In this day and age it's hard to pull off a great street fighting game! But TMNT: Smash-Up manages to do just that.
As usual, I'll start off at the main menu of the game. From here you have several options. First is "Options". Under options is where you can adjust the controls, the sound and display, and you can also view/delete the date stored under your player profile.
Next on the main menu are the various game modes. The first game mode is the "Arcade" mode and this is the main mode of the game. Basically the story behind the game is that Splinter has set up a tournament for the four turtles, as well as Casey and April, and whoever wins will receive a surprise prize, as well as a piece of their choice out of Splinter's personal collection. However, of course Shredder and Karai have to rain on the parade and turn the friendly tournament in to a true fight! In this mode you choose a character (there are 7 available to you at the start of the game including Leonard, Raphael, Michaelangelo, Donatello, Splinter, April O'Neil, and Casey Jones) and then have to win 8 individual fights in a row against various opponents. Along the way you will get to play 3 bonus games which earn you shells. The shells you use to spend on unlockable content but more on that later. This mode is how you unlock the majority of the rest of the characters (and their alternate costumes) in the game as well as the bonus games and some other bonus content.
The next game mode option is "Mission" mode. This mode contains a collection of 51 individual missions that all have their own various challenges to them. The missions are pretty short and can be as simple as eating 5 pizzas before your opponent, or as complicated as protecting another character in the level against attack until the game timer runs out. Sometimes you have to complete a mission with a pre-determined character and other times you can choose from a certain collection of characters. Most of the missions range from pretty easy to somewhat challenging, but there are 3 or 4 that are downright frustrating. You may think that knocking 5 Foot Soldiers off the side of a building would be pretty easy but trust me, it's not!
The next game mode is "Survival" mode. This is probably the single most difficult mode in the game. Basically you choose a character and a level, and then you embark on a severe beat down where you have to defeat 100 enemies in a row. At first it's easy because the pizza is flowing freely, but as you get in to the higher numbers the pizza becomes a little more rare and your enemies get smarter and stronger. If you don't want to drive yourself insane I recommend putting the difficulty level on easy for this mode and making it a tag team match. For any mode outside of Arcade or Mission you have the option of making your fight a singles match or a tag team match. In singles you get just one character to use, but in tag team you take two characters in to the fight and can alternate between them as you see fit. Tag team is a must for this mode! You don't unlock much in this mode, just a couple of alternate costumes and some other various pieces of bonus content.
Next up is the "Battle Royal" mode. Basically you choose a character and up to three opponents and go to town for either a set amount of time or until a certain goal is reached. There are three goals available for these fights. First, you can set it on KOs. Whoever finishes the most opponents off (deals the death blow) is the winner. The second goal is survival. Basically you all fight until there is only one person standing (also known as the winner). The last goal is timed. You set the time limit and whoever has done the most total damage when time runs out is the winner. This mode is where you will unlock the remaining characters and levels in the game, plus some other content.
The next mode is "Nintendo WFC". This is where you go to play online against other TMNT: Smash-Up users. What with me being anti-social and all I didn't explore this mode!
Next is "Tournament" mode. This is a multiplayer mode for 3-8 players and you all pick your character and have a tournament. Since I don't have any friends (at least not as immature as I am anyways!) I haven't yet tried this mode either.
"Swap Out" is the next mode, and it too is for 3-8 players so I haven't got a chance to play it. Basically you fight and players get to swap in and out for each other. Not sure exactly what the appeal of this mode is but I suppose I'd have to try it to see for sure.
The last game mode is "Practice" mode. You pick a character and take your frustrations out on a dummy. The end.
The next option on the main menu is "Bonus Content". This is where you go to see all of the bonus items you have unlocked in the game. The unlockable material in this game include additional characters (but I'm not going to give them away!), alternate costumes for some of the characters, additional playable levels, movie extras, and concept art.
The second last option is "Bonus Games". This is where you go to play the six bonus games that are included in TMNT: Smash-Up. In Arcade mode you get to play them as you play through that mode, but otherwise you have to unlock these games before you can play them off of the main menu. The six games are called: Pizza Party, Proceed, Climb, Dodge the Kunai, Stay Alive, and Bustin' Blocks. You can choose any available character to play with for these bonus games and none of them take very long to play. As I mentioned before you collect shells by playing these bonus games. The longer you last or further you progress in any given bonus game the more shells you earn. The shells can then be used to purchase extras, see below.
The last option off the main menu is the "Trophy Room". There are three selections you can make once you get here. The first is the "Shooting Gallery". Here you can fling the shells you've earned at tiny figurines of the various characters in the game that are floating and weaving through the air in front of you. As you hit the various character pieces you may unlock certain body parts to the associated character's figurine. The second selection in the trophy room is "Trophy Making". Another thing you can spend your shells on is to make trophies out of an assortment on pieces you can put together in any combination you want. You then name your trophy and can apparently offer it as a prize in online play! There are spots for up to 8 trophies total, I believe. The third and last selection you can make in the trophy room is "Collection Room". Here is where you go to view both the various trophies you've created as well as the figurines I mentioned from the shooting gallery.
Now, as for gameplay, I found it to be very good. The controls are actually pretty simple. On the Wii Nunchuk the control stick is what moves your character around the level. The C button doesn't do much. On one level only (the Wild West) when the bull target pops up you can hold it down and then move the cursor over the target and press A to trigger a stampede, but that's it's only use. The Z button makes your character give a taunt. I love taunts, so useless but so much fun! I usually end up getting my arse kicked when I do one though. On the Wii Remote the A button is used for a light attack, and the B button is used for a heavy attack. For your character's special attack (you've got to be very close to your opponent) press A and B together. To jump you press up on the control pad (press up again while in the air for a double jump). To use any special weapons you pick up during a level you can press either right or left on the control pad to trigger them. To swap characters in tag team mode you press the 1 button. The camera function on the game is good, the graphics are really good, and the sound and colour are great. There are 14 levels, most of which have some cool environmental features or weapons that keep life interesting. The only thing I found a bit frustrating is that you really have to be forceful in telling your character what way you want him to face. Sometimes you'll jump and your character will switch direction in mid-air and you'll come down on the ground with your back to your opponent. And of course you then proceed to get pummeled! Once you get used to the way your character moves you can figure out how to rein him/her in a bit, but it does take some getting used to. You really have to ride that control stick pretty hard! My other advice for success in this game is to use the environmental weapons that appear randomly throughout any given level. There are 9 of these different weapons and they each have their advantages/disadvantages. My advice is to quickly learn which ones you like and are able to use effectively and when you see them come available during a level do your best to get gain possession of them and use them. They can make all the difference between winning and losing.
Overall this is about one of the best street fighting games you're going to find! It's got a good amount of characters (16), 14 really good and engaging levels, and great environmental weapons. The game overall is really well polished in terms of it's presentation and navigation, and as I said before the two keys to a successful street fighting game in my opinion is a both a lot of game modes and a lot on bonus content, and this game has all that and more. There is a ton of unlockable content and there are four good, major single player game modes that will hold your attention for weeks. This game is another more than welcome addition to my TMNT library!