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Gaming nostalgia can conjure up some interesting feelings. Replaying a classic can be a triumphant stroll through memory lane, or a terrible letdown. In the worst cast scenario it can taint what was once a precious gaming memory, in the end leaving you convinced that you must have had some seriously poor taste as a child. Such was my fear when I loaded up Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Arcade on my Xbox 360. Say what you will about X-Men and The Simpsons, but for me, TMNT was the preeminent arcade beat ‘em up. So, my fingers trembled, controller in hand, hoping to confirm that the younger me did have a bit of good taste.
Turtles features a basic list of moves: attack, jump and jumping attack. Sometimes simple is better. The story features about as much complexity as the moves list. Intrepid news reporter April has been kidnapped by Shredder, and of course it's up to the Turtles to save her sorry butt. Since it's an arcade title, it's a short and straight line to the Technodrome and your battle with Shredder. Unfortunately, this is the arcade version, and it lacks the extra levels that helped lengthen the NES port. Which means my personal favorite, the snow level, is absent. Still, for 400 Microsoft points (the equivalent of a measly five bucks) you can't beat the price, even if the experience is short lived.
...for 400 Microsoft points (the equivalent of a measly five bucks) you can't beat the price, even if the experience is short lived
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You can beat the game is pretty quickly though. Of course, most of the boss battles are completely unfair, but with unlimited credits you're not really going to care that much. If you want more of a challenge you can play with some buddies either in the room or across the globe with LIVE. This is what the game was designed around. Playing multiplayer limits your lives to 20, so it provides a bit more of a challenging arcade flavor. Hooking up with some online buddies to play harkens back to the days of that musty old arcade cabinet, with just a hint of lag thrown in. It's basically a crapshoot when it comes to connection. Either your host has a good connection or he doesn't. Before you know it though, you'll be yelling at your buddy that snagged the only pizza lying around right before the boss battle. Fond memories of anger always come flooding back quickly.
Of course, there's some added playability for the achievement whores out there. The achievements are an interesting mix. The game thankfully doesn't feature the typical beat a level get some points standard. For a game this short that just wouldn't be worthwhile. The achievements are there to challenge, as they should be (like avoiding getting frozen by the ice traps in the Technodrome). However, it does feature one of the lamest secret achievements to date. No, make that one of the lamest achievements to date, as falling in five manholes will net you some nerd points.
Minor qualms aside, TMNT: Arcade actually lived up to my fond memories. It turns out I didn't just play crap back in the day. For those who haven't downloaded it yet – what are you waiting for? It's the perfect arcade title for 360 owners looking for a blast from the past, and it proves that the Wii hasn't quite corned the market on classic gaming just yet. And for those of you wondering, yes, Donatello is still the best Turtle.
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