Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled

This is one of the best action platform games in a while and for only 800 MS Points this is seriously one of the better gaming deals to be had over the long hot summer. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled is a great game and a must buy for Xbox 360 owners.

Once again though, the graphics shouldn’t hold back hardcore fans of the turtles from purchasing Turtles in Time Re-Shelled.

A good revamp of an old classic.

Turtles In Time Re-Shelled has managed to maintain much of its original title while still evolving to a more modern and accessible state, Not an easy task by any means, and while there are a few great points that were dropped from this port, it has kept just enough to give it a great nostalgic feel.

Digital distribution brings us a remarkable clean-up of a true arcade classic, starred by the mighty Ninja Turtles.

If you’re looking for a quick beat-‘em-up to play with your friends, or you just want to ride the TMNT nostalgia train, Turtles In Time Re-Shelled is a solid buy for 800 Microsoft points ($10.00 / £6.80). Cowabunga, dude!

This remake excels in its level choice, as it is fun to travel through time with the Turtles. Unfortunately, its execution is a bit too modest. Repetitive attacks and sounds are a killjoy. Whether it’s worth its 800 Microsoft Points is highly personal, but don’t forget that the Story Mode only takes about an hour.

This is what it is and nothing more: a good remake. It's too simple compared to other beat 'em ups like Castle Crashers, but it also reminds us of those times when we shouted cowabunga when playing our favourite SNES game.

Turtles in Time Re-Shelled isn’t trying to redefine scrolling beat-em-ups on XBLA; it's merely trying to offer a bite-sized nugget of updated retro fun, and that's exactly what Ubi-Soft have given us with this.

Turtles in Time: Re-Shelled will mostly appeal to nostalgic fans, others may be less enthusiastic.

Turtles in Time definitely provides the primitively satisfying, thumb-numbing enjoyment of the original. However, its adherence to the original game doesn’t help with replayability, and newcomers may find its “hardcore” appeal somewhat befuddling.

Turtles in Time is a pretty retro fun title, however, it's too short.

Re-Shelled unfortunately suffers the same pitfalls as the arcade iteration, while adding some new problems to the mix.

Turtles in Time Re-Shelled was fun while it lasted, but that time was far too short.

As an update of an older title, Turtles in Time Re-Shelled is an enjoyable nostalgia romp, but there isn't a whole lot here that is going to justify repeated play attempts.

The HD visuals in Re-Shelled are a nice touch, but the aging formula, coupled with too few options and modes, makes for a repetitive and lackluster trip down memory lane. There simply isn't enough here to make you want to come back more than once or twice.

Don't get us wrong, the 3D makeover turns it into a responsive and thoroughly modern duff-em-up. We just wish the fun lasted a little bit longer.

Overall Turtles in Time can be a pretty fun title, however, it is incredibly short.

The lack of jump-in play — particularly on the couch — is very disappointing considering the game’s coin-op origins. Bummer, dude.

Turtles in Time Re-Shelled is a great example of how much games have evolved. Even though we may have thought we wanted this classic "remake" this release shows that it is no longer enough to slap on a coat of paint to outdated gameplay.

Overall it seems that Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-shelled has made the best of a game that hasn't aged well. Check this out only if you're desperate for some multiplayer gameplay.

The experience is so short-lived and lacking in replayability that it's a hard sell. [Nov 2009, p.104]

This shallow, generic brawler is coasting on nostalgia fumes and the TMNT brand. Ubisoft didn't ruin the original arcade game; it just didn't do enough with it. Virtually nothing has been added to the gameplay, so you're paying a premium for updated graphics you may not even like.

My end feeling is that the game is still fun to play, despite any changes to the gameplay, and if you get a group of friends together you'll still have a blast with it like you did in the arcade or at home as a kid, even if the experience isn't all there.

The bottom line is that the game doesn't hold up very well, but it's mildly amusing to play for an hour or so, especially with friends.

Quotation forthcoming.

This shallow, simplistic beat-'em-up is stuck in the past.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-shelled aims to bring back the feeling of turtle power, but ultimately it doesn't contain the solid gameplay that the modern gamer expects from a title.

Yeah, it's still fun when you've got three other friends involved, but when you get down to it it's an antiquated game that doesn't have the pizzazz that people expect out of a downloadable remakes these days. Honestly, I'd have been happy with a cheap, no-frills port of the original arcade version (something that this remake doesn't even include, incidentally).

With only the core game mode and two mild variations based on the same levels there's just not enough game here to warrant a purchase.

It'd all be mitigated a bit if you could unlock the arcade version, but you can't. I hate to say this, given the comparative effort that goes into a full remake versus a simple port, but if you're really jonesing for a turtle throwdown, get the XBLA version of the first arcade game. It's cheaper, less jarring, and every bit as much fun.

In short, don't buy this game. The fact that it only has about an hours worth of gameplay for 800 MS Points is enough to make this a stupid purchase. If you have fond childhood memories of Turtles in Time, keep them by not playing this game. it will only ruin those memories.

Whether you are a child of the '80s or a Naruto-watching kid of the 2000's, playing Re-Shelled will hold you for a very short span of time, but it is surely better than the recent Gak-faced, Hose-brained attempts at re-igniting the Turtle Power love.

Re-Shelled is stuck in this weird in-between place where it does no nostalgic service to the original game but also fails to bring anything new whatsoever to this simplistic genre.

Unfortunately, nostalgia doesn’t operate in this game’s favor: it’s too faithful to the original. The broken levels, mundane combat, meager play options, and short play time are factors that dwarf the delicious presentation and whatever fond memories you may have.

Turtles in Time Re-shelled is a shallow remake that doesn’t make the most out of the original Turtles in Time. Everything that makes the original game one of the best beat ‘em ups of all time is painfully absent here, but the co-op might make you come back for a second or third run.

It's rubbish. Of course it's rubbish - it's a game where you bang one button, forever. [Oct 2009, p.103]

Okay, so I'm being slightly facetious here, but I honestly don't think it's good enough to release such a boring product onto XBLA. Where are the extras for fans? The new game modes, extra levels, character bios, unlockable cartoons? Anything!