Dated, but still fun multi-player
GAMEPLAY
Although the TMNT arcade game was great in 1989, it’s showing it’s age now. The gameplay is extremely simple and repetitive. You control your turtle with only two buttons: attack and jump. Combine the two and you can do various jumping attacks.
All the enemies, including the bosses, are approached in the same way: hit them until they die. This means that the combat is very shallow, and you’ll often find yourself spamming the attack button to get through the game. The levels are painfully short, and not overly interesting either. Unfortunately, the collision detection problems that were in the arcade original are still alive and well on the 360.
GRAPHICS
Much like the gameplay, the graphics in TMNT are boarder-line between nostalgic and dated. This is an exact port of the arcade game, so the visuals are definitely not easy on the eyes. You’ll see a lot of pixilated sprites, and low-resolution backgrounds. On the positive side, the game does run smoothly and there aren’t any noticeable graphic bugs.
SOUND
Again, very dated. You’ll hear pretty much your standard punch and kick effects. The music fits with the theme from the original cartoon, but again sounds like a very dated midi remix.
VALUE
Since you have unlimited continues, beating the game is just a matter of attrition and can easily be done in under and hour. Once you’ve beaten it, there isn’t much reason to come back other than for the achievements, which thankfully are balanced.
The best part of this game is the online multiplayer. Get together with 3 other players, and this game can be a blast. However, there is a bug in the game that makes it difficult to join existing games.
Overall, TMNT the Arcade Game is a blast from the past, which fans of the original cartoons will enjoy. However, if you’re not already a fan of the game you’ll definitely want to give it a try before buying. But the $5 price tag makes it easier to forgive the dated gameplay and visuals.