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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Turtles in Time Re-Shelled: Xbox Live Arcade Review By: Vivian Tam Title: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Turtles in Time Re-Shelled The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles product line is a strange monument in the annals of pop-culture. The Turtles have been around for about 25 years and have gone through various changes in their design and canon story, but still they're always identifiable no matter what type of media they're featured in or how they're currently represented. This especially holds true in Ubisoft's newest TMNT game, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Turtles in Time Re-Shelled; the game is essentially a remake of the 1992 game that was released in the arcade and on the Super Nintendo with CG modeling done in the same style as the 2007 TMNT movie.
Turtles in Time Re-Shelled is a remake of the arcade version of Turtles in Time and lacks the extra levels and alternate bosses found in the Super Nintendo version. I personally would have preferred a remake of the Super Nintendo version with added 4 player support, as it's really the superior version in terms of level design. The game is your basic side scrolling beat 'em up, you fight your way through waves of goons and henchmen to a boss that's waiting for you at the end of the stage. The game is very simple, yet fun and addictive. It's one of those games where you can play a couple levels just to kill a quick 15 minutes, but also has the potential to hold you there for an hour or more as you try to beat the game or net points and achievements.
Your controls are pretty basic; you only have 3 buttons to worry about (jump, attack, and special attack) and the joystick to move your turtle. There are some "combos"/power moves that can be performed such as: running attacks, jumping attacks, or comboing by jamming on the attack button; however, the attacks stay relatively simple with no long chains of combos to remember. This works out really well, since it gives you just enough variety to keep the game from being a mindless single button mash-fest, but also makes it accessible enough for anyone to get into it right off the bat.
Yes, the graphics are very sharp, the 3-D models are very well produced and admittedly look bit better than that 3-D TMNT game that's coming out for the Wii. Ubisoft does an excellent job at recreating the worlds and characters in 3-D, while preserving the core integrity of the original Turtles in Time's design.
Though a graphic overhaul alone doesn't really justify a $10 (800 Microsoft points) price tag, there are a few modes and functions added to the game that just might. The game does support online play in pretty much every mode; this is pretty much a standard with nearly every Xbox 360 game of this type, but it's good to know that you're not required to have 3 friends over for some full TMNT action. Ubisoft also added an auto-save function between each level which I really appreciate, especially if you've played TMNT 1989 and realize that you have to start from the beginning every play through. This alone made the $10 price point worth it for me because I didn't feel as if I had to be chained to my TV and 360 for 40 minutes (or more) in order to do anything significant in the game. I think it's what made the game so enjoyable for me was finishing a level or 2 just before bed each night and not feeling pressured to play any more than I had originally intended.
The game's longevity is extended even further with the addition of Survival and Time Attack mode. In survival mode you basically have one life to get as far as you can. It's the type of mode that will make you cuss out loud and shake an angry fist at the sky, but will strangely have you coming back for one more because you foolishly tell yourself you can beat it. Time Attack is pretty self explanatory, instead of Foot Soldiers you're killing off giant clocks, just kidding. In reality, you're just seeing how fast you can get through the levels.
Originally, this game was $15 (1200 Microsoft points) at the time of launch and I would have really looked at this game differently had I been forced to pay that amount. However, within the last 2 weeks the price was dropped to $10 (800 Microsoft points) making it a more reasonable buy (yes, $5 does make a difference with the weird amounts of points available via the Xbox Live's point shop and with the $20 cards). If you're a fan of the 4 mutated turtle brothers; then by all means by this game, it should already be in your library whether you have 3 real life friends that can play with you or if you have Xbox Live Gold. I give Turtles in Time Re-Shelled 8 out of 10 random Foot Soldiers with the caveat that it might be fun with friends, it's a lot easier to beat by yourself.
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