Ubisoft Vs. Activision

[retr0pia75]

who do you consider to be the better of the post-konami tmnt game publishers?

from my pov, while neither of them had solid track records, my vote goes to ubisoft. a lot of their output with the property was pretty second-rate and in cases like arcade attack just plain terrible, they actually managed to put out at least two games that i'd consider good. the gba version of the 2007 movie tie-in game was a really solid brawler on par with the best ot games, and smash up, while it definitely could've done way more to bank on the concept of "smash bros. but it's ninja turtles" was decent enough

activision on the other hand... i can't think of a single game that was released under them that went above "barely above average". even when their games did show potential like with mutants in manhattan, they just couldn't seem to deliver on them in the end. what do you guys think?

[D-ray]

With no doubt Ubisoft.
It pubblished very few games, but they were really well made to me.
I still prefer Konami by far (damn I miss it). Smash up was cool, even tho I didn't appreciate the fact that the Wii version had way more content.

Activision was, heh, like always. The games they made were pretty mediocre to me, just a way to capitalize on the new show.
The Konami ones had alot of content and effort in it, while Ubisoft tried to do the same.

[retr0pia75]

Originally Posted by D-ray

I still prefer Konami by far (damn I miss it).

with how they are now it's probably a good thing they don't have the license anymore

to be frank even they faltered at the end of their run, the 2k3 games weren't awful but they didn't have the soul the ot games had

[oldmanwinters]

The highlight of the Ubisoft era was probably the 2007 GBA title. I'm also one of those people who enjoyed Smash-Up on the Wii.

The highlight of Activision was probably securing deals with Wayforward and PlatinumGames for development... that resulted in products that were sufficiently playable but underwhelming.

[retr0pia75]

Originally Posted by oldmanwinters

The highlight of Activision was probably securing deals with Wayforward and PlatinumGames for development... that resulted in products that were sufficiently playable but underwhelming.

mutants in manhattan turning out the way it did still stings lol. i get that it likely had a rushed development cycle given considering it was a licensed game published by activision but it's dispiriting that it was the closest activision ever got to a "good" tmnt title before they lost the license

and it's not like mim was completely irredeemable, in fact it had precisely the right idea on what a great modern tmnt game could be, it's just that for whatever reason they're just cursed to be forever outdone by the earlier konami games

[RaphaelinSTL]

Does anyone even have the license now?

[D-ray]

Originally Posted by retr0pia75

with how they are now it's probably a good thing they don't have the license anymore

to be frank even they faltered at the end of their run, the 2k3 games weren't awful but they didn't have the soul the ot games had

What do you mean they didn't have the soul?
Like, they were not like the arcades?

[retr0pia75]

Originally Posted by D-ray

Like, they were not like the arcades?

no that wasn't the problem, though they were kind of in the same formula. the problem was that by then you could tell konami was starting to run on fumes with the license and were more focused on doing the bare minimum of what would normally constitute for a turtles game

there's an argument to be made about the original arcade game, manhattan project, and turtles in time/hyperstone heist being repetitive but they were well-designed and had a good enough pace, plus they would vary things up so that it wouldn't get old. the 2k3 games captured the tone of the show but felt more slow and empty

[sdp]

Ubisoft started strong with 2007, the 3D game was decent and the GBA game was excellent, it just wasn't a hit because the movie wasn't a hit. Smash Up could've been legendary with the correct roster, but without it, it was just a smash clone with a lame roster. Arcade Attack I dont' even know what that was and Reshelled sadly failed.

Activision tried twice to have a hit game with Out of the Shadows and Mutant in Manhattan but for different reasons a subpar game was released so no one cared, I also missed getting them on steam and I regret it despite not being the best games I would've liked to try them out myself. The other games were just cheap cash-ins from what I can tell.

So I guess between those two I'd have to say it's almost a tie in terms of how much effort they put in, they both seemed to give up rather easily on the license after it didn't meet their expectations. I think I'd have to give it to Ubisoft if I need to choose who did a better job but not by much really.

[Tortuglio]

Dudes, MiM had Armaggon! That was almost cool enough for me.

In all seriousness, i agree with Leo656, it's a fun game with a ton stuff, not perfect sure but good enough. And although i would've loved having local co-op, it certainly would've been a bit chaotic.

Out of the shadows gets a lot of criticism too and i don´t think it's that bad, either. Yes, it isn´t that long, the designs are kinda ugly and i remember the camera was pretty wonky. But i thought the controls and fighting were pretty solid. I just enjoyed beating up the enemies in different ways and the gameplay felt fun, idk.

I love Manhattan project, it's my favourite from KONAMI, but playing it solo, even though i enjoy the music and the enemies, at some point it gets repetitive. I feel that sometimes, nostalgia gets in the way when we look at these games. Of course, to each his own, right?

[Leo656]

Yeah, I had a lot of fun with both OotS and MiM. I think people just had expectations that were way, way too high with those. Both are really good on their own terms.

I think the camera in MiM would have made co-op play frigging unbearable, honestly. As a solo gamer I don't miss couch co-op most of the time and I really liked switching between all four Turtles, it added a nice strategic element and forced me to be someone besides Leonardo for a change, experiment with different attacks and all that. When you put the time in and unlock most/all of the Upgrades, there's a lot you can do that's really fun.

Played Manhattan Project and TMNT II: The Arcade Game on NES a few months ago, and I had a lot of fun with both although I do think Manhattan Project is more polished and probably "better" overall. I didn't think it was any more or less repetitive than any other beat-'em-up but I did notice how incredibly long it was compared to "Arcade" or "Turtles In Time"; that's not a bad thing to me but it definitely stands out and I can see why since it really is a "Just Keep hitting B" type of game that it can be very repetitive for some. I hadn't played it in such a long time that the length really took me by (pleasant) surprise.

It's like I LIKE "Turtles In Time" and overall the gameplay is the best in that series, and I've played it a thousand times and I'll play it ten thousand more times, but goddamn it... 25 minutes. 25 minutes on the hardest difficulty, and once you beat it, you're done. I have a hard time remaining in romantic love with it the way a lot of people are, based on that. Whereas an average runthrough of MiM takes about 6 hours, and you can't see everything in one run, you have to play it multiple times to unlock everything and see all the Secret Boss fights. Maybe it isn't the "best" TMNT game ever, but it's the one I go to the most often when I want to spend a nice weekend with a Turtles game and not just a cup of coffee's worth.

Anyways, glad we mostly think alike on the subject. I mean I see where other people are coming from, kinda... it just seems like a bit of overreacting on their part, is all. in my own humble opinion.