ONLY 1 MORE WEEK!!!

Coming soon to MutantOoze.org Teenage Mutant Music Turtles... Stay tuned for more information!!!

Next month Ubisoft will be releasing TMNT: Arcade Attack. This game looks awesome. But since I do not have any access to review games or comment on the games I took the liberty of using the vicious copy and paste tool and added Mark Bozon's great review of the new game hitting the DS shelves in the next few weeks... Be sure to click on over to IGN's site to view the actual source of the article and send Mark an email letting him know, yes, playing TMNT games is part of having the greatest job on the planet...

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Arcade Attack is exactly what the name implies; an ode to the old beat-em-up designs of the 1980's and 90's. Before we get too far in the write-up though there are some dreams to crush at least just a little bit. This one is not 2D, much to my dismay, and while the game does play like a 2D fighter I continued to be baffled as to why Ubisoft went this direction. Everything from the intro sequences to title screen and story in between screams retro, but once the game kicks off you'll instantly be thrown into a 3D world that moves like a 2D game. Annoying? Yes, for this TMNT die-hard it is. Dealbreaker? As it turns out, no. No it isn't. I've gone three levels in on this arcade beat-em-up and while there are things I'd love to go in and fiddle with being both a retro gaming fan and classic TMNT lover there's also some fun to be had, and hopefully the start of even more Turtles arcade goodness in the future.

The game kicks off with perhaps the ultimate in fan service out there; a video story intro that's all black and white, and even done in the classic Laird & Eastman style. If it isn't them, it looks like it enough for me to do a double-take. The style is very comic book inspired, and it rocks. The story itself is also a pretty classic Turtles take, but it's also original. Shredder is gone, but a strange disturbance in cyberspace is occurring all around NYC. After a quick level of beat-em-up action against some local thugs a futuristic foot soldier drops down out of nowhere donned in gold armor. The turtles whup his butt, and find out the shocking truth: Shredder is alive, and manipulating NYC somehow from the future. That may not be a classic TMNT story for some fans, but others – the ones that know the comics, TCRI, Dimension X, and all that – should feel right at home with it.

The gameplay is what really matters though, and while there are some things I'd personally change it's also a pretty comprehensive brawler thus far. Only two turtles go out on missions at a time – in both local play and wireless – and move from stage to stage beating on baddies. Each turtle has different stats for speed, power, health, and weapon usage, so while Donatello and Leo both have distance, Mike is the fastest of the bunch and Raph deals the most damage per attack. The combat is handled with a jump button, block, weapon attack, and kicks. If you hold block and tap weapon you'll grab items – such as road cones, barrels, and bricks – to toss at enemies, can even toss thugs around the screen, and grab the other turtle for a power-up swing attack.

I haven't personally seen a thug thrown into the screen like the classic TMNT arcades, but it's apparently in there according to the shots Ubisoft sent on over. Depending on the direction you hold when grabbing you can toss enemies over your head, and also throw them up and into the air for air juggles (though it doesn't seem to be working entirely yet, as enemies fall fast but aren't' easy to actually strike in mid-air). Doing the team attack takes up an entire bar of special energy, but it refills fast enough and can be executed once every 30 seconds or so. What I haven't seen, however, is any other use for that bar, or any turtle-specific attacks along those lines.

There's more to the combat though. First off, weapons can be found in levels by breaking open boxes, TVs, or damaging road cones and the like. Inside you'll find the occasional pizza and box of popcorn for health upgrades, but at times you'll also find weapons like bricks (for throwing) and 2X4 or metal pipes. These can be swing a la Final Fight with the weapon button, or thrown via the kick attack. Simple, but it adds a bit more to the experience. Jump slashes can also be done, as can classic jump kicks (with the same "increased speed" shove down when kicking), and the block button has a mobility modifier to it as well. When blocking players can push away to do backflips, as well as up and down to roll up and down on the screen. Since the game plays like a 2D fighter that basically pops you in and out of attack zones (since characters can only attack left and right).

With the backflips, you can also tap attack when in the middle of the flip and actually add a powerful sliding kick to the end of it which shoots the turtle back into striking range and usually floors enemies. It's a basic addition, but it also lets you get out of attack range which a quick move, and then shoot right back in instantly. I've also used the flip to close distance as well, turning away from enemies and flipping backwards (but towards them) across the screen, even passing them and then using that shoot kick to strike from the back. It's a pretty cool addition, and one that spices up gameplay a bit.

There's also a few other quirks as well. When delivering a final strike on an enemy during a screen locked section the game will zoom in and show the slow motion finish. Other situations will actually have the turtles go into a blade clash with enemies, zooming in on the action and forcing the player to mash B and win the battle against the thug. Tap fast enough, and you'll win the test of strength, delivering an attack and flooring the baddie. As another addition, score is kept on the top screen showing not only points for both turtles based on combat, but also their current rank in that level. Rank high enough and you'll gain points that go towards unlocking boss rush modes and a survival mode.

In addition, each level also awards bonuses for things like not using continues or racking up huge combos. As another final tidbit, downed turtles (at least computer controlled ones) go into a helpless state like Gears of War, requiring you to run (or backflip) over to them and hit A to help them up. This replaces the computer's health bar, leaving the screen a bit more open and single player focused.

We'll have more on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Arcade Attack as we continue on through the game. Until then, check out the first screens of the game in action, found in our media gallery below. We hope to have first footage on the way soon too, so keep your eyes peeled for more Turtles goodness. The game is currently slated for a November 2009 ship date.

Leatherhead is a 12'4" or 7' mutant alligator or crocodile (depending on which version). He has appeared in all TMNT incarnations except for the movies and the live action series.

He first appeared in Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #6. Originally Leatherhead was nothing more than an infant alligator which had somehow found its way into the sewers. While in the sewers, Leatherhead was found by a group of TCRI Utroms who decided to bring the creature to their headquarters. During his stay with the Utroms, Leatherhead was exposed to Mutagen which caused him to mutate into a humanoid and intelligent being.

Living with the Utroms, Leatherhead ended up being separated from his "family" when the TCRI building self-destructed. The now homeless Leatherhead was forced to live in the sewers where he was continually attacked by a big-game hunter called Mr. Marlin. During one attack by the hunter, Leatherhead met the Turtles. Aiding Leatherhead in defeating the hunter, the Turtles decided to allow Leatherhead to live in their old home.

Eventually two Foot Clan ninjas encountered an eye-patch-wearing Leatherhead in the sewers. Fearing that Leatherhead would kill them, the ninjas tried to get on Leatherhead's good side by promising to aid him in creating his Transmat Device. Accepting the help, Leatherhead and the ninjas set to work creating the Transmat, only to be interrupted by the Turtles. After a brief skirmish, the Turtles learned that the Foot ninjas were actually helping Leatherhead. Embarrassed by the incident the Turtles decided to aid the mutant alligator. Eventually the Transmat Device was complete, Leatherhead could finally reach the Utrom Homeworld. Unfortunately instead of teleporting Leatherhead, the device simply blew up in his face. This failure was too much for Leatherhead to handle and in a fit of rage, Leatherhead killed his two Foot assistants and vowed revenge on the Turtles, whom he blamed for wrecking his attempt to get "home."

Leatherhead later resurfaced in Volume 4. He makes an appearance at Master Splinter's funeral. He is then seen wrestling a mutated Raphael in the sewers before swimming off. It is unknown what his current relationship with the Turtles is, but Raphael's comment that he hopes he didn't hurt Leatherhead would make it seem as if they're at least on good terms.

He has also appeared in two issues of Tales of the TMNT Volume 2. In issue eight, a mentally unstable and delusional Leatherhead is discovered by Raphael to be building another Transmat Device. Leatherhead seems to harbor an insane grudge against Donatello, and nearly kills Raphael when he mistakes him for Donatello. Once the Transmat Device was finished, it suddenly kicked into operation and causes three Utroms to appear; these Utroms blast Leatherhead with a ray gun, and take him away, destroying the Transmat Device as they leave.

In issue twenty-three, the Turtles are recruited by the Utroms to save Leatherhead from a renegade group of Utrom radicals called "The Illuminated," the same ones who took him away in issue eight, in attempts to clone him into an army of mutants to aid in their world "cleansing" agenda. It is revealed that the Illuminated where secretly drugging Leatherhead, which caused him to subconsciously to build the second Transmat Device he was working on in issue eight, then wake up and remember little. It also caused his missing eye to heal and gave him a massive increase in size. The Turtles rescue Leatherhead, defeated the clones, and aided in the destruction of the Illuminated. Leatherhead returns to Earth with the turtles rather than going back to the Utrom home world. These events all take place between Volumes 2 and 4 of the Mirage series.

It is interesting to note that in the past, at several comic conventions, Leatherhead creator Ryan Brown has said he initially intended to kill the character off at the end of Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Vol. 1, #6 by having the gator-man tumble into the underground gorge with the evil big game hunter but Turtle's creator Peter Laird nixed the idea opting to have Leatherhead survive and return to the sewers with the Turtles.

Brown returns to plot his creation after 19 years in the September 2007 issue of Tales of the TMNT. Out for a swim, Leatherhead encounters a group of aliens called Sigmurethites and attacks them. The alligator-man's Utrom guardian Dr. X also appears in this issue in a female scientist's exoskeleton.

Footage of Leatherhead Boss Fight in TMNT 2 Battle Nexus


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This is pretty funny... Takes a few minutes before TMNT is mentioned...

The first sneak peek of Turtles Forever!!!

Returning from the future, The Turtles are back in present day New York to save Splinter from the evil Shredder.

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I cannot wait for this to be released!