Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan Reviews
Ultimately, all that's wrong with Mutants in Manhattan was that it couldn't meet Platinum's own stratospheric standards.
You could refer to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan as the best TMNT game in years, but that really doesn't mean much. While there's a moderately entertaining co-op experience underneath the lazy level design, short game length, bland missions, occasional bugs, and minor kinks in the combat system, the quality and value most certainly aren't in line with what we expect from a $50 game. Sure, it could be worse (look at the last three TMNT games, for example), but it's especially heartbreaking considering Platinum's history of delivering fantastic action games. This is not Bayonetta. It's not even Transformers: Devastation. Don't shell out your hard-earned cash when you could spend it on delicious pizza instead.
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.
I’m looking forward to Platinum Games returning back to what they do best—creating original games with unique settings and fast character-action with crazy combos to learn. They can certainly make these licensed games look fantastic, but nearly everything else they leave little to desire.
A disappointment, and the worst game from a developer known for its quality output. It might not be the a total loss if you want a co-op TMNT game, but it's a terrible waste given the developer's reputation and the license involved.
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The boss battles help to alleviate the repetition and there are some secret ones that can be unlocked if you meet particular criteria that serve as the primary reason to replay levels. Admittedly, some of these were pretty cool and gave me a nice sense of satisfaction when they occurred, but at the end of the day Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan is little more than a visually stylized button masher with little of the heart that has made the Turtles so enduring over the years. I love most of the titles that PlatinumGames produces, but TMNT is a rare miss for the developer.
It's with a heavy heart that I have to say that this game is utter garbage of the hottest variety.
In the end, it’s a good game for being licensed but at the same time feels like it was in a bit of a rush. Activision trying to make it out in time for Michael Bay’s next adaptation, when more cooking time in the “pizza oven” would have helped.
But even with the admittedly enjoyable boss fights, all the letdowns of Mutants in Manhattan gave me an impression that this was just another rushed game. The mechanics were simple to understand; but it surely lacked the local co-op mode, and missing the satisfying achievement that each hack n’ slash / beat ‘em up game should always have.
In the end, Platinum didn't need to do much to make Mutants in Manhattan a worthwhile experience. All it had to do was respect the source material, create some satisfying combat mechanics, and honor the series' local multiplayer origins. It failed largely at all three.
Overall, Mutants in Manhattan just feels a little lazy, one of the very last levels recycles all the previous bosses you have fought and you have to beat each one again before moving on. They are exactly the same, but much easier now that you have upgraded. Whilst the combat is fun at first it quickly grows old, there are a lot of small missed opportunities which could have made this game really fun. Sadly what we are left with is the bare bones of a hack and slash game with the Turtles branding.
Those looking for a game that will recapture the glory days of the arcade TMNT, Turtles in Time, or Hyperstone Heist will be sorely disappointed. Those looking for a for a beat 'em up and are willing to settle for some middling gameplay with great trademarked characters might be interested in Mutants in Manhattan—ideally at a discount.
TMNT: Mutants in Manhattan is a huge missed opportunity, that should have and could have been so much more. Turtle Power this is not!
There is absolutely no reason to turtle up the $50 for this game.