TMNT: Rooftop Run is Actually Pretty Cool

Have you had a chance to check out the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Rooftop Run game that just came out recently for the iPhone and iPad? I bought it not knowing if it would be any fun or not because I want to support Nickelodeon’s awesome TMNT effort as much as I can, but thankfully the game is actually pretty fun.

Rooftop Run is a Canabalt inspired running game, and even though there’s plenty of money grubbing ala Tiny Tower and Jurassic Park Builder, the game is still fun for TMNT fans who need to be distracted for a few minutes here and there.

Even though we’re getting a “serious” type TMNT game this summer, I’m dying for a full-fledged game based on the new Nick show. The CG, music, voices, and everything else is perfect for a fun brawler-style game, and that’s even obvious with this little iOS game. There’s a fun 2D cut-scene at the beginning that thankfully uses the shows actual voice cast, and the modeling and animation are pretty faithful to the show.

The premise of the game is simple; you’re just running from the Kraang and fighting enemies along the way. You have to jump over barriers and collect enough green thingies to keep your meter from emptying, along with making sure you don’t fall off any roofs. I’ve played a million games like this, and it may be because this is TMNT, but I still had fun playing Rooftop Run.

The thing I really hate about the game is the use of coins. My biggest pet peeve about iOS games is when companies make it so obvious that they’re just trying to get you to spend money in their games by buying things to make the game faster/more fun. When you start up Rooftop Run, choose your Turtle wisely because you won’t be able to play as the other Turtles until you collect (or buy) 3600 coins to unlock them one by one.

There are also upgrades and gear you can buy with coins, but I haven’t unlocked anything yet.

Still, the game is fun and actually makes me wonder if they accidentally included a spoiler. After a while I noticed that the enemies I was going up against changed from Foot Soldiers to weird Wasp/Fly/Winged Dudes. There wasn’t really an explanation for this, and it instantly made me think of the 80s cartoon version of Baxter Stockman.

Is Nickelodeon going to play to our nostalgia for the original series by having Baxter create an army of fly soldiers? I hope so. I think that would be a cool nod to the 80s cartoon without losing Baxter as a human character in the process. How cool would it be for the Turtles to have an army of 80s-like Baxter soldiers to fight? Anyway, I digress…

If you’ve got an iPhone or an iPad and you’re a fan of the new TMNT cartoon, you should check out this game. At least until Nickelodeon gives us a really-for-real video game based on this awesome show.