Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows (video game)

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is a 2013 hack and slash video game developed by Red Fly Studio and published by Activision based on the Mirage Studios characters of the same name. Some aspects of the game are inspired by the 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series. In the game's storyline, the Turtles once again face their archenemy, the Shredder, who seeks to destroy them once and for all with a new weapon created from Kraang technology.

It was released on August 28, 2013 for Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. The game features a four-player online mode and offline two-player co-op. The PlayStation 3 version was delayed, to polish the game more before release and to address issues from the Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows versions of the game. On April 1, 2014, it was announced by Red Fly Studio that the PlayStation 3 version would be released on April 15.

Gameplay
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows is a hack and slash video game, played from a third person perspective, where the player assumes the role of the titular characters. Players are able to switch between the four Turtles - Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael - and, as such, up to four players can play the game at the same time; even if there aren't four players, the remaining Turtles are controlled by an AI and will be following the player. Each of the four Turtles has a different play style, depending on their weapons: Leonardo wields two katanas, making him the most basic one out of the Turtles; Donatello wields a bō, which comes with an increased range at the expense of agility; Michelangelo wields two nunchaks, making him the fastest turtle and allowing him to quickly build up combos; and Raphael wields two sai, making him fight his enemies more directly and aggressively.

The gameplay emphasizes teamwork, with players being able to perform team combos or KOs on enemies. Special moves fill a green bar located in the upper left side of the HUD, which, when filled, allows players to perform a powerful combo to quickly finish off enemies. There are also collectibles, such as pizzas, which restore health, and shurikens, which are used as ranged weapons.

The game is linear, with levels taking players to various locations, including the sewers, Shredder's lair, and a secret Krang facility. Enemies vary from street thugs to Foot Clan ninjas and Krang soldiers. Some levels incorporate stealth segments, where players have to sneak around and take out enemies quietly. There is also an Arcade mode, where players go through all the levels in the main story in an arcade game style, and Combat Challenges, where players fight waves of enemies in various locations from the story; some of these levels also have a boss fight at the end.

Plot
The game begins with April O'Neil waking up in a warehouse at the docks. She makes her way through the warehouse, avoiding laser beams fired by something outside. After getting outside, she attempts to call the Turtles, only to be kidnapped by Karai. The game then flashes back to several hours prior, when the Turtles' daily training session interrupted by Donatello and April, who reveal the former's newest invention: a series of tiny transponders built into one of April's boots that will allow them to keep track of her movement anywhere in the city. Checking the boot's map against a police scanner, they then learn that a series of robberies have occurred at several labs across Manhattan and decide to investigate.

Arriving at the location of one of the robberies, the Turtles defeat several Purple Dragons gang members and learn where their next robbery is going to take place: the Krangs' TCRI facility. After foiling the robbery, the Turtles chase a Dragon who stole a truck full of Krang tech into the subway. There, they defeat more Dragons and discover they are working with the Foot Clan to transport stolen Krang tech through a disfunct subway system. Boarding one of the trains, the Turtles fight Karai, but she escapes after blowing up the train with explosives. After defeating some more Dragons, the Turtles fail to learn anything new about the subway and prepare to return home.

Choosing to go through the sewers, they come across more Dragons, as well as numerous of Baxter Stockman's Mousers. Fighting their way through all of them, the Turtles manage to call April and give her their whereabouts. April arrives at the docks and infiltrates Stockman's secret lair inside a warehouse, finding information that he's working on a secret project for the Foot Clan using the stolen Krang tech. Meanwhile, the Turtles make their way out of the sewers and arrive at the same warehouse, but are forced to fight a giant three-headed Mouser called Cerberus Mouser, piloted by Stockman himself. The Turtles destroy the Cerberus Mouser, but Stockman escapes via jetpack, and Karai kidnaps April.

Returning home, the Turtles seek Master Splinter's advice, who tells them to consider their next stepts carefully. Donatello is able to track down April to Shredder's lair using the trasponders in her boot and the Turtles head there to rescue her. They make their way up to the rooftops, defeating numerous Dragons and Foot Clan ninjas along the way, and eventually arrive at a construction site right outside Shredder's lair, where they are forced to fight Karai once again. After defeating her, Leonardo offers her a chance to join them, but she refuses, saying that her father will eliminate them, and vanishes using a smoke bomb. The Turtles then use the crane at the construction site to break into Shredder's lair, where they face Shredder himself, but he overpowers them and flees after being informed by Stockman that his secret project is ready. The Turtles soon rescue April, who reveals that the Foot Clan have used Mousers to dig a tunnel into TCRI.

Using the tunnel, the Turtles arrive at the Krangs' secret facility, where they proceed to fight through numerous Krang soldiers and Foot Clan ninjas. After closing a portal to Dimension X to prevent more Krangs from coming, the Turtles finally confront Shredder, who reveals the secret project Stockman built for him is a new helmet that gives telekinetic powers, including the ability to fly, which should allow him to finally defeat the Turtles. However, they work together and manage to defeat Shredder, destroying the helmet, before returning home to celebrate with April and Splinter. Back at his lair, Shredder grows enraged over another defeat at the Turtles' hands, swearing revenge against them. At TCRI, the Krangs also make plans to eliminate the Turtles as soon as possible, before they become a threat to their invasion plans.

Voice cast

 * Scott Whyte as Leonardo
 * Yuri Lowenthal as Donatello
 * Pierce Cravens as Michelangelo
 * Carlos Alazraqui as Raphael
 * Feodor Chin as Splinter
 * Catherine Taber as April O'Neil
 * Matt Yang King as Shredder
 * Renee Faia as Karai
 * Keith Szarabajka as Kraangs
 * Dave Carter as Baxter Stockman

Reception
The Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows versions of the game were received generally negative by critics, and the Xbox 360 version holds a score of 38/100 on Metacritic. Game Informer gave the game a 2/10, calling it "terrible in every way". The PlayStation 3 version of the game was awarded a disappointing score of a 4/10 by Push Square.

IGN was slightly more positive, as it gave the game a 6.1/10, while praising for its video within the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series and its arcade mode.

The game was pulled from all digital stores in January 2017 as Activision chose not to renew the license.