Okay, forget the official Gamespot review, it was obviously written by a guy who hates beat-'em-ups in the first place. Here are my points for those of you who do like the genre:
The good:
- Awesome combat mechanics with even more depth than the Arkham series
- An amazing Arcade mode that unlocks as you complete story mode, playable with 4 turtles in couch co-op (!), resembling classic, old-school beat-'em-ups with shared lives and no reviving
- Long-term challenge and high replayability in Arcade and Survival modes (getting the achievement from the latter is crazy hard!)
- Great leveling that improves turtles' abilities but makes them stay on the same scale (yeah, as a beat-'em-up fan I hate unrealistic WoW-type leveling)
- Good graphics for a downloadable title
- A very true-to-TMNT atmosphere that screams 'made by developers who are passionate fans themselves'
The bad:
- Story mode is too short and easy, feels like a tutorial to Arcade mode
- Occasional glitches like getting stuck at weird places and enemies not entering (really nothing that 80s beat-'em-up fans haven't seen before)
The bottom line: 4-player local co-op is the true highlight of this game, so just go ahead and unlock all levels of Arcade mode and then invite three old friends who dressed up with you as ninja turtles for Halloween back in grade school. You're in for a fun gaming night. :)