Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up

Cover for the Wii version
Developer(s) Game Arts
Publisher(s) Ubisoft
Distributor(s) Viacom Media Networks
Series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Platform(s) Wii, PlayStation 2
Release date(s)
  • NA: September 22, 2009[1]
  • EU: September 25, 2009[2]
  • AUS: October 1, 2009
Genre(s) Fighting, action
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up is a fighting video game for the Wii and PlayStation 2 video game consoles. It was developed by Game Arts in cooperation with Mirage Studios and released by Ubisoft in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 2009.

Gameplay

A gameplay screenshot featuring April O'Neil fighting against Karai

The game is a 4-player 2.5D fighting game, similar to the Super Smash Bros. series. During battle, players attempt to KO opponents by depleting their life bar, knocking them off the stage or into traps. Characters are color-coded on-screen via a glow effect to help players keep track of their character (a feature that can be toggled on and off in the options screen). Like Super Smash Bros., the game features many customizable options for battles.

The game stresses interaction with the environment, and stages in the game feature traps, changes to the stage itself and interactive elements.[3] The gameplay system also features items, including life-restoring pizza and ninja skills that grant players special abilities like fire breathing and electrical shields.

The modes for this game are Arcade, Battle Royal, Survival, Tournament, Swap-Out, Practice, and Mission Mode,[4] as well as an online mode for four players and mini-games. Players can collect 'shells' during battles or mini-games and use them to unlock special features,[5] including trophies that other players can win in online tournaments.[6] Arcade mode features animated cut scenes illustrated by Mirage Studios artists.[7]

Development

Smash-Up was developed by a Japanese game developer Game Arts, who had previously worked on Super Smash Bros. Brawl, and by several former members of Team Ninja,[8] who previously worked on Ninja Gaiden II and the Dead or Alive series. It was announced on January 23, 2009. The game is not specifically tied to any previous Ninja Turtles license, yet bears a similar artistic style to the 2007 CGI animated film TMNT.[9] Mirage made character selections for the game, and the roster was said to include characters "you know well in addition to surprise characters you certainly wouldn't expect."[3] The game's original plot of the story mode was co-written by TMNT co-creator Peter Laird and illustrated by Jim Lawson and Eric Talbot.

Reception

The game's critical reception has been generally positive. IGN gave TMNT: Smash Up a score of 7/10, stating that it is "a Smash Bros. clone, but it makes you want to play Smash Bros. instead."[10] GameSpot also gave it a 7/10, stating that the game "has good combat and solid content, but it lacks the refinement and razzle-dazzle to earn a title shot."[11] Even so, some fans reacted negatively to the roster, which is significantly smaller than that of Super Smash Bros. Brawl and contains characters only seen in the 2003 cartoon series and 2007 film, while characters from the 1987 series and other films were ignored.[12]

References

  1. ↑ Ransom, James (2009-06-01). "Shell out for TMNT: Smash Up on September 22". Joystiq.com. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
  2. ↑ Orry, James (2009-06-15). "TMNT Smash Up dated". VideoGamer.com. Retrieved 2009-06-15.
  3. 1 2 "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up Interview – Wii Feature at IGN". Wii.ign.com. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
  4. ↑ Ubisoft. "Official Site | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up&#8482 | Ubisoft". Tmntgame.us.ubi.com. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
  5. ↑ "IGN: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up". Wii.ign.com. 2009-08-20. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
  6. ↑ "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up Video Game, Online Play Developer Diary | Game Trailers & Videos". GameTrailers.com. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
  7. ↑ "GameSpot Video: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up Developer Diary #1". Gamespot.com. 2009-09-22. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
  8. ↑ Caoili, Eric (2009-01-26). "Ubisoft Announces Ninja Turtles Wii Fighting Game". Gamasutra.com. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
  9. ↑ "TMNT Game Official – Wii News at IGN". Wii.ign.com. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
  10. ↑ "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up Review – Wii Review at IGN". Wii.ign.com. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
  11. ↑ "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up (Wii) Wii Game reviews – CNET Reviews". Reviews.cnet.com. 2009-09-23. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
  12. ↑ "TMNT fans speak up against Smash-Up character selection". Joystiq. 2009-09-21. Retrieved 2013-09-23.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/3/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.