TMNT: Out of the Shadows Revealed

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are getting their own video game! Again. This one looks like it may not suck out loud, however. TMNT: Out of the Shadows appears to be a much grittier, darker, and aggressive style of game than the turtles have ever been placed in before.

It is absolutely worth pointing out that this is all based on a hands-off demo that I was shown of the game being played. I had no actual interaction with the game itself, but it was a live, in-person demo of the game.

Out of the Shadows is set to be one of three TMNT games to be released in the future, no word whether they will be connected or all be downloadable titles, and is set to hit Xbox Live Arcade and PSN this Summer. That information done and dusted, the game looks like it could be pretty decent – if you can ignore the mildly cheesy subtitle the game carries.

The turtles look to be coming out of the shadows in a far more realistic, if you can use that term to describe ninja turtles, style than previous games. The gameplay seems to gravitate towards the Batman: Arkham Asylum method of fighting and chaining attacks, which does match the visual aesthetics quite well. It was heavily stressed during the demo that this will not be a game focussed on kids, but rather the more mature TMNT fans – likely those who were fans of the original series.

This is a brawler, make no mistake about it, jumping from one area to the text and beating the snot out of everybody who dares defy you, but you are chaining attacks, count-attacks, and team-manoeuvres together to keep the action from growing stale and repetitive. Each turtle also has their own speciality too, with some being quicker but weaker and others being slower but stronger.

There will be up to 4 player co-op online, and 2 player split-screen co-op, and all four turtles will be in game throughout. Meaning if you’re playing solo you’ll have three AI buddies playing as the remaining turtles to fight alongside you. You also have the ability to switch between different turtles as you play to complete combo-moves or to switch to a different fighting style, both in single player and co-op, which was my favourite option as I watched all four turtles nail a combo-move by switching between them all to complete their individual part of the combo by a single person playing.

There is currently no trailer released with actual gameplay in, aside from Michaelangelo, the best turtle, who’s trailer can be found here. However, there are four screenshots of the four turtles posing and trying to look like badasses below. Out of Shadows… don’t hurt me again, I can’t take another heartbreak.

TMNT: Out of the Shadows is set to release this Summer on XBLA and PSN.