Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up – Hands On





Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up developer, Matt Leunig, fills us in on the latest build of this game, check out the video.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up was created by the same team who created Super Smash Bros. Brawl, so you can only imagine the similarities (Smash is even in the name…). For me this is not only a good thing, but a great thing. The character moves, style, combos, environments, etc… all have that SSBB feel to it. You can play the game with the Wiimote sideways, or with Wiimote/Nunchuk combo. I went with just the Wiimote and played about 8 or so games against one of the devs and a 2 others. The game moved and looked great, the environments were interactive and held many of pitfalls and/or strategies (damn crocodile!). The build of the game we played had 7 characters, but there were blocks where missing characters will be. Playable characters included the four turtles, Shredder, Splinter, and April. We were told that Casey Jones is confirmed and will use his bat and hockey stick.

Another important note is that this is the TMNT 25 year anniversary, so I’m expecting to see a lot of characters/unlockables/secrets/etc… that will make fans of any part of this series excited. We pressed and pulled and tugged on the developer to let us know of any hidden character, but he wouldn’t budge. We were told that the TMNT: Smash-Up team was given access to all of the original comics though, which leads me to believe we’ll be seeing a lot of classic TMNT. I got into the turtles in 1987 when their first animated series aired, I collected the toys, the trading cards, drew the turtles on my 3rd grade notebook, and went crazy when the first live action movie came out. For me having the ability to choose a turtle from any of their incarnations would be the ultimate surprise for this game (fingers crossed).

The style of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up is completely new and doesn’t draw upon any particular “version” of the turtles.

Gameplay

The game is a 4-player 2.5D fighting game, similar to Super Smash Bros, and will be the third TMNT fighting video game. During battle, players will attempt to KO opponents by depleting their life bar, knocking them off the stage or into traps. Characters will be color-coded on-screen via a glow effect to help players keep track of their character. Like Super Smash Bros., the game will include 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. The game will also feature items, including life-restoring pizza and ‘ninja magic’ that grant players special abilities like fire breathing and electrical shields.

Modes confirmed to be in the game include Story, Battle Royale, Tournament, Winner/Loser Out modes, and Practice, as well as an online mode for four players and mini-games. UbiSoft has commented that they are “planning several different modes of play designed specifically for single player”. Players can collect ‘shells’ during battles or mini-games and use them to unlock special features.

The story of the game will be written by TMNT co-creator Peter Laird. Mirage Studios will make character selections for the game, and the roster is said to include characters “you know well in addition to surprise characters you certainly wouldn’t expect.”

Confirmed characters

* April O’Neil – voiced by Veronica Taylor
* Casey Jones – voiced by Marc Thompson
* Donatello – voiced by Sam Riegel
* Foot Ninja/soldier
* Leonardo – voiced by Michael Sinterniklaas
* Master Splinter – voiced by Darren Dunstan
* Michelangelo – voiced by Vinnie Penna
* Raphael – voiced by Greg Abbey
* Shredder – voiced by Scottie Ray
* Utrominator





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