Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows

There are fleeting glimpses of a good game here. But clearly, more money and more time was needed to make this the game it could have been. Inexcusable glitches, unresponsive controls, broken combat, bizarre gameplay design (hacking games, really?), unfair enemies and completely unnecessary loading times make for a monumental disappointment.

With enough effort and perseverance, one can glean battles from Out of the Shadows that feel truer to TMNT than any you've ever fought, and that might be enough for superfans to look the other way on its technical and control problems.

TMNT: Out of the Shadows feels like it isn't finished, like it was rushed out of the sewers so it could get top billing on Xbox Live during Microsoft's Summer of Arcade. It's a shame too, because Out of the Shadows has a solid foundation in its combat.

The sun rises. The world turns. Another half-baked Ninja Turtles game disrupts our normally peaceful lives. You may now return to tearfully recalling the Zen-like beauty of Turtles in Time or the original Arcade game. At this rate, we may never have it as good again, no matter how hard they try.

TMNT: Out of the Shadows is terrible, and offers nothing as a video game or even as a piece of nostalgia. The ugly turtle models didn’t bring back any memories of the fun cartoon of my youth, and the gameplay is among the most unenjoyable experiences I’ve had during my time as a gamer. There is no circumstance under which anyone should play this train wreck of a game.

But in the grand scheme of things, these problems don't make this title unworthy. Out of the Shadows is no Game of the Year nominee, but it's a lot of fun to smack your way through the five-hour campaign and play the Arcade mode with friends. And for those of us old enough to remember the Turtles' original incarnation, it's a trip down memory lane, too.

There is no doubt that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is head-and-shell better than its predecessor. It is, in fact, superior in nearly every way. It is a Turtles film for Turtles fans. As such, it may leave some out in the cold, but...

Intrinsic problems with some of the basics; collision detection, dodgy camera, and sloppy graphics ruin what could have been a far more polished experience.TMNT: Out of Shadows was reviewed by LG Community on a Xbox...