligent, and deadly animals lurking in the depths below our city streets (or, in a darker tone, at the bottom of the ocean). On the other hand, many of these new ideas fall flat once the creators realize their core idea isn’t viable as they thought. Personally, I see nothing wrong with that – you’ve got to have a few bad ideas before you crop up a good one thanks to the learning process. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan proves that even the most beloved underground mutants can still be subject to less-than-ideal entries, no matter the dedication of their player-base. Despite my own affinity for them, its hard to ignore how flat this title falls in comparison to entries of the past.

A Strong Start

When I was growing up, I loved the Turtles as much as anyone else. I’d played through the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade Game (okay, maybe not all of it but most of it and probably a hundred times over) and was really looking forward to giving this one a shot. Mutants in Manhattan is a slightly different game overall, being a hack and slash instead of a beat’em up akin to Mark of the Ninja, but the main themes are still there. In terms of basic idea and looks, I can easily say Mutants in Manhattan feels right at home in the world of Ninja Turtles games.

The actual design of the Donatello, Leonardo, Raphael, and Michelangelo isn’t my favorite rendition of them, but its accurate and somewhat gritty, and I felt it gave them a more serious look overall that was welcome given the cartoonish dialogue within. It was an interesting combination that I feel worked out in the end. Characterization/details were just as outlandish and interesting as always and each turtle felt like they always had, which is always a major concern when revamping a series.

Shakier Ground

The worst aspect of this game is, unfortunately, the gameplay. While the stages were relatively well detailed, repetitiveness quickly begins to win out in forms other than art direction. Though the turtles were characterized well, their fighting styles and abilities were not. Each one has notably different fighting styles in the cartoons and other games. Mutants in Manhattan makes them all feel incredibly similar with disappointing effect. This makes combat in these settings seem to drag on even though the game ultimately lasts less than 5 hours (maybe 6 if you become dedicated).

Bottom Line

I really did like all the powers, dodging mechanics, and overall layout of the combat, but it just really feels like the ball was dropped because it never seems to properly evolve beyond that. It all feels the same, which is a real downfall in a hack and slash title.

Pros:

• Keeps the turtles fun, fresh, and interesting
• Level designs were interactive
• Graphics were good and the game runs well

Cons:

• Repetitive combat
• Turtles all play identically leading to little variety
• Incredibly short experience