Long before the Teenage
Mutant Ninja Turtles made their return to national television, they fought their
way into the homes of millions of kids. With artistic names, cool weapons and
lots of action, the original TMNT series was the perfect formula for a
successful movie.
Like any craze though, it
must eventually come to an end. My figures sit locked away in a crate
somewhere. Most of the episodes I had recorded have been taped over. TMNT
became another childhood memory.
Fast forward to the
present time. The turtles are back, but their popularity isn’t exactly a craze
anymore, but more of a general interest. John Woo is reportedly interested in
directing a TMNT movie, but it would be done in computer animation and is still
a ways off.
One area where the
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles always excelled was video games. When a group of
adult gamers get into a heated discussion, you can bet at least two of them will
have fond memories to share of the arcade game. It was an instant classic –
side-scrolling movement, Streets of Rage-style gameplay, and boss battles that
were out of this world.
Even last year, when the
Turtles came back to gaming after a several year hiatus, the heroes in a
half-shell had no trouble worming their way back into our hearts. Beat-’em-up,
arcade-style gameplay and flashy cel-shaded graphics were the high points of the
game.
Konami’s track record for
these games is just about perfect. There was no reason to think that their
track record would not continue. No reason to believe that the next Turtles
game, TMNT 2: Battle Nexus, would play different from the last.
Sequels can’t exist
without numerous preconceptions. It’s understandable that a game might not live
up to an exorbitant amount of hype. However, it is assumed that when you buy a
sequel to a game you love, you are getting at least two things: (1) gameplay
that is comparable or better to the original, and (2) any major flaws from the
previous version will be removed.
It is never, ever assumed
that major flaws will be added to the sequel. It is never assumed that the
challenge will be lessened, or that the gameplay will be slowed down.
Yet it is all of those
things that you’ll find in Battle Nexus. The gameplay of the original:
revamped. The graphics: less pretty. The challenge: nonexistent. Just go
through, tap buttons, and watch your enemies fall.
Battle Nexus’s scope is
smaller (and as a result less intense) than last year’s title. The camera has
been pulled back a bit, presumably to allow room for all four players.
Theoretically this makes perfect sense. But we’re used to the action getting up
close and personal. We’re used to seeing the Turtles at a specific size, moving
through linear-but-three-dimensional stages.
Shrinking the game is one
thing, but changing its perspective is wholly another. The gameplay no longer
feels three-dimensional. More often than not the camera gives off the feeling
that you’re controlling a 2D character in a left-to-right world. You don’t have
very many exploration options. Gameplay options are even less involved: find a
robot and hit it with your weapon until it’s destroyed.
The game brags about
having "specialized moves for each Turtle," but all that means is that their
animations are different. The way in which each attack is executed does not
differ. Tap a few buttons, the enemy goes down, repeat. Run around bosses to
avoid their attacks, strike, repeat. It’s repetition city from the beginning of
the game. You could argue that all the Turtles games are repetitive – that’s
true of all beat-’em-up action games. But the others had one extreme difference
that sets them apart from Battle Nexus: they were fun to play.
There is one redeeming
quality, but it’s not much of a consolation. While Battle Nexus lacks the
quality of its previous titles, it is not an unplayable piece of garbage.
Boring and technologically inferior, but not a total failure. That’s probably
the worst compliment a game can get, but no one should feel bad. The concept
was to make a change and it didn’t work. Now the developers know what they need
to do for the next game. Go back to the old style of gameplay, add a ton of
opponents, bring the camera in closer and fine-tune the controls. Do that and
we’ll be able to return with much happier comments when TMNT 3 is released.
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Gameplay: 5.7
Slow, sluggish,
and not very Turtle-like, TMNT 2: Battle Nexus is the complete opposite of its
predecessor.
Graphics: 6
One word comes to
mind when I stare at the visuals: insomnia. I don’t sleep well at night, but
these graphics could help change that. Even at the PS2’s launch, when the
console had few reasons to make our jaws’ drop, Battle Nexus wouldn’t be
considered a very attractive game.
Sound: 5
Can’t compare to
the music and voice acting of the original television series.
Difficulty: Easy
Like to
button-mash? Be prepared to do it a lot in this one. Really though, you don’t
need to button-mash — just tap the X or square button like there’s no
tomorrow. Occasionally hit the circle button to jump. How exciting.
Concept: 5
All wrong! The
first was inches away from the Turtles game everyone wanted. For some reason
they thought it was miles away, creating a sequel that has very little in common
with the original.
Multiplayer: 5
Wanna beat the
game with three of your closest friends? Battle Nexus gives you the option to
do so.
Overall: 5.5
Nowhere near the
quality of the first. TMNT 2: Battle Nexus is another "What in the world
happened?" case. They had all the right pieces, all they had to do was put them
in place. At best you could call this an easy, poorly controlled version of
Devil May Cry. The bonus game is great fun, but why spend $40 to get the 16-bit
TMNT arcade game when you could buy the SNES version for less than half the
cost?
