Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Preview

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is Konami's upcoming third-person action game that is just one part of a turtles revival that's currently in progress. The game is based on a once-mighty multimedia juggernaut from the late '80s that was one of the few proper synergies between comics, cartoon, and games, in its day. This latest incarnation of the turtles is based on an all-new cartoon that has recently debuted. The cartoon offers an update to the classic green heroes that is very much in line with the approach being taken by Konami's Tokyo studio. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is aiming to retain the key appeal of the beloved classic Turtles games, while, at the same time, moving the franchise into 3D. We got our hands on a near-final version of the game to see how the update is coming together.

For those unfamiliar with the turtles phenomenon, here's a brief history lesson. The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles started life as an independent comic published by Mirage Studios in the late '80s. The black and white comics, and the quirky action therein, sprang from the minds of Peter A. Laird and Kevin B. Eastman in 1984. The books followed the adventures of four turtles, Michaelangelo, Donatello, Raphael, and Leonardo, and a rat named Splinter, who, as a result of radioactive ooze, all mutated into human-sized proportions. As things often happen in comics, they interestingly picked up a boatload of martial arts skills along the way. They also picked up an arch nemesis, known as the Shredder. The independent comics became extremely successful and spawned a cartoon incarnation that was lighter in tone. The cartoon, in turn, led to Konami's excellent arcade and console games based on the franchise. The most fondly remembered of the turtles arcade games, for many, is likely to be Turtles in Time and its subsequent home version. The main appeal of the Turtles' games was their accessible gameplay, fast action, and great multiplayer experience.

For its update of the series, Konami has opted to stick pretty close to the key elements of the original games. As a result, you'll find a heavy reliance on the source material and an emphasis on action. You'll find three main modes from which to choose: story, versus, and challenge. Story is the meat of the game and follows the heroes through a series of themed levels that are broken up into various stages. The versus mode lets you take on a friend, while the challenge mode is basically a timed run through a stage. While the game is ostensibly broken up into single- and multiplayer modes, you'll be able to have a friend join you at any time by pressing start on the second controller--in most cases. Sadly, two-player multiplayer is the limit to your multiplayer options.

The basic flow of a level doesn't get any simpler, or old school, than "beat up everything and move ahead." This is the basic mantra of the game. You'll go through each stage in small chunks as you defeat the various enemies on each stage to open up your path to the end. An onscreen radar helps you keep track of enemies so you can clear foes quickly and proceed. When you reach the final stage in a level you'll face off against a boss character and his minions. As you clear levels you'll come to dojo sequences that will challenge you to complete a task before time expires. If you manage to complete your assigned task you'll be rewarded with a new move or stat upgrade for your turtle, like increased defense.

The control is simple and solid, with a few new additions to keep your beatings fresh. The face buttons have light and hard attacks as well as jump and shuriken-throwing actions mapped to them. The shoulder buttons let you cycle through your shuriken types; they also let you block, dash, and perform an extremely useful juggle move that floats your opponent in the air which helps when you're when attempting long combo chains. Performing combos is a fun element of combat that's helped along by one rough spot in the proceedings--enemy AI. At the moment, the enemies in the game aren't terribly smart and will patiently wait to one side as you pummel their compatriots.

The graphics sport a slick cel-shaded look that keeps the visuals quite close to the turtles' animated incarnations. The similarity is emphasized by liberal use of footage from the cartoon that helps set the tone for upcoming action in a level. The turtles all look snazzy and move fluidly, thanks to the use of motion capture, which helps bring their fighting moves to life. The enemies you'll encounter run the gamut from generic street thugs, ninjas, and robots to more recognizable foes like mousers. The environments offer varied landscapes and feature various interactive elements, such as hazards that must be avoided, breakable boxes that contain power-ups, and barrels and cars you can explode (which come in handy when dealing with hordes of enemies). The onscreen action is given an added flourish from comic book-style exclamations that appear to punctuate hits and explosions in much the same way as Ubisoft's XIII. The visuals are given an added layer of polish, thanks to assorted special effects used for explosions and ninjas who cloak themselves "Predator-style."

The audio draws on the voice talent from the cartoon, for the main characters, which lends the game a respectable amount of credibility. You'll also hear the new theme song for the cartoon. The tunes in the various levels follow the basic aesthetics of the theme song and are guitar-heavy tracks that frame the action nicely. The catch to all the voice action is that the taunts from your turtle repeat quite often.

Based on what we've played so far, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is coming together pretty well. While the core mechanics are solid enough for an action game, it appears that the game may lack some of its 2D predecessor's charm. The assortment of modes and extras to unlock is good enough, but it doesn't quite fill the gap left by lack of four-player support. In addition, the repetitive voice and enemy AI are elements we'd like to see tweaked before the game ships. Overall, though the game seems to have a pretty strong foundation, hopefully Konami will be able to tighten the final package before release. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is currently slated to ship later this month.