Review: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles In Time Re-Shelled
Developer/Publisher: Ubisoft / Ubisoft Singapore
Platform: Xbox Live Arcade
Genre: Brawler/ Beat ‘em up
Price: 800 Microsoft Points
Verdict: Thoughtful rehash with little actual content
Pros: Wonderfully accurate remake with 3D graphics, great multiplayer
Cons: Repetitive, no content besides the story, and shorter than Danny Devito
Nostalgia, as Don Draper will tell you, can be literally translated as “the pain from an old wound.” It is a twinge in all our hearts that is more powerful than memory alone. This a force that takes us to a place where we ache to go again. With the 3D remake of the beloved Arcade and SNES classic, “Turtles in Time,” Ubisoft Singapore has succeeded in hitting players with fond memories of the game right in the sweet spot.
In Turtles In Time: ReShelled, the Statue of Liberty has been stolen, and it’s up to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to travel through time, beating up Foot ninjas, until they find it. If this sounds familiar, then you have already noticed the most striking feature of the title: How completely devoted the team was to making Re-Shelled as true to the original as possible.
From the stage bosses to the placement of pizzas, the game plays exactly like you remember. The first time you hear, “Big Apple, 3AM,” to the final battle with Shredder, you will be having flashbacks of the epic variety. Pretty much only thing that has changed in the ReShelled Edition is the visuals. What stands out most is that game has shifted from 2D to 3D, and the conversion is almost flawless.
Every sprite and enviroment resembles its old-school counterpart, with even minute details like open sewers recreated with fantastic care. It is obvious by looking at the stages how much effort was put into recreating everything perfectly. In that respect, Ubisoft Singapore made a stellar game. However, just because it was a stellar game for the Arcade or SNES, doesn’t mean it’s a stellar game for the Xbox 360.
Re-shelled is Turtles in Time to a tee, but because of it’s origins and nature, it is an extremely short game. You could easily beat the story mode by yourself in less time than it takes to find your old SNES and hook it up to play the original. I’m not even kidding here- don’t be surprised if you find yourself watching the end credits in about 50 minutes.
After completing the single playercampaign the game goes steeply downhill, because there is nothing else to do. Sadly, the only other modes in ReShelled are re-playing a single level of the story, or playing through the the story again, with no respawns. 800 Microsoft Points ($10.00 USD) seems to be a rip-off for such little content, especially considering other similar-priced offerings available on XBLA. This could have been an easier price to swallow if they included the original 2D Turtles in Time as a bonus, but unfortunately this is nowhere to be found.
In it’s defense, ReShelled does include 4 player co-op over Xbox Live or locally. Online multiplayer does not seem to be overly laggy, which is impressive given the amount of action happening on screen. Plus, the addition of local multiplayer is a perfect touch, especially when you reassemble the original three friends you played with in the Arcade.
Because of the recent trend towards excluding local or split-screen options for many multiplayer oriented titles, Turtles In Time is one of the very few games that you can play on your 360 with friends in your room. It sure beats having to do it with friends halfway across the world! Don’t expect to run through the story with the same friends many times though, because the game will become very repetitive, even for those who swore by the original.
Remarkably, ReShelled succeeds at what it aims to be: a remake of the classic Arcade and SNES hit. Everything about it will make old fans long for the “old days,” but the main point of nostalgia is that you can’t quite recreate the same feeling again. Perhaps ReShelled epitomizes the theme of an aging generation or perhaps it is a semi-failed attempt to dust off a relic for presentation to the future, but regardless, ReShelled certainly ISN’T is a sure-fire reccommendation. However, if you can still remember losing all your quarters, the whippings the bosses gave you, and frantically blowing on the cartridge to make it work again, ReShelled is worth considering.
