Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare (DS)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.0 stars Good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 6.1 (3.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Frank Provo
• Reviewed on: 01/13/2006
• Updated on: 05/17/2006
• Released on: 11/01/2005
• Originally published on GameSpot: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare (DS) Review

Ever since Konami reacquired the rights to produce games based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles property, the company has churned out one mediocre beat-'em-up after another. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare for the Nintendo DS does nothing to reverse the trend, although its silky-smooth graphics and Turtle-inspired combat may be enough to satisfy some truly diehard TMNT fans out there. Everyone else, however, will likely lose interest quickly, whether due to the game's overly repetitive combat and platforming, or as a result of frustration brought on by the unresponsive controls and the various puzzle and touch screen gimmicks that feel tacked on and intrusive.

Many of the game's superficial aspects are downright pleasant. Konami has transformed the most recent seasons of the cartoon show into a side-scrolling beat-'em-up with some platforming and puzzle-solving mixed in. Players can play through the game as any of the four turtles, facing off against recognizable enemies along the way, such as the Triceratons, Dr. Stockman, and Shredder, and also encountering familiar friends, like the Fugitoid and Casey Jones. Graphically, this is one of the better-looking side-scrollers in recent memory. The 2D character sprites are large, smoothly animated spitting images of their cartoon counterparts. Every character, good or bad, has numerous attacks and goofy facial expressions that add some personality to the goings on. The backgrounds are drawn in the same Technicolor style as the cartoon, and there's also a fair amount of subtle depth to take in, thanks to the combination of 2D and 3D background layers. The overall effect is identical to what Konami accomplished in Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, with buildings and clouds in the backdrop gradually changing orientation as you pass by them in the foreground. And, although the audio in Mutant Nightmare doesn't quite achieve the same standard as Dawn of Sorrow, its series-inspired music and frequent use of turtle voice clips suit the action perfectly.

Mutant Nightmare also offers more levels than the typical beat-'em-up. The single-player story mode is broken down into four chapters, each containing six levels, for a grand total of 24 levels. The actual level count is somewhere closer to 40, however, because some levels are completely different depending on the character you pick. Each turtle can also access certain rooms in some levels that the others can't. Raphael can push heavy boulders out of the way, for instance, which lets him uncover hidden passageways that the others have no chance of accessing. Apart from seeing all the different levels, there are other incentives for playing through the game with all four turtles, such as unique ending scenes for each turtle, and the special bonus that's unlocked when you've gathered up all of the crystals located within every level. Even though the story mode is the game's main focus, there's also a battle mode to dabble in, which can be played solo or with as many as three other friends by linking multiple copies of the game together using the system's local Wi-Fi capabilities. Multiplayer is a bonus more than anything else; it simply involves gathering up crystals in smaller variations of the main levels, but the option to play cooperatively in addition to free-for-all does ensure a few extra laughs, at least.

Wisely, Konami didn't try to get too elaborate with the way combat works. The controls are laid out simply enough, with three buttons labeled jump, attack, and special attack, respectively, along with a few so-called tag moves that are activated by tapping hotspots on the touch screen. Combat occurs on a 2D plane, but in most spots you can dangle from ledges or jump onto platforms to wrangle some breathing room. Each turtle has a good assortment of attacks for use close-up and in midair, as well as a long-distance attack and a pair of special attacks that are useful in certain situations. Meanwhile, pressing the attack button multiple times will cause your turtle to perform a predefined sequence of attacks. Tag moves feel like a gimmick that was tacked on solely to play up touch screen support, but they're not altogether unpleasant. By tapping hotspots on the touch screen, you can summon a second turtle to shove objects out of the way, give you a boost to distant handholds, or eliminate every enemy that's visible onscreen. This latter attack is limited to three uses per level. Thankfully, the touch area for tag moves is large enough so that you can use a finger to activate them, instead of having to fumble for the stylus every time. One annoying drawback, though, is that the system beeps constantly to alert you whenever you can perform a touch screen action, which totally drowns out the music and sound effects.

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