Please support Game Informer. Print magazine subscriptions are less than $2 per issue
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash-Up Review
At first glance Smash-Up has a lot in common with the original Turtles comic book – it’s goofy enough to be laughable, yet it’s charismatic. Both clearly ape other properties (X-Men and Daredevil for the comic, Smash Bros. for the game), and both have production values so low they look like they were created in someone’s garage. For an independent comic published in the early ‘80s this is understandable, but for a video game based on a 25-year-old multi-million dollar franchise you have to wonder why the menu system looks like it was made using MS Paint.
Comparisons to Smash Bros. are inevitable – even the title references Nintendo’s brawler. Hoping to please its fans, this team of ex-Smash Bros. developers sticks to the formula of wicked-fast four-player action, two-button controls, and crazy level design. Smash
Unfortunately, you can only squeeze so much variety out of a two-button control scheme, and the movements are so floaty you feel like you’re controlling a bunch of teenage mutant feathers. Power pickups – which allow you to throw ninja stars or electrify your enemies – range from useful to unfairly useful (surrounding yourself with a mini tornado can turn the tide fairly quickly). The roster starts out thin, but you can eventually unlock 16 playable characters, including Ubisoft’s famously demented Rabbids.
If the Smash Bros. formula has worn thin for you, the Smash-Up experience will feel as sturdy as a wet paper towel. On the other hand, Smash Bros. and TMNT fans should embrace this game’s dodge-happy action.
Products In This Article
I’d like to ask you to support Game Informer’s continued coverage of games with a subscription. For less than two dollars per issue, we mail you a full year of 10 print magazines, each with cover stories and preview features filled with exclusive details about the most exciting upcoming games. We profile and interview game creators. We look back on the rich history of gaming, and we celebrate what’s next.
Here on the website, we offer much of our content for free, including game reviews, daily news, videos, event coverage, and more – all with minimal ads.
We do so with a small editorial team, alongside contributing paid writers from around the world – over 65 individuals from 9 countries around the world, just in the last couple of years.
It’s not possible without support.
In a time when game makers and games coverage have faced hard struggles and layoffs, the future of this 30+ year magazine and community is at risk. Our new standalone magazine subscription is the number one way you can keep us alive – and we believe you’ll get a pretty fantastic gaming magazine in your mailbox every few weeks for your trouble.
Thank you.
