Great Family Fun! Entertaining and Cute!
At the start of the game you are brought to the jungle area as Leonardo, where you get a feel for the many different moves of the character. This leads to the three other tracks singling out the other three turtles; MichaelAngelo, Donotello, and Rapheal, so you get a feel for their special talents as well. As the tracks progresses for each character, they tend to get harder and you have to find various different moves for each one: ie. jump + flip etc. This teaches the player that s/he must learn how to use multiple moves for different issues.
As you clear the single turtle tracks, you are then able to start using all four of them for the rest of the game. This teamwork increases your power and your multiple uses as you switch characters for situations and even using their powers all together for stronger battles. You will find yourself climbing, jumping, tossing, flipping, chopping, kicking, and flying almost non-stop throughout the game. Critical thinking is a very important part of this game, as you must find which characters to use for when and which ones to bond together to use in conjunction with certain situations. The learning curve is definitely not that hard, as my 5yr old grasped it almost instantaneously, and the graphics are very impressive. The humor is also a great addition to the game and adds laughter for all ages. However, the storyline lacks luster and the objectives seem repeatative. It will also frustrate the younger ages as trying different tactics may fail and if they are not at a checkpoint, they will have to start over from the previous checkpoint, of course this can easily frustrate any age.
All in all I would have to say it was worth it for me as a parent to see my children working together on problem solving techniques and getting very proud of their accomplishments once a certain situation was completed. I think the game teaches critical thinking, teamwork, failure, and achievements. I would definately recommend TMNT.