TMNT: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled (XBLA) Review
Posted by Jordan Williams on 08.13.2009
Almost a decade and a half later, Turtles in Time gets a fresh new look with the same old gameplay. Is this game strictly for the nostalgia lovers or is this a new turtles game for the new school?
Title: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft
Genre: Sidescrolling Action
Players: 1 - 4 (Xbox Live and Local Co-Op)
Rated: E for Everyone
Odds are if you are a child of the late 80s and early 90s, you know all about the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Heroes in a Half-Shell that pretty much took the world (and our parent’s wallets) by storm. Four pizza loving turtles at the height of their popularity had a very successful toy line, cartoons, comic books, candy, snacks, and arguably some of the best beat 'em ups of the era. The new and old got a taste of those two years ago when Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Arcade was ported over to the Xbox Live Arcade. Now they are getting a second helping with Turtles in Time: Re-Shelled.
Re-Shelled is just the latest in the wave of old school games getting a new school upgrade, while other games are adding functionality and making minor changes to appeal to the new school of gamer, Re-Shelled knows that nearly everyone going into this is looking to just have the same amount of fun they had a decade and a half ago. So is Re-Shelled just another cash in port? Or is it worthy of being called a remake?
Graphics
The "Re-Shelled" part of the title refers to the fact that the entire game has been completely remade and remodeled in full-3D (although it is still on a 2D plane). They turtles, foot soldiers, and even the bosses are all recreated with the same cartoony look that they had on the sprites, and they actually end up making enemies that didn't look terribly detailed or imposing in their sprite form actually look decent. Shredder looked downright terrific in full 3D.
Another change that is just as much graphical as much as it is gameplay based is now the game takes place in 8 directions. Meaning now that the Turtles (and their enemies) will attack from 8 different directions rather than the two they used to. Graphically this makes the game look very new and even a bit more realistic as now you do get the feeling that you are surrounded by enemies rather than having sprites stack up on either side of you and punch.
Animations for the turtles, enemies, and bosses look great. The only problem here is that the menu and other outside aspects (such as the art opening and closing) look really cheap and dated. They took all the time remaking everything else in 3D but the opening and closing scenes honestly look like they were drawn by a 13 year old rather than a good reputable artist.
Also I think it deserves mention that TiT does NOT feature a 'retro' mode you are seeing so much in this re-released. This doesn’t affect the score at all for me because I think the idea of paying 800 MSP (10 USD) for a game that looks (and plays) like it did over a decade ago is stupid. The fact that these graphical changes also change the way the game is played also leads me to believe that adding in a 'retro' mode for it would've ended up giving it decreased playability. So unless you were REALLY set on paying 10 bucks for a game that looks and plays like it did 10 years ago, the lack of a retro graphics mode really shouldn't weigh on your decision.
Gameplay
As I said above the remake extends into the gameplay a minor bit, you can now move and attack in 8 full directions which at first glance would make the game seem a bit easier rather than harder. But once you realize that enemies (including bosses) have the same advantage it makes the game actually a tad more challenging. Enemies on the harder difficulties can and will surround you and beat you into the dirt unless someone comes along to bail you out.
This version of the game also plays into the stats a bit more noticeably than previous incarnations. Leonardo is the all-rounder. With a good balance of range, speed, and strength. Raph is the fastest of the turtles, but also does the least damage and has no range at all. Mikey has the strongest special move in the game, which is able to hit enemies in a wide arc, and Donatello is the slowest of the bunch but packs the most punch and has the longest range. If you are a good enough player the selection won't REALLY matter, but it does allow you to pick turtles to complement your playing style and that of your friends. There certain boss fights (like Shredder, for instance) where having range is a good thing, but there are others (Cement Monster) where the speed is a much needed asset.
Beyond that the gameplay really stays true to the Arcade version of the game. The bosses still follow very noticeable patterns, with the latter ones busting out moves not normally seen. The game does have difficulty modes including a downright EVIL survival mode that dares you to beat the game in one life, no continues.
Achievement support is there and luckily it is not broken. Although I don't necessarily like the idea that two of the achievements actually demand you to get hurt, they are still balanced with hard to do but possible ones like avoiding every trap in Sewer Surfing and completing a single level under 3 minutes.
Sound
The one dark spot in this whole package for me is the sound. With all of the effort they had put into remaking this game from the ground up, they didn't bother to upgrade the music tracks at all. In fact on some levels they actually sound worse than they did in the original game. The game is fully voiced, but the sound clips are too few and far between and the ones the turtles spout can just be downright annoying at times. In Sewer Surfing you might want to try to avoid every trap not only to get the extra gamer score, but also to avoid hearing "Ow! My toe! My toe!" repeated 30 times.
It's just a bit weird that with all the work they put into the polishing this game up for the new release that they skipped over something as big as the music. This is definitely a game where you might want to make use of the custom soundtrack feature.
Fun Factor
Like I said before, if you are playing this game it's not because this a game you have never played before that you just heard about. You knew going into this game that it was an old school BEU with a new coat of paint tossed onto it. With that said, it's a blast from start to finish, especially when you add three more players to the mix. With support for online and local multiplayer you should really never have to play this game alone.
Lasting Appeal
The game, however, is a bit on the short side. You can easily beat the game in about an hour if you rush through, if you are shooting for achievements it might take you a bit longer because there is one that requires you to beat the game with all four turtles. The main think that is going to keep you coming back is the leader boards and the fact that this is a game that you can easily play over again a short period of time just to kill some time. It's not meant to be a super deep game.
The 411
Turtles in Time: Re-Shelled is a re-release of an old school BEU with a new look to it. 9 out of 10 people who play it are going to go into with already knowing what to expect from this type of game, and the 1 person who hasn't played would do good to try to trial first. New graphics, new mechanics, and a new school look make this a solid look back in time, albeit a short one. If you want to relive the good old days (and don't mind that they don't LOOK like the good ole days) give this one a look. For everyone else? You might want to try a slice of the pizza before you order the whole thing.
Graphics
7.5
The turtles and the enemies look great, but the background are a bit boring.
Gameplay
8.0
Classic Beat Em Up at it's finest, having 8 way direction control gives the game a little bit more playabiluty.
Sound
6.5
The voice clips get annoying and the music is just flat. Use custom sountrack.
Lasting Appeal
7.0
Best played with friends, it's a short game but like any BEU you will come back to it for a quick run through.
Fun Factor
8.0
Harder difficulties and survival mode make the game a challenge and fun for 1 to 4 players, just don't hog the pizza.
