Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: BattleNexus (NGC)

Once upon a time, Konami used to treat the TMNT licence with respect. Gamestyle has particularly fond memories of the arcade and SNES games, so you can imagine our pleasure at learning Konami had once again revived the heroes in a half-shell. Unfortunately, times have changed, and audiences demand more from games these days - scrolling beat 'em ups are somewhat past it due to their inherent simplicity and repetitiveness. So how can the Turtles cut it in this day and age if the games stick to the same old template? Judging by this latest instalment, it's hard to be hopeful.

The first TMNT console game was extremely repetitive (and panned by many critics) but still reasonably playable - however, compared to this shoddy effort, it was gaming nirvana. In perhaps the biggest irony of all, nearly everything that makes this game such an atrocity stems from Konami apparently listening to critics who slated the first game, taking a look at what was wrong with it–(namely, the extreme repetitiveness and lack of four-player support), and attempting to rectify the problems. Boy, have they tightened the noose with this stinker - it manages to be far, far worse than even the first game's worst moments.

In fact, the only commendation is that it still retains the feel of the cartoon. Following the story of the second season of the show to the letter, the game has 11 central stages, broken up into smaller portions. Most of these follow the main story thread, while there's also a bunch of optional levels based on one-off episodes and story arcs. The rather basic plot unfolds through the use of clips from the show, as well as some new anime-styled clips shot especially for the game (and all of the show's voice actors contribute). It's clear that Konami have worked closely with Mirage Studios to keep the game as authentic as possible - and perhaps that's the only compliment that can be paid; in trying to retain the authenticity, it appears Konami completely forgot about the playability.

The graphics certainly look presentable enough, with cel-shading once again used to impressively recreate the cartoon. The characters are solid, while the environments look decent if unspectacular. The lack of cutscenes using the in-game engine is an improvement over the rather lifeless scenes from the original, but the problem is the visuals also lack a certain freshness. Certainly, the less-than-smooth framerate doesn't help matters - dropped to 30fps from the original's 60 - with slowdown to spare when things get busy. Sound is very flat and uninspired, without a single memorable tune. The voices, while authentic, are just as repetitive as before, but not quite to the same degree (since the characters have more to say this time).

It's when actually playing the game that the faults become obvious: the combat system in the first game was too button-basher-friendly, but this one goes too far in the opposite direction - rendering it almost impossible to pull off a decent combo, further making combat frustrating and sometimes extremely unfair (especially when surrounded by projectile-spewing enemies attacking from all sides). The dash move is no longer a viable defensive option since it carries a slight delay, and the new blocking move is utterly useless. Combat simply isn't any fun at all, and you often get cheaped out by the unfair enemy AI.

Platform areas fare worse; the camera pulling so far back it's impossible to accurately judge jumps (leading to many accidental deaths). There are also shooting and hoverboard sections, but these are way too slow and lifeless to be involving. An interesting idea is switching between the four turtles at will - with each one having set skills needed to solve puzzles - but this is woefully underused; in attempting to diversify progression and make the game less button-basher-friendly, Konami have sacrificed its playability.

One of the biggest complaints about the first game was that it only supported two players - surely, four turtles should have translated to four players? Admittedly, the sequel does have a four-player option, but the result is - to put it bluntly - a mess. All four players share the same life meter, and coupled with the aforementioned flaws, it's a recipe for disaster. If one of you is always stuffing up, they'll get the rest of you killed, which utterly destroys the point of having sidekicks. Trust us: you will have no friends left should they play this mess with you.

The game is very short too, despite the enormous number of levels. Gamestyle had it clocked in a couple of days, although efforts have been made to extend the lifespan (such as mini-games and unlockables, which include concept art). By far, the best of the unlockables is the original TMNT arcade game from 1989 - which fully supports four players. The port isn't perfect though; due to licensing issues the voice-overs have virtually been removed (and the backing music has changed). It's still a fun game to play through when you have a spare half-hour, but it doesn't justify paying full-price for this game. Doubly insulting is that you have to beat three-quarters of the main game to unlock it - hardly worth the bother.

Put simply, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus isn't homage to the iconic television show; it's a device for mental torture. And even the most diehard fans of the series would have to be truly blinkered to believe that this game was worthy of the licence. Put simply, it's nothing but a travesty.

Rating: 3 / 10

Words by Drew Middlemas