Cowabunga dude! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Shredder’s Revenge is out! So grab a slice (or six) of pizza and prepare yourself for a kick-ass, totally rad, ‘80s inspired beat-em-up.
The turtles are back and they are cooler than ever. Chock full of inspiration from the fondly remembered TMNT Turtles in Time title, Shredder’s Revenge is a short and sweet arcade style beat-em-up. The combat is very satisfying.
You can choose to jump straight into the action via the arcade mode where characters will be outfitted with their entire move-sets and you’ll have a set amount of lives to beat the campaign and the evil Shredder! Story mode means that once you’ve chosen your turtle, or one of their companions, and you’re on the streets of the Big Apple, you’ll be levelling them up, unlocking new abilities as well as some kick-ass combos! Either way, Shredder is in for a pretty rough ride.
I’ve always been a bit of a sucker for pixel art games, but I think most people would agree that Shredder’s Revenge looks pretty damn bodacious. Sleek and smooth animations are brought to life by the original voice actors from the ‘80s animated series as well as vibrant backdrops that transport you back in front of the button-bashing glory that is an arcade cabinet. Full of familiar locations and some awesome new areas to find and inevitably cover with the wreckage of your enemies. The unique, distinct colours and designs really help set the levels apart. Fluid combat and awesome visuals throughout but with a most righteous of soundtracks. Kick-ass beats for a kick-ass game.
The same old format of fighting different coloured variations of the same old dudes is still alive and well in this title. Tribute Games haven’t tried to reinvent the wheel, instead, they’ve taken the best parts from those button mashing arcade cabinets and lovingly created a sweet beat-em-up that’s a total blast to play.
I’m yet to tackle this game with a full party of six players but even at four players it was pretty hectic. Turtles flying across the screen, enemies being bounced back and forth before being pelted towards the screen as well as the mad dashes for the power-up pizza. Shredder’s Revenge manages to strike a decent balance within the chaos, as long as you’re okay with triple-figure combos and defeated bodies bouncing across the screen.
Each character comes with unique move-sets, stats and taunts meaning there’s always someone new to try for the next run. The character specials are particularly useful and consist of devastatingly strong attacks that eat up the player’s energy bar. Thankfully, this does refill slowly as the Turtles beat down Shredder’s minions. In addition each character comes with a special taunt, which instantly restores the players’ energy bar. I’d love to say that the taunt’s are a little too good, but I loved breaking away from the fight to grab a quiet moment on Donatello’s Gameboy. The very useful taunts, combo’d with the decent supply of both restorative and special power up pizzas made the campaign a bit of a breeze.
Shredder’s Revenge is a well crafted, much loved nostalgia filled hectic ride. Perfect for fans of beat-em-ups and perfect for parties. Only rule is, I’m playing Donatello.
Words: Dave Jamieson
