29 May,2016 08:54 AM IST | | Jaison Lewis
This Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game has great graphics that are marred by lazy design, repetitive combat and boring boss fights
Mutants in Manhattan is a lost opportunity to make a great Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles game. Great graphics are marred by lazy level design, repetitive combat and mostly boring boss fights.
TMNT has been a part of everyone's childhood since they first appeared on TV nearly two decades ago. Which one you grew up watching depended on which version was out on TV at the time. There have been several games that have come out since the success of the show. While there have been awesome ones like TMNT: Turtles in Time and TMNT: The arcade game, there have also been turds in the form of TMNT: Out of the Shadows and TMNT: Mutant Melee. This new one is somewhere in between. While it is playable and some aspects are done well, others suck the life out of the fun.
The game plays out as a 3D street brawler where you take on numerous underpowered enemies till you fill up the bar for the boss. April O'Neil is in your ear telling you about what's happening around the city, so you can go around and lay down the law. If you weren't paying attention, Turtle vision will tell you where to go next. Most of the tasks require you to defeat a hoard of enemies or take down a certain number of foes. There are some sillier missions which make no sense.
The ranking makes no sense either. Sometimes when you have done well you will be assigned an A or possibly a B rating. A shoddy job will earn you an S.
You can also level up your character's skills, but in most combats you can hardly tell the difference. Once you finish a certain number of missions on the map, you can unlock the boss of that level. There is no pay-off or satisfaction of defeating most of the bosses. While some of the combat and combos during boss fights are really good, the boss is usually stupid enough that plain button mashing will defeat them, even in higher levels of difficulty. Though we recommend you try the combos, which can be executed easily by pressing a combination of two or more buttons.
The game suffers from poor AI overall. So, while playing single player it is very hard to control your brothers. They just seem to do random stuff. But play the same stage played with friends is an enjoyable experience.
Mutants in Manhattan also suffers from poor level design. This is especially evident in the underground levels, and there are too many of them. It feels claustrophobic and very repetitive. There isn't much to explore and even fighting bosses in the sewer is just meh, compared to the city, even the intelligence of friends doesn't uplift environment in the sewers.
Perhaps the most compelling reason not to get this game is the price. At Rs 2,500 is it fairly expensive for the PC. Ideally I would pay round Rs 999 for it. Despite the issues, it is a lot of fun to play with friends and the graphics look great.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan
Rating: 2/5
Publisher: Activision
Platform: PC (Steam
Developer: Platinum Games
Price: PC: Rs 2,500
