Ubisoft TMNT

There was once a time when the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ruled the world.

If you're above the age of 20, chances are you probably worshipped the Turtles at some point during your childhood. Their star has fallen a little since, but now, they're back with a new game and movie that could help turn yet another generation of kids into Turtle fans.

The Turtles haven't lost their kid-friendly vibe, though they have thankfully lost that gawd-awful California-surfer dude schtick that permeated their earlier incarnations. Older gamers will have fun with the title, and not just from a nostalgia standpoint — the game is just plain fun — but it's clear that the game is aimed at the younger set, as it is ridiculously forgiving. You have unlimited lives, and the only penalty for dying is that your end of level time rating will suffer. This allows you to take more chances and risks, and most sections can be completed simply via brute force. Just send respawning Turtle after respawning Turtle up against the obstacle and eventually, you'll get through to the end.

The developers wisely decided to pay attention to the fact that the word 'ninja' is in the title and the Turtles display a limber sense of acrobatic skill that is a joy to both watch and manipulate. You'll spend most of your time running around areas that just beg you to constantly flip, grab and jump around in. It's all very reminiscent of another Ubisoft title, Prince of Persia. The Turtles wall-run, hang and climb like the Prince, but the controls have been simplified to a simple matter of positioning yourself correctly and pressing a few buttons at the right time.

The game is easy to a fault, but it hides it well as it does a good job of instilling a sense of achievement in the player. As you tromp around the levels with ease, you feel like it's due to your skill more than an artificially deflated sense of difficulty. Again, this is why the game is perfect for children.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has the same sort of charm that made Lego Star Wars so memorable, making this game required playing for the younger crowd.

Older gamers will likely turn their noses up at it, which is probably for the best as the action combat sequences in this game are pathetically bad.