Genre: Action/Platformer
Publisher: Ubisoft
Developer: Ubisoft Montreal
Release Date: March 20, 2007

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had a good run in the '90s with cartoons, arcade games, movies, toys, bed sheets — you name it. Name any physical object, and chances are that it had sported a turtle at some point. Fourteen years after the "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III" film, we are graced with a CGI version of "TMNT." Naturally, what would a computer-animated movie be without an accompanying video game release?

In TMNT, the turtle gang is recounting an old story to their master, Splinter. The story they're telling happens to be loosely based on the movie; it has the same characters and most of the same events, but it is told in a different fashion.

After defeating their arch-nemesis Shredder, the turtles grew apart and went on a hiatus as a crime-fighting team. Once Splinter discovers that something is wrong in New York, he reunites the turtles and teaches them to fight as a team once again. The story is told with a combination of comic book-style cut scenes and clips from the movie.

Throughout each level, you will be performing acrobatic and, dare I say, Prince of Persia-like moves to reach the goal. Jumping, wall-running, and acrobatics will be your main mode of transportation, and it's actually a lot of fun. Oddly enough, the boundless way in which you leap across rooftops reminds me of the freedom you are given in the web-slinging Spider-Man games. While it is not a free-roaming environment, you do feel like you can almost reach anywhere with the crazy wall-jumping skill in your arsenal. A lot of the levels seem to be intentionally easy, and the pace at which you can complete them gives the title a Sonic feel. The levels are even timed so you can go back to finish the stage and beat your high score.

Each turtle also has a different skill to help you through the stage. Raphael can use his sai to climb high walls, Michelangelo uses his nunchuks to helicopter across gaps, Donatello uses his staff to leap under low areas, and Leonardo can harness the power of the medallion to transport himself through gated spots.

The fighting in TMNT is interesting, but certainly not as deep as you would hope it to be. You can switch between the turtles using the Square button, and each turtle has different weapons, with Michelangelo employing nunchuks, Raphael using his sai, Dontello utilizing a staff, and Leonardo wielding two swords. You basically only have three attacks at your disposal: heavy, light, and team attack. Pressing the light attack over and over will result in a combo, but it is nothing as intricate as what you might find in God of War.

Of course, the diverse team attacks can be used in various situations. For example, Donatello uses his staff to attack all nearby enemies with electricity, while Raphael takes one of the turtles and throws him into the enemy for immense damage.

Unfortunately, it seems the fighting was just reduced to a simple beat 'em up. Ubisoft should have either included some kind of co-op experience for the story mode, or made the attack system more detailed — or both, if you're feeling lucky. Alas, there is no multiplayer in TMNT whatsoever.

The enemies mostly consist of the Foot Clan and civilian gang members, while boss battles engage you with fierce monsters. They look, anyway; all of the enemies are very easy to defeat, making this game a breeze to complete.

Surprisingly, the environments are impressive for a licensed title. In some stages, you'll be hopping across rooftops littered with funny Cowabunga Carl billboards, while in others, you'll be trudging through the slime-infested sewers. Another thing that was aesthetically pleasing was how the platforming was presented. At times, the camera will be behind the turtle as he is sprinting through the level, but when he gets to a place with platforms, it may slyly switch to a side view for easier navigation, serving as an homage to side-scrollers of olden days.

Similarly, you cringe in anticipation of the voice acting, only to be very pleasantly surprised. Soundalikes are used rather than the movie actors, but the work is done quite well, and the lines sound like something you would hear in a cartoon. There is, however, one huge, hair-pulling, nail-biting drawback: During gameplay, each turtle has his own set of catchphrases like little pull-string dolls. With no rhyme or reason, you will randomly hear, "It's Johnny!" from Raphael or the hilarious, "Awesomely Super Sensationalistic!" by Michelangelo. It's hilarious the first time, but when they use the lines while you're jumping, fighting, and getting hit, you think, "Why? Why do you hate me so much, turtles? I give you so much love, but you give me nothing in return."

Luckily, while TMNT is extremely short — only about five hours to beat the main story — it gives you a good bit to do once you've completed the game. After you finish a level, you can go back through it again to try and collect all five turtle coins, which let you unlock videos, art, and codes in the Extras menu. Additionally, when you complete a stage with a grade of A or higher, you unlock a challenge stage that is playable from the Extras menu.

TMNT ends up being fun but extremely basic. There is lots of speedy platforming coupled with a simple beat-'em-up fighting style, which makes for a brief but mostly unsatisfying experience. Hardcore fans may wholly enjoy TMNT, but casual fans should steer clear of this game, which is almost shorter than its title.

Score: 6.8/10