Game Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Out Of The Shadows (2013)
Introduction - dive into this sewer, familiar or not!
Welcome to New York, a place where four legendary heroes call home. No, not the Fantastic 4. They dwell deep within the sewers. Hidden in secret. Shadows to the outside world. Trained as ninjas in martial arts from childhood. Still not with me? Ok, simply put, they're four oversized teenage turtles raised by a giant rat. Together they battle their ultimate nemesis, Shredder, and his ever-loyal Foot-clan, who try to rule the city with a steel grip. Still with me? Tubular!
Now let's drop through the manhole, into the sewer and see what’s what…
Overview - plenty of pizza toppings!
TMNT: Out of The Shadows (not to be confused with the Michael Bay movie abomination of the same name) is based on the 2012 Nickelodeon show, a CGI cartoon based on the original comic book stories created by Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird way back in 1984.
The game was released on 28th August 2013 by Red Fly Studios and features a hack and slash gameplay style like the Batman Arkham series of games.
It was available on Steam, Xbox 360 and PS3 but is no longer available digitally due to Activision not renewing the licence back in 2017. It is possible to find PC copies via the internet so there’s still some hope if you're interested.
The game has the following features:
Story - an adventure over four chapters.
Survival - fight and survive rounds of enemies until all four Turtles are defeated
Battle - choose your Turtle and battle foes in a four-round match
Arcade Mode - side-scrolling beat-em-up style mode for up to four players
Dojo - a training area to learn all the moves
Donnie's Workshop - unlock special weapons for each character
True Ninja Mode - attack indicators are turned off (for the true Ninja Turtle only!)
On release, you could play online with four players and two-player split-screen but these modes are a bit unpolished, to put it mildly. Multiplayer matches are very rare nowadays.
Story - pretty standard but a nice distraction.
Taking a stroll around town, our testudinate heroes: Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo and Donatello, spot a group of thugs known as the Purple Dragons stealing some serious tech. But to what end? Of course, the Turtles investigate and inevitably the Foot clan and Shredder are involved.
In general, it's a story about some dudes who are up to no good, which becomes more than first meets the eye, leading to a final showdown with a familiar villain.
It's straight forward but you'll get a few hours of enjoyment from it and the humour is quite fun. There are some great one-liners from Mikey which will raise a smirk or two for the die-hard fans but may irritate others.
There are also plenty of collectables to be found which may see you coming back from time to time.
Replayability - where’s it at?
Whilst the story won't keep you coming back too often, the Battle & Survival modes are where it's at for replay value.
Completing objectives grants you points to spend on the Turtles and how you use those points affects how each character plays. Your choices can't be undone so choose wisely!
I've played through these modes countless times to find the skill set I prefer for each character but there could be more depth of customisation for each Turtle.
Graphics - better on PC (once adjusted), but on consoles, you’re out of luck.
In general, the subtle background touches to the scenery, buildings and the weather effects create a satisfying version of the Turtles' New York. I found myself stopping now and again to admire the detail on the buildings and to look down at the busy city below whilst jumping across the rooftops.
If like me, you love taking screenshots of the action, you'll get some cracking ones, believe me (I took all the shots shown in this review)!
The lighting can be a bit too bright so you'll probably find yourself dropping the brightness down to get that more mysterious ninja feel.
The Turtles look more like the original 1990 film than they do their 2012 versions which is a nice choice in my opinion. The animation detail is great, with different styles of movement for each character and the way they navigate their surroundings and engage in combat is well executed and their fighting styles are impressive to look at. The first time you see Mikey doing taunt dancing while talking about his first nunchuck related black eye is also highly amusing.
There are limited customisation options but on PC at least you can go into the config file to remove the awful motion blur, which I did. I hate when games apply this effect as it often destroys the experience. Cranking up the anti-aliasing doesn't hurt either. Sadly consoles don't get that option - bummer!
Voice acting/characters - pretty good but beware the Kari!
I don't recognise who any of the voice actors are but I thought they were all pretty good and the Turtles all fit their personalities, even if the jokes begin to wear thin after a while.
Shredder sounds gruff and not too silly like the old ‘90s cartoon and when he mocks you it actually gives you the drive to beat his ass.
Splinter's voice was interesting but not quite as satisfying as I'd hoped - the original voice actor of Kevin Clash would have made for a nice treat.
The Foot soldiers are all mostly silent ninjas but it's funny when they try to sound tough and the same goes for the Purple Dragons - did these guys all train at the same place as the Batman games’ thugs did?
My only gripes, in particular, are April and Kari. I just didn't care for April's character in the entire story and she could easily have been removed from the story without making any difference. Kari’s repeated "come find me Turtles, dance Turtles" taunt as she darts around dropping smoke bombs is a steady incline of annoyance to the point you'll crack and be like "let's just kick the bejesus out of her to keep her quiet!".
Gameplay - this Arkham City clone needs some polish…
The main fighting mechanic is quite similar to the Batman Arkham series. There's a block meter for parrying attacks and a special bar that lets you unleash some awesome attacking power. Each Turtle fights differently and has their own specific perks and you'll soon have your own favourite.
On console, the frame rate maxes out at 30 fps which can affect the fluidity of fights but this increases to 60 fps on PC, a big improvement.
Whilst navigation in the game is somewhat open, there is still typically a set route which makes the game fairly linear.
The option to sneak around and stealth KO a foe or run in and administer a fatal dose of Turtle Power is a nice touch during the campaign but in other situations, you have no option but to stand and fight.
The first chapter of the story mode works as an on the fly training session to learn attacks, countering and the gnarly jumps and flips - you can practice more in the Dojo.
As far as the controls themselves go, the combination of keyboard and mouse is horrendous as the keys are so far apart. Thankfully you can connect up your favourite gamepad (I used my Xbox 360 controller) so it’s the same layout as console and easy to catch on.
The controller at times feels a bit delayed and if your inputs are too fast during combat your character may start doing random things like attacking an enemy then attacking thin air in the wrong direction. Sometimes trying to use your special will end up in it happening twice, ending your combo and suffering a blow from an enemy - shell shock!
AI - unfair enemies, glitched brothers, weird camera - consider it Shredded!
*facepalm and sigh* Alright, my biggest gripe about the whole game, is the AI. Red Fly have laid the basic groundwork but there are issues like only being able to counter two enemies at a time and being completely open to attack while the animation plays out so a loose enemy can leave you on your butt. Enraged.
Sure there’s colour coding to show imminent attacks but that doesn't stop the game from disrupting your experience by ignoring your commands at the most inappropriate of times. I want to quick evade! No! Controller! Don't make Leo jump sideways into that thug's club… dammit!!!
At other times your brothers in green will just stand motionless after you switch between them quickly. In an intense battle, uppercutting a guy into the air, switching to Raph and smashing them to the ground just to see the previous Turtle taking a pummeling and not defending himself is seriously frustrating! You're just like, what the hell dude? Counter! You have to quickly switch back just to rescue his stupid ass from a beating.
Camera control can be quite wonky but from what I’ve played, most of the time it stays with the action, and believe me, I’ve played this game to death. On rare occasion, when executing a complex array of moves, the camera will jump completely off-screen to an empty void then suddenly snap back to the battle. I've only had this happen a few times but it’s jarring and you'll be panicking about getting hit.
Teamwork - when the AI works it can be radical.
Even though the AI enrages me, there are times with your Turtle brethren where they actually do come to your aid and aren't completely stupid. Sometimes they will even ask for a "little help!?" when holding an enemy at bay, a Krang for example, and you can join them for a tandem attack on the comedy mascot!
When you want to use a stealthier approach, they will listen to commands, so you can ask them to wait until it’s safe to proceed or get them to take out a foot soldier while you tackle the other. Knowing that the second the guy sees your green, baldy face, your bros are busy sending him for a snooze is quite. The stealth AI seems a little smarter which is a nice surprise and it seems Red Fly did a good job here.
Nice tributes give a little nostalgia.
The game contains some nice Easter eggs. You can unlock the red bandanas, there's a classic black and white mode, tributes to the original 1984 turtles and Eastman and Laird's pictures are hanging in a pizzeria in the first chapter. Even some of the conversations the Turtles have pay tribute to their TV show and voice actors in a funny, knowing wink to fans. Loading screen tips often have references to things like "second time around" the shop where April lived in the comics and the 1990 movie. True fans will pick up on many of these details.
Pros - pizza delivery!!
The combat is decent, the Turtles look and act as they should, the weapons for each Turtle are upgradeable, the skill advancement system is good, visually the game looks beautiful and the story mode is fun to battle through.
The physics are great, you can knock weapons away from foes and there is a good variety of enemies with different difficulty levels. The maps are challenging, there's the Dojo to hone your abilities and the True Ninja mode to really put your skills to the test. Arcade mode is a fun local multiplayer option to compete with your friends.
Cons - you’ve been Shell-Shocked!!
The AI is lousy for both the Turtles and the enemies and needs work to improve the combat overall.
The motion blur and weird camera angles are disappointing and some of the dialogue is repeated ad nauseam.
Split-screen and online multiplayer is a nightmare and needs more testing and work done.
Room for improvement?
Some TLC and more time spent on testing would have helped the end result. They could have been more ambitious too but back in 2013 where GTA and other more popular titles were ruling the market, I can see why they played it safe.
Changing the game to be a bit more open world with the ability to go underground or run around the rooftops more (think Batman / Spiderman on PS4) would have boosted playability tenfold and added the option for side quests (stopping crimes in the shadows for example).
As long as they don't make the same mistakes Platinum Games did with "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan" - check it out - it’s one of the worst open-world/action games I have ever come across. It makes my eyes bleed.
Final verdict - heroes or zeros in a half-shell?
Despite all its flaws and glitches and the frustration it leaves me with, I still have a lot of LOVE for this game. I'd say if you can get a copy, like, I mean anywhere, then you should give it a shot.
As a big TMNT fan, I highly recommend Out of the Shadows. There's loads of replayability in the battle mode and it even made me better at games like Arkham City - I know I've compared them a lot but they are similar in how they feel and play.
There are some major letdowns and it had the potential to be so much more, but I still keep coming back to this game over and over again and in all fairness, there isn't another TMNT game that fits the bill in terms of combat.
For Turtle fans, I’d give this a solid 8 out of 10 but for non-fans maybe a 7 is more appropriate as some of the shortcomings are frustrating. Give it a shot, though, and maybe you can forgive those flaws as much as I did, make it through to the final battle and give Shredder the Ninja Bro Shellbuster!
So, I'd say that's a wrap…Cowabunga?! Too cliched? Nah.
COWABUNGA!!!!!
Big thanks to James for writing this review. He’s an old friend who does a bit of gaming and comedy. This is his first review and hopefully, he’ll continue with some more: Oddworld New and Tasty perhaps?. You can check out more of his work in his bio at the bottom of the page.
