Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan is the Turtles game we’ve all been waiting for and Platinum Games is here to deliver. Austin and I had a brief hands-on session with the game and it looks to fulfill those fans eager for an old school action platformer.
From initial glance, its 80’s throwback look is not just coincidental but is an inspired mash up from different eras including the IDW Comics to the 3D Animated Nickelodeon series. Tom Waltz, from IDW fame, will be writing the story behind Mutants in Manhattan and expect a lighthearted theme and humor from the older TMNT generation.
Platinum Games is behind the game and development began midway through Transformers: Devastation. With experienced team members whose resumes span from Bayonetta, Metal Gear Rising, Transformers, and Korra, the end product seems to be a unified effort. Upon our first impression, it’s evident that the studio’s signature action gameplay is on full display. The two button combo system is the center of attention and each characters have four special abilities used with a cooldown delay. For instance, combo attacks are used in tandem with other teammates to create chain moves. The abilities are designed for players work together, especially in the Bebop boss encounter at the end of our demo. I played with Mikey and his cheerleader ability refreshes the other turtle’s cooldowns, allowing for an endless barrage of damage. You can either team up with three human or AI players that can be micromanaged through on the fly swapping or commands.
As for the levels, each open area is designed for traversal starting from the ground up to the rooftops. Randomized events trigger in the world and is used to gather the experience and items necessary to take on the final boss in each. Since these missions you encounter are different each time, Platinum added some replay value for those want to experiment with different styles and approaches. Each mission ends on a grading system and depending on how one fares in battle, max health increases and points earned can be spent on single use items ranging from pizza to gravity and freeze bombs. These items, placed strategically in a boss fight, can also help in tackling boss fights and harder difficulties.
Everything in TMNT: Mutants in Manhattan looks like the natural evolution of their previous studio output and with role-playing progression elements including a leveling system, upgrades, and collectibles, there is enough in this pizza eating, action packed outing to warrant a play through when it releases May 24 on PS4, Xbox One, Windows PC, Playstation 3, and Xbox 360.
