Totally radical rumor there, dude!

File this one in the 'obscure yet interesting' column: gaming industry writer Paul Gale, known for his work on Electronic Gaming Monthly, 1up.com and, currently, BitMob, is reporting that Rocksteady Studios is working on a new entry in the peanut-butter-meets-chocolate 90s franchise Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  The game, supposedly subtitled 'Manhattan Crisis,' would star the mean, green, ninja team in an experience quite similar (and using the engine from) Batman: Arkham City.

Now before we venture into the realm of speculation I have to ask that we take all of the following with a grain of salt as, as exciting as it would be to see a new Turtles game, none of this is confirmed as of press time.  Gale had the following 'rumors' that suggest what would make up Manhattan Crisis:

    • Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo are the four playable characters, each with their own varied move set and weapon of choice (sword, bo staff, sai, and nunchucku…respectively).
    • Flashbacks are played as Master Splinter/Hamato Yoshi.
    • Shurikens, smoke bombs, grappling hooks, and climbing foot spikes.
    • Gameplay and story/stage progression similar to Batman: Arkham City.
    • Classic characters such as Bebop and Rocksteady (warthog and rhinoceros), Dr. Baxter Stockman, Shredder (Oroku Saki), and Krang act as bosses and in the case of the humans-turned-mutants, you fight them in both forms throughout the story.
    • The Turtle Van and Turtle Blimp will be present and with them and other gadgets, the Wii U build is expected to have touch screen controls for specific actions.
    • Multiplayer is unknown.
    • Graphics engine used is that of Arkham City.
    • The game is expected to be more dark than slapstick, but the turtles themselves and their interactions with the Foot Clan, bosses, and story characters like April O’Neil and Casey Jones will still have comedy attached.
    • Purportedly being in development for Wii U, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.
    • Careful selection of voice actors to bring the universe to life as well as Rocksteady did with their two Batman games.
    • Manhattan Crisis shares a similar name to the 1991/1992 NES title, “The Manhattan Project”, but is very much its own title.

Again, what you've read above is what Mr. Gale reports to be in the game but as of the time of posting Rocksteady has yet to comment.  Despite the age of the franchise the series is due for a revival this year.  The popular children's TV channel Nickelodeon is currently developing a full season (read: ~26 episode) CGI take on the series similar in the way they did with the Kung Fu Panda franchise.  Nickelodeon and Paramount Pictures are also co-developing a live action Turtles film due for release sometime in late 2012 or 2013.  A game tie-in would clearly be a perfect marketing opportunity.

The only caveat barring this from being a possibility is the current nature of Rocksteady's publishing deals.  The two Batman games, made under a license from DC Comics, were published by Warner Bros. Interactive.  Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is an IDW property and while Warner Bros. did handle distribution of the 2007 CGI film TMNT the recent Turtles games were published by Ubisoft.  This means that, unless Ubisoft's license of the franchise has expired, Rocksteady and Warner Bros. Interactive might have some trouble getting a hold of the property.  This is, of course, if Rocksteady even intends to make one.

I personally love the idea of a new Turtles title.  As a child of the 90s one of my favorite series were the various TMNT games that arrived on the NES and SNES, Turtles in Time easily being the best of them all.  The Turtles franchise deserves a proper revival and if Batman can get such wonderful treatment so too do I think that Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo receive what they deserve.

Comments

  • Avatar
    Dellago
    12 years, 2 months ago

    YES, oh God please be true.

  • Avatar
    Dimensaur
    12 years, 2 months ago

    I could see a TMNT title working well with the Batman Arkham series setup. If this indeed true I think its a good idea. I smell Darksiders 2 crossover dlc for Casey. Might as well right?

  • Avatar
    roughplague
    12 years, 2 months ago

    The Arkham engine looks like poop tho, at least the lighting, or lack thereof =I

  • Avatar
    J52
    12 years, 2 months ago

    Will there be any STUFF people?

  • Avatar
    lemith
    12 years, 2 months ago

    Interesting...

  • Avatar
    JTC545
    12 years, 2 months ago

    Rocksteady designing Rocksteady

  • Avatar
    endsmouth
    12 years, 2 months ago

    This seems to be a blend of the 80s series with the tone and aesthetic of the comics / 00s TV revival. I mostly prefer the latter, but if Rocksteady can reconcile the three like they did with the Arkham series, then I'm game.

  • Avatar
    CrossOutlaw
    12 years, 2 months ago

    To be honest this sounds amazing and sounds pretty convincing. Anyone who has read or seen some of the original TMNT comics know that they started out as being very dark/gritty. With blood and violence and stuff, until it was adapted for a young audience with the t.v cartoon.