Activision has officially announced their first TMNT video game title, "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Our of the Shadows." And what a curious entry into the TMNT video game library this is. Check out the first trailer:
As of right now, the game will only be available as a download from Xbox Live Arcade, Playstation Network, and Stream on PCs. Gameplay will feature 4-player online co-op as the Turtles fight the Foot Clan through New York City.
"Out of the Shadows" is supposedly "inspired by" the Nickelodeon cartoon series, but it obviously doesn't take its visual cues from the series. No, instead of using the awesome designs from that series, they've opted to design the Turtles to look like horrible, badly-proportioned fan art. I can appreciate them wanting to go for a more realistic look than the cartoon series has to offer - that allows them to appeal to a broader, older audience - but these Turtles look like crap.
I remember when Nickelodeon first bought the TMNT and my biggest fear was that they would totally reinvent the characters so that they didn't at all resemble the Turtles that I had adored for 20 years. Then when we got the first look at the designs for the CGI cartoon series, I was incredibly relieved. And now that we've finally seen the series it's awesome and amazing. And the IDW comic book has been similarly impressive. All seemed to be good (with the looming possible exception of the upcoming movie). With all the good coming out of Nickelodeon, the sudden appearance of these craptacular Turtles is quite curious, indeed.
We'll just have to wait and see how this plays out.
