Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan
Overview -
Everyone’s favorite anthropomorphic turtles are back in 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan', by Japanese studio PlatinumGames. Platinum has previously worked on brawlers like the highly successful 'Bayonetta', as well as big-ticket licenses like 'Transformers: Devastation'.
Video Review
The one area where Platinum was at least partially successful is in its appearance. Cel-shaded visuals are hard to pull off without looking grainy or undeveloped, but 'Mutants in Manhattan' by and large looks pretty good. The colors avoid the washed-out look and the animations, clearly inspired by the cartoons, are interesting to watch. The framerate is reliable (not great) and even if the assets tend to replay themselves endlessly, the brawling is smooth (such as it is).
Audio Review
The audio can’t quite deliver as much as the visuals. The voice acting is forgettable and the soundtrack is little better than electronica elevator music, sped up for excitement.
Final Thoughts
Perhaps after such goodness in licensed games such as 'Arkham' and 'Mordor' I have become spoiled, but I really thought Platinum could deliver a great (or at least good) Ninja Turtles title, especially after their decent work with the Transformers. Sadly, I was mistaken. This is a very short and very weak rendition of the Turtles. With the exception of perhaps the youngest and most devoted fans of the pizza-loving reptilian brothers, it can be easily skipped.