The New Manhattan Project for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
One big question was on my mind while I assembled this post regarding the PlatinumGames-developed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutants in Manhattan: What didn’t we know about this before its official announcement? As it turns out, we knew quite a bit. While it serves as a textbook example of how difficult it’s become for companies to keep the existence of some titles under wraps before an unveil, so much was leaked regarding this title that I wondered if this was part of its marketing.
This started when it was rated in Brazil for consoles and PC in early November, which honestly tends to happen for plenty of games. Spoiling its existence had to hurt for PlatinumGames and publisher Activision, but that was no big deal when no info leaked besides that. It did become a big deal when artwork surfaced, which showed off the Turtles’ new designs. That art indicated how this title wouldn’t be exclusively aimed towards the older set, those who spent many hours playing the arcade, NES, and SNES (and Genesis, maybe) games with friends. And just when that seemed like enough, good-quality screenshots leaked, which showed a game that was at least taking inspiration from older titles.
Those significant info drips made me wonder if they’d announce it ahead of schedule, but they seemingly stuck to it. When Platinum was gearing up for “the official leak” (because, hey, at least they were being good sports about it), detailed info and the first trailer were discovered on the Xbox Marketplace around 14 hours before that could happen. That’s what it took for Activision give up and post a high quality version of the trailer themselves. Maybe they shouldn’t give Microsoft early promotional materials anymore, huh?
Mutants in Manhattan will have a new story from IDW Publishing’s Tom Waltz, who’s worked with franchise co-creator Kevin Eastman on many Turtles comics released after the franchise’s sale to Nickelodeon. (Notably, he also wrote Silent Hill Downpour’s story, which reportedly had one of the better stories in the series.) That’s why its art style bears a closer resemblance to the newer comics, though some of the grittier hallmarks of the old comics are being retained. Expect its tone to also be close to the first live-action movie and 00s TV series, rather than the late-80s/early 90s cartoon style most oldies are familiar with. Despite the divisiveness towards the art style, it could be everything fans want from a modern Turtles game. It also appears the younger set will be able to enjoy it, too, despite its T for Teen rating in America.
Along with the Turtles themselves, Splinter, April O’Neil, Bebop and Rocksteady, and, of course, Shredder will be in the game. They’re unlikely to be the only familiar faces, but don’t expect to see everyone. If this game is successful, they’ll have to save some characters for a sequel or two.
Mutants in Manhattan’s gameplay will be in the style of the older arcade (and arcade-like) games from former game developer Konami. It will be playable in single-player, but will be primarily a multiplayer experience with four-player online co-op. It’s disappointing that it won’t come with local co-op like the old games, which might have been too chaotic for one screen in a 3D title. This style is being combined with PlatinumGames’ trademark frenetic and stylish gameplay, which they’re promising will reward players for beating tough challenges.
The lack of local co-op aside, though it’s still easy to be wary of PlatinumGames’ licensed titles. The company first collaborated with Activision for the game adaptation of The Legend of Korra, a cheaply-developed digital title that felt like one, which remains regarded as one of the worst games they’ve developed. Last year’s Transformers Devastation, however, turned out better, despite the peculiar lack of advertising on Activision’s part. Let’s hope Platinum is receiving the amount of time and resources they received on the latter rather than the former, especially considering Korra’s director (Eiro Shirahama) is also helming this.
Unlike the last two Activision/Platinum titles, this game should receive good advertising. Its summer release timeframe means it should arrive close to live-action sequel Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. Despite that movie looking as, uh, divisive as its predecessor, those who enjoy it will hopefully want a game to play on the side.
While I’d rather see PlatinumGames work on original titles aimed towards their hardcore audience, I understand that they occasionally need to work on titles like this to keep the lights on. And hopefully they have the resources to fully realize its promise and make one of the best Turtles games in recent memory. We’ll hopefully be assured that Mutants in Manhattan will stand alongside Transformers Devastation to be one of the better Platinum/Activision collaborative efforts before its release.
About The Author
Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
