TMNT: Smash-Up

[Dr. Doom]

Of all the titles made for the Wii, only very few of them that have been made by 3rd parties are even with taking a **** on. 3rd parties don't generally know how to make games for the Wii and just end up tacking on ******, waggle-centric controls that make playing a chore instead of more fun. Sure, Brawl in an outstanding game. My favorite on the system. But there's now way that the amount of care put into that title is going to be put into this.

I want this game to be great just as much as any of you, if not more, but I remember when the descriptions of the 2007 game made it sound awesome, and look at what a piece of crap that turned out to be.

[Peanut]

Exactly. For once, I don't have anything to add.

[Ninjinister]

There are very few versus fighters that I actually hate enough to refuse to play, so I have no worries on this.

Also: in my book, there has never been a terrible TMNT game. There have been ones that were not as good as the others, but none that plain sucked. And that's not just because "OMG TMNT FAN L0RZ", but because I find them fun still. If it was just because of the license, I would love crap like the Dragon Ball Ultimate Battle 22, Final Bout, and Buto-Retsuden.

[Dragon Turtle]

Originally Posted by The Ninjinister

Freakin' HOT! Thank you!


(Drools at character art on the left)

The art for the article was done by Sean "Cheeks" Galloway (Spectacular Spider-Man, Hellboy Animated).

Originally Posted by Quiet_Guy

Is this issue out now?

Yes.


While waiting for the snow truck that never came, I decided to pick up the latest edition of Nintendo Power, so here is the article on the new TMNT Wii game (excuse any typos):

SHELL-SHOCKER!

To kick off our big 2009 preview special, we've got an exclusive sneak peek at a game that's so early it hasn't even been named yet! For now we'll just call it TMNT. A new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle game is always worth at least a raised eyebrow (despite the mixed results of the foursome's last several titles), but when it's a four-player fighting game made by some of the folks who worked on Super Smash Bros. Brawl and former members of Tecmo's famed Team Ninja (who worked on the Ninja Gaiden and Dead or Alive series), then were looking at one of the most exciting stories of the new year.



Seeing is believing

We wouldn't have believed it if we hadn't seen it, but there we were in late November at Ubisofts San Francisco offices, watching turtle-versus-turtle combat. Ubisoft- who will publish the game- had been looking for an opportunity to work with Games Arts, part of the all-star team that developed Brawl under the direction of Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai. The studio became available just as it was time for Ubi to start a new Turtles project to be release in 2009 - the 25th anniversary of TMNT. And then former members of Team Ninja joined the production to officially make this the craziest story we ever heard.

The version of the game that we got to see is very early - it's been in development for just over a year - but it already looks impressive (Ubisoft is aiming for a September '09 release). In fact, the visuals may even surpass the bar set by Brawl; for example, a rooftopd level features a city skyline that is much more detailed then most brawl stages. And we were instantly relieved to see that this isn't meant to be ajust a kids' game. The visuals are dark and edgy for a TMNT title, and we were guaranteed that our ears wouldn't have to suffer through endless loops of Turtles quips like "slice and dice!" during the action. Further, the team wisely avoided tying the game in with any particular iteration of TMNT- it doesn't look exactly like any of the comics, cartoons, or toys.

(It does look exactly like the 2007 movie -DT)


Getting into the Action

As you can probably gather from these screens, the game is quite similar to Brawl in look and feel. There are some differences in the gameplay that we'll get into in qa moment - and some other features that will set TMNT apart that Ubisoft isn't ready to reveal yet - but the action should feel instantly familiar to anyone who's put time into a Super Smash Bros.-style fighting game.

Up to four players can fight at once, and since competing turtles can be tough to distinguish between when the camera is far away, each character is color-coded with a glowing effect. The fighting is what you'd expect: regular moves, special moves, throws and combos. There are also attacks that use the evironment, such as flying kicks off of walls, or attacks while hanging from ledges. In true ninja style, you can run short distances up walls, and some stages have poles that you can grab and swing on for higher jumps and more-punishing jump-kicks.

There will be multiple control schemes to choose from; we can confirm both Wii-remote and -nunchuck and remote only options. No word yet on whether a Gamecube controller will work, but a new control scheme is said to be in development for advanced players. otion controls will be used, but not extensively- don't expect to be swinging your remote constantly for common attacks. We can also report that taunts are in the game (we saw Leonardo mock his opponents by spinning his swords in the air) and that items will play a role in the fighting (although the only one we were able to catch a glimps of was a health restoring pizza).

Players each have a life meter that depletes when they take damage, and it's possible to be KO'ed instantly by falling off the screen (plus match rules can be customized). the game will have agenerous roster of characters pulled from the turtles' long history (we've been told Mirage Studios, which owns the TMNT brand, has been involved with the character-selection process), but so far we've been able to peek at only the turtles themselves and Splinter, their rat sensei.

Among the game's various modes and matche types (most of which are still a closely guarded secret) is a story mode. All we could get out of Ubi is that it won't be a side-scoller like Brawl's Subspace Emmisarry, and that Peter Laird- cocreator of TMNT- worked on the story. Fou-player online battles are also planned, and the developers are working hard to deliver a smooth experience free of the issues that hindered brawl. They also want to add something unique to the mix, so expect a new twist or two.

Beautiful Battlegrounds.

Finally, we were really impressed by the games stages. We got to check out two of them, and they both looked as though they could hang with the best Brawl had to offer, thanks to lots of environmental interaction and plenty of visual detail. The first stage we saw was a gorgeous rooftop battle against a detailed city skyline, featuring a water tower that could be busted open to send water gushing out at opponents, an electric sign that zapped whoever got knocked into it, lots of long falls between the buildings, and poles to swing on for sky-high acrobatics. The next battle took place in the sewers and started in a small, confined area with water flowing along the ground. But when someone beat on a giant hatch on the left side of the room, it broke open and unleashed a tidal wave that pushed everyone into the stage's second area, a vertical chamber with slippery platforms and a crocodile that popped out at random to chomp on unsuspecting victims.

We haven't been this excited about the turtles in years. If the developers can deliver on the promise of what we've seen so far, fighting fans will have something pretty special to look forward to in the back half of '09. Ubisoft tells us the development team is determined to set a new standard for the genre, and that the fighting may end up being even deeper then Brawl's. If they can pull that off, the whoa- cowabunga, dude.

[Ninjinister]

The fact that Mirage is reaching back into the TMNT's history to choose characters is a bit comforting. Hopefully it's not just Peter, but also guys like Murph, Ryan, Dan, et cetera, that will choose ones from outside of the Mirage, 2003, and 2007's canons.

[Jester]

I small Armagon and Verminator X...if the ask Murph. Them and some of the Mutanimals.

[Blade Raider]

This is the best TMNT news I've seen in ages! Only thing I'm disliking is the seemly reuse of the movie game models. Plus, this is the first thing for the 25th anniversary that actually looks...GOOD!

Here's hoping Ubi Soft makes this good

[AquaParade]

Some of this looks really cool to me so far, but am I the only one who think the pics look kinda lackluster so far?

[VaughnMichael]

Originally Posted by AquaParade

Some of this looks really cool to me so far, but am I the only one who think the pics look kinda lackluster so far?

Nope...you're not alone. It doesn't even look like a new video game.
What's with tmnt getting sh1t games since 2k3.
I'll go back and play the old video games any day but once I done with the modern tmnt games I handed them to another person like my little sister.

[tOkKa]

[Blade Raider]

That is ironic

...in a sad way, I guess...

[tOkKa]

Originally Posted by Blade Raider

That is ironic

...in a sad way, I guess...

-->> ..little bit in a bad way , maybe in a good way in some regards.

..

[Newton Gimmick]

The pics don't do it justice. It looks really good. Yes, they're using a lot of the same samples for the characters from the last game, but they've been very nicely polished.

Again, check out the Aligator. It's very impressive. They repeatedly said the graphics are better than Brawl's.

I'd also add that they said several control schemes were being added, which means it may end up like Brawl as well. I doubt we'll see lots of "waggle" tossed in.

[Samhain]

this games gonna be awesome!!

[AquaParade]

NintendoPower commented that they can't....comment...on this being ported to any other system just yet...but I have a little feeling that us 360 and PS3 owners just may be getting our own tmnt games.

[Mecha Cow]

Let's get one thing out of the way first: this isn't going to be 'better than Brawl'. That said, it looks surprisingly decent. Cautiously optimistic for now.

[Dragon Turtle]

Originally Posted by VaughnMichael

What's with tmnt getting sh1t games since 2k3.
I'll go back and play the old video games any day but once I done with the modern tmnt games I handed them to another person like my little sister.

Like many Japanese developers, Konami has had a lackluster track record when it comes to producing 3D action titles, it's not something unique to the turtle titles, and Ubisoft's last TMNT offerings were typical movie tie in games, produced in a rush to get out onto the store shelves at the same time as the movie hit theaters. At least as far as this title is concerned, it would have been in development for over a year and a half when it is finally released next year, a pretty good amount of time for game development.

I will agree that they should have come up with a new art style, not because I don't like the style of the 2007 movie (I do), but because it would have been better to have it's own distinctive style since it's not supposed to be related to the movie.

Originally Posted by Newton Gimmick

The pics don't do it justice. It looks really good. Yes, they're using a lot of the same samples for the characters from the last game, but they've been very nicely polished.

Again, check out the Aligator. It's very impressive. They repeatedly said the graphics are better than Brawl's.

Indeed, the article stated that many of the effects, including anti-aliasing, were not included in this preview copy.

Originally Posted by AquaParade

NintendoPower commented that they can't....comment...on this being ported to any other system just yet...but I have a little feeling that us 360 and PS3 owners just may be getting our own tmnt games.

That would be a dream come true, if Ubisoft were designing each turtle game to take advantage of the strengths of each system, even though I would have preferred a traditional 2D/3D fighter, or a side-scrolling brawler, it makes perfect sense to produce a multi-player fighting title in the same vein as Smash Bros. for the Wii.

[The Shelf]

So, I realize that we know next to nothing about this game, but I can't resist getting just a little excited about this game. So... what characters do you guys think should be in it? Here's my top 20:

(For characters that appeared in multiple universes, I give preference to the Mirage comic/2k3 versions; e.g. Leatherhead)
1. Leo
2. Don
3. Raph
4. Mike
5. Splinter
6. Shredder
7. Casey Jones
8. Baxter Stockman
9. Leatherhead
10. Rat King
11. Foot Elite
12. Triceraton
13. Karai
14. Hun
15. Nobody
16. Krang
17. Bebop
18. Rocksteady
19. Armaggon
20. April (mostly because we need a little more female presence than just Karai)

EDIT: Woops, forgot about...
21. Fugitoid
22. Yoshi

[Blade Raider]

Originally Posted by The Shelf

So, I realize that we know next to nothing about this game, but I can't resist getting just a little excited about this game. So... what characters do you guys think should be in it? Here's my top 20:

(For characters that appeared in multiple universes, I give preference to the Mirage comic/2k3 versions; e.g. Leatherhead)
1. Leo
2. Don
3. Raph
4. Mike
5. Splinter
6. Shredder
7. Casey Jones
8. Baxter Stockman
9. Leatherhead
10. Rat King
11. Foot Elite
12. Triceraton
13. Karai
14. Hun
15. Nobody
16. Krang
17. Bebop
18. Rocksteady
19. Armaggon
20. April (mostly because we need a little more female presence than just Karai)

EDIT: Woops, forgot about...
21. Fugitoid
22. Yoshi

I agree mostly (Don't think Fugitoid would be much of a fighter though. Maybe just a NPC.), but let's add Tokka, Rahzar, and Slash (Slash would be an easy Tokka clone)

[The Shelf]

Originally Posted by Blade Raider

I agree mostly (Don't think Fugitoid would be much of a fighter though. Maybe just a NPC.), but let's add Tokka, Rahzar, and Slash (Slash would be an easy Tokka clone)

Clearly you've never read Volume 4.

I forgot about those 3 too. They would definitely be good additions.