Cowabunga Dude!
One of the joys of being a dad is that you can inflict your personal hobbies and preferences onto your kid—sometimes they even end up loving it as much as you do! The recent increase in all things Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle-ish is one such example, with the release of a movie, the original side-scrolling arcade game coming out on Xbox LIVE® Arcade, and a full-blown Xbox 360™ game shipping as well.
The heroes on the half-shell are back.
My son Connor had never even heard of TMNT™ (although the name alone was enough to pique his interest) so he certainly wasn't excited of his own accord about the upcoming movie. That just wouldn't do, so it was up to me to get him introduced to this particular brand of entertainment.
First off, I picked up the original live-action movie from 1990—it's silly and campy, but was well received by both of us. I don't mind answering a ton of questions (how could you be a dad if you did?), but the movie was a good way for Connor to learn why a bunch of turtles (and a rat) are the size of humans and are running around the city fighting bad guys.
It seems the movie wasn't enough for him to sort out the four names though, Leonardo is still "the blue guy," but he knows them all by their personality. We haven't made it to the new CGI movie, but I'm sure we'll watch it sooner or later.
Time to Get Playing
With that knowledge under our belt, it was time to move onto the games. I was interested in the Xbox LIVE Arcade version of the 1989 classic, but Connor just doesn't get into the "retro" games (too spoiled with the graphics of Xbox® and Xbox 360 games I guess), so we jumped right into the full TMNT experience. I'll get my one main complaint about this game out in the open—it is a single-player game only.
There are ways in which the four turtles interact in the game, with tag-team style switching and special combo moves, but for a game that is all about a team of brothers, it seems a shame that only one person can play at a time. That complaint aside, the game is a blast to play, even if you aren't a fan of the series (being a fan of ninjas, running, jumping, and sword swinging certainly helps though).
One must be careful around sword-wielding ninja turtles.
My initial impression while watching Connor run through the first few missions was that it was a faster and simpler version of the recent Prince of Persia® video games. TMNT removes the complexities of the "sands of time" (cool as rewinding time is, it is certainly not a simple game element), adds in some neat features around the multiple characters (combo moves both in and out of fights) and has a kid-friendly story line. It is a great adaptation of the 3-D platformer style of game.
The similarity to Prince of Persia is no real surprise, since both games were developed by Ubisoft Montreal, and this style of game works really well with the acrobatic skills of the four turtles. I am a big fan of Prince of Persia for the original Xbox (and it plays on Xbox 360 via the wonders of backward compatibility, so dig it out if you have it!), but I think it would be too difficult (and a bit scary) for Connor.
Easy to Play
Thankfully, TMNT is very easy to get the hang of, and Connor was able to quickly learn the various ledge-grabbing, back-and-forth wall jumping, and special turtle-specific moves (like Michelangelo using his nunchaku like a helicopter). While the game certainly has tricky parts for both adults and kids, I found it a bit too easy for someone who has played Ninja Gaiden® or Prince of Persia already. This was probably for the best, since Connor didn't really want to give up the controller once he started!
There is a lot of gameplay in TMNT, with a ton of levels and the motivation to retry them to get a better combat rating, a faster time, or other improved results. Despite the kid-level difficulty, the desire to get higher scores on each level along with the unlockable and fairly difficult "challenge maps" (special virtual reality-style maps that focus purely on navigating a series of acrobatic challenges in the shortest time possible) has definitely kept my interest in the game. As I mentioned, Connor is pretty attached to the controller on this one, so I've been getting some time into the game only once he's off to bed.
Connor, go to bed. Xbox Dad wants to play!
Overall, it is a great game for a kid who thinks ninjas are cool or is already a fan of the series. It is a bit more violent than I would like, as Leonardo certainly doesn't seem to be sticking with only the flat of his swords (which he traditionally did in the various kid shows), but you'll need to check that out for yourself and decide if it is appropriate for your child. Download the Xbox LIVE Arcade Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game as well and relive some fond memories, or make some new ones with some low-res pizza loving teenage ninjas.
Track Me Down on Xbox LIVE
Check out my profile online to see how we are doing with both the Turtle games, with Walt Disney Pictures Presents Meet the Robinsons (the last game I covered), and with other Family Game Night picks like Viva Piñata™. Don't be surprised if you see a few non-family games on there as well though, because the Xbox Dad gets to play his own games once the kiddies are all asleep!
Have a question or comment for Xbox Dad? Shoot me an email xboxdad@microsoft.com or find me online!
Article by Duncan Festive Turkey Mackenzie
