Month: August 2020

Has any pop culture franchise been through more permutations and reboots than Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles? It doesn’t help that so many of these projects are named simply “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles,” “TMNT” or some other variation thereof.

With Turtle Mania as strong as it’s ever been, and with even more Turtle adventures in the works across various media, we figured now is a great time to break down the history of the franchise. Read on to learn about all the many incarnations of TMNT across movies, TV and video games (but note that for the sake of simplicity we’re ignoring the various handheld and mobile games).

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Original Animated Series

The year 1987 is when Turtle Mania really began to take hold, as that was when the original animated series and the action figure line both debuted. The animated series helped shape public perception of the franchise for years to come, from the iconic theme song to a decidedly more kid-friendly tone than the comic book source material. The series also had much more staying power than most, lasting a full 10 seasons until it finally wrapped in 1996.

The NES Game

The TMNT franchise’s first foray into video games is also the most divisive. The original NES game boasts a unique, fairly open-ended structure and allows players to choose which of the four Turtles to control. However, the game is also well known for its level of difficulty, with many gamers having nightmares of the infamous underwater level for years to come after playing.

The Live-Action Movie

The franchise made its theatrical debut with the 1990 live-action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. That film is notable for both its darker, more comic-accurate tone and the animatronic rubber Turtle suits designed by Jim Henson’s Creature Shop. As further proof of Turtle Mania’s power, the movie actually became the highest-grossing independent film in history (at least until The Blair Witch Project came along).

The Arcade Game

The Turtles migrated to arcades in 1990, spawning what is arguably still the most popular game in the history of the franchise. This Konami-produced brawler replicated a successful quarter-munching formula. The game was later ported to the NES and rebranded Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Arcade Game. Although the NES version suffered a major graphical downgrade, it boasts an additional level not found in the original.

Fall of the Foot Clan

Even the Game Boy got in on the TMNT fun thanks to this 1990 action game, which is based on the animated series. Fall of the Foot Clan spawned two Game Boy-exclusive sequels, 1991’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Back from the Sewers and 1993’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Radical Rescue.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze

As popular as the 1990 movie was, the backlash over the dark tone resulted in this campier and less violent sequel. The Secret of the Ooze is also notable for adding a number of new characters to the franchise, including the heroic pizza delivery boy Keno and Bebop and Rocksteady fill-ins Tokka and Rahzar. Also, there was that whole “Ninja Rap” thing.

Turtles in Time

Konami followed up the 1990 arcade game with an equally popular sequel. Turtles in Time is not only a major graphical leap over its predecessor, its plot sees the Turtles battling their way through time, from the prehistoric to a futuristic New York. The game was later ported to the Super NES, with several new bosses and levels thrown in for good measure.

The Manhattan Project

Because the NES was woefully ill-equipped to handle a port of Turtles in Time, it instead played host to a different follow-up to TMNT II: The Arcade Game. The Manhattan Project features similar graphics and gameplay, though the Turtles each gained their own special move.

Manhattan Missions

Not to be confused with The Manhattan Project, TMNT: The Manhattan Missions is a PC-exclusive action game modeled after the Prince of Persia series.

The Hyperstone Heist

While Sega Genesis owners didn’t get a true port of Turtles in Time, they did get this very similar arcade brawler. TMNT: The Hyperstone Heist reuses many assets from Turtles in Time, but features a different storyline and unique characters like Shredder’s top henchman, Tatsu.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III

The live-action series culminated with this sequel, which thrust the Turtles back in time to feudal Japan. While moderately successful, the diminished box office numbers and withering critical reception ensured this would be the last live-action TMNT movie for more than 20 years.

Tournament Fighters

With Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat all the rage in 1993, the Turtles got in on that action with a tournament fighting game of their own. The game was released on the NES, Super NES and Sega Genesis, with each varying wildly in gameplay, character roster and quality.

Mutant Turtles: Choujin Densetsu-hen

This two-part Japanese OVA is more or less a spinoff of the 1987 animated series, featuring most of the same Japanese dub voice actors. The title translates to “Superman Legend,” and the first episode features the Turtles becoming sentai heroes who merge to form the powerful Turtle Saint.

The Next Mutation

Though TMNT III basically killed the live-action franchise’s future prospects, that didn’t stop Saban Entertainment from trying to tap into waning Turtle Mania for a Power Rangers-inspired series. TMNT: The Next Mutation debuted in 1997 and lasted only one season. The series is a loose continuation of the movie trilogy and is mostly remembered for introducing a fifth, female Turtle named Venus De Milo. The Turtles also crossed over with the Power Rangers themselves in an episode of Power Rangers in Space.

The 2003 Animated Series

After going dormant in the late ’90s and early ’00s, the Turtles got a second wind thanks to a new animated series in 2003, produced by 4Kids and Mirage Studios. This series is relatively darker and more violent compared to its predecessor. That, along with a more narrative-driven approach, helped win over many fans. The series even crossed over with the original cartoon in the 2009 finale special Turtles Forever.

The 2003 Games

The advent of the new animated series led to two different video games being released in 2003, one developed for the Playstation 2, Xbox, Gamecube and PC and the other for Game Boy Advance. The former is specially based on the 2003 animated series and later spawned several sequels – 2004’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus and 2005’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare and TMNT: Mutant Melee.

TMNT: The CG Movie

The franchise finally returned to theaters in 2007 in the form of TMNT, a CG-animated movie that also acts as a sequel to the live-action series. This sequel sees the four estranged Turtles struggling to come together again and battle the Foot Clan’s new leader, Karai.

The 2007 Game

The franchise’s video game rights passed from Konami to Ubisoft just in time for the 2007 movie, and Ubisoft released a tie-in game on pretty much every console imaginable. Funnily enough, though, the Game Boy Advance game is the most well-regarded of the bunch, thanks to its arcade-inspired gameplay.

Turtles in Time Re-Shelled

Ubisoft released a new version of the classic Turtles in Time game in 2009 for both Xbox Live and the Playstation Network. Turtles in Time Re-Shelled recreates the levels of the arcade version with updated 3D graphics. Unfortunately, once Ubisoft’s licensing arrangement with Konami expired, the game vanished from both storefronts.

TMNT: Smash-Up

Developed by veterans of the Super Smash Bros. and Dead or Alive series, TMNT: Smash-Up is a PS2 and Wii fighting game that applies the Smash Bros. formula to the TMNT-verse.

Arcade Attack

Ubisoft’s final TMNT game turned out to be this Nintendo DS-exclusive action game released in 2009.

The 2012 Animated Series

After acquiring full rights to the TMNT franchise in 2009, Viacom wasted little time in commissioning a new animated series that debuted on Nickelodeon in 2012. This series broke new ground as the first CG-animated TMNT show, and was generally well-received by fans.

The 2013 Games

The TMNT video game rights shifted to Activision, leading to a pair of 2013 games inspired by the new animated series. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows was released on Xbox Live Arcade, Windows and PSN, while another game simply titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was released on Xbox 360, Wii and Nintendo DS.

The Movie Reboot

21 years after TMNT III, the franchise finally returned to the big screen for a new live-action movie produced by Michael Bay. Unlike the previous live-action series, this reboot features CG-animated versions of the Turtles rather than actors in rubber suits. Despite generally negative reviews, this movie managed to become the franchise’s highest-grossing theatrical release.

The 2014 Games

Several new TMNT games were released in 2014 to capitalize on the new movie, though only the Nintendo 3DS/mobile game was actually based on the movie. Other 2014 releases included the Kinect-fueled minigame collection TMNT: Training Lair and WayForward’s TMNT: Danger of the Ooze, a tie-in to the CG-animated series.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows

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The 2014 movie reboot was followed by a 2016 sequel called Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows. This sequel adds fan-favorite characters like Casey Jones (Arrow’s Stephen Amell) and finally gives Bebop and Rocksteady their live-action debuts. However, the sequel failed to replicate the box office success of the original, leading Paramount to cancel plans for a third film.

Mutants in Manhattan

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Activision’s final bow with the franchise came in the form of 2016’s TMNT: Mutants in Manhattan, a cel-shaded action game developed by PlatinumGames. While fans had high expectations given the developer’s pedigree, the game debuted to middling reviews and disappeared from digital storefronts surprisingly quickly.

Injustice 2

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While TMNT: Smash-Up remains the last dedicated TMNT fighting game, the Turtles did make a guest appearance in the form of DLC for 2017’s Injustice 2. The game even includes an in-story explanation for how the four brothers are able to go toe-to-toe with Superman.

Rise of the TMNT

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Each new TMNT cartoon seems to arrive quicker than the last. Nickelodeon followed up the successful 2012 series with Rise of the TMNT. Though this series returns to a 2D style of animation, its wildly different approach to the main character designs certainly turned heads. To date, Nickelodeon has aired two seasons of the series.

Nickelodeon Kart Racers

Surprisingly, there’s never been a TMNT kart racing game, but the Turtles do show up as playable characters in this 2018 game for the PS4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch.

Batman vs. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

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DC Comics and IDW Publishing crafted an epic pop culture crossover in 2015’s Batman/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and that comic inspired this 2019 direct-to-video animated movie. The film pairs the Bat-family with the Turtles as they confront the combined threat of Shredder and Ra’s al Ghul. The comic spawned two sequels, but it remains to be seen if either will be adapted for animation.

The Netflix Movie

The next TMNT movie won’t be appearing in theaters, but will instead be exclusive to Netflix. Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg and James Weaver’s production company Point Grey Pictures is collaborating with Nickelodeon and Paramount for the new feature-length animated movie. This animated TMNT movie reboot will be directed by Jeff Rowe (Gravity Falls, Connected, Disenchantment) and written by Brendan O’Brian (Neighbors, Sorority Rising, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates).

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Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on Twitter.

While we know next to nothing about this year’s Call of Duty, publisher Activision said co-developers Raven Software and Treyarch will show off the game “fairly soon.”

This news came during a recent Activision Blizzard earnings call, where Activision president Rob Kostich said Warzone helped the Call of Duty teams rethink how content is revealed while also confirming that Call of Duty 2020 news is on the way.

“It’s Warzone, I think, that’s caused us to rethink how, when, and even where we reveal our upcoming title,” Kostich said. “So we can’t wait to share it with the community, and we think it’s gonna be very different and more engaging than anything we’ve ever done before.

“Now, as you heard on the call before, Treyarch and Raven are coming up with the next premium game, and [we’re] obviously very excited about what they’re working on, and we do think fans are gonna absolutely love it. The game looks incredible right now and internally people are having a ton of fun playing across its campaign mode as well as the online modes that the developers are very well known for. And so, all I can say in terms of timing is I suspect you’ll be hearing more about this fairly soon.”

Following news of Warzone including future Call of Duty content, Kostich said this year’s Call of Duty will be closely connected to Warzone in the same way Modern Warfare is.

“Now, on your question of how we’re going to integrate the title with Warzone, I think that’s a good one, it’s an important one, and what you should expect is that [there will be] very tight integration between the two. Modern Warfare and Warzone are obviously very tightly connected, and I think that’s really important to the player base. We plan to do the same with all our upcoming titles as well, our premium titles, to ensure that we can reward all of our players and give them fresh new experiences, regardless of whether they choose to just play in Warzone or also play in the premium game as well, so the connection will absolutely be there.”

Treyarch subsequently tweeted confirmation that it is “looking forward” to talking about what the team’s working on with Raven. It’s worth noting Treyarch is responsible for the Black Ops series, with both studios collaborating on 2018’s Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.

This year’s Call of Duty is rumored to be a Black Ops entry set in the Cold War. While information about the title remains scarce, a recent Microsoft Store listing sparked further rumors of some kind of reveal.

Sony has updated its official page for PS5’s DualSense, and its new 360-degree look confirms there are no back buttons or triggers on the new controller.

This confirmation closes the door, at least currently, that PS5’s new controller would incorporate the back buttons/triggers in a similar fashion to the DualShock 4 Back Button Attachment. Many thought that Sony chose to release that new add-on because it would be featured on what is now known as the DualSense.

Microsoft’s official Xbox Elite Wireless Series 2 controller does feature removable triggers that can add extra inputs to the back of controller, which makes it a great accessibility option. While Sony may still be working on an official equivalent to the Elite controller or a new back button attachment, the DualSense features no such additions.

Some fans mentioned the lack of buttons during Geoff Keighley’s livestream about the new DualSense, and now Sony’s website double confirms this fact for the controller’s first iteration.

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Earlier this week, Sony also detailed how PS4 peripherals and accessories will work with the PS5, including that the DualShock 4 will not work with PS5 games, but will work with compatible PS4 games on Sony’s next-gen system.

While we know a bit about the PlayStation 5 and DualSense, we are still waiting on a price and release date beyond Holiday 2020. According to a recent report, however, Sony is planning on its next big PS5 announcement happening at some point during this month.

Sony is hosting a new State of Play this Thursday, August 6, but it already noted that there will be no big PlayStation 5 announcements.

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Have a tip for us? Want to discuss a possible story? Please send an email to [email protected].

Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.

Nioh 2 was never a game starved for content, but the first of three planned pieces of DLC, The Tengu’s Disciple, is a substantial addition all its own. It introduces the coastal Yashima region with three new areas and 10 new missions that can, and most likely will, take players at least 10 hours to complete. Even more than that, there’s also a brand new weapon type called the Splitstaff, a large handful of new enemy types, challenging new boss fights, new armor and weapon sets, new soul cores, and new guardian spirits. The quality of the DLC campaign itself isn’t anything to write home about, but this is still an incredible value and a great reason to sink your teeth back into Nioh 2’s stellar combat.

The Tengu’s Disciple essentially fits into Nioh 2 as a side story that takes place after the events of the main game. Your character finds a dagger at a shrine that suddenly transports them back in time to the Heian period, where they join forces with real life Japanese historical figures Minamoto no Yoshitsune and the warrior monk, Benkei. There are some cool cutscenes that set up some of the boss battles, but like Nioh 2’s main story, the plot in The Tengu’s Disciple is an afterthought largely just used to frame the action.

But man, oh man, is that action still as good as ever – and The Tengu’s Disciple only serves to add new wrinkles on top of that layer of excellence. The big new draw is the addition of the Splitstaff, a new weapon type that scales primarily with Onmyo Magic, giving those who choose to specialize in Onmyo Magic a much needed secondary weapon type to accompany the Switchglaive.

The Splitstaff is a tricky weapon to master, and early on, it actually didn’t click very well with me. It relies very heavily on its active skills which are unlocked deep into the skill tree, and beyond that, it also has a unique quirk in that if you hold down the attack button slightly, the staff will transform, extending out and dealing an extra hit. Hold the button down too long though and you’ll drop the combo, so there’s a special rhythm to attacks with the Splitstaff that just doesn’t exist with other weapons.

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Once I got over the initial learning curve and built up some skill points that could be invested in the extremely strong multi-hitting attacks of the Splitstaff, I learned to really like it. Aesthetically, it brings back memories of playing Ninja Gaiden with the Lunar staff, but even beyond that its range is fantastic, it’s really good at inflicting elemental status ailments, and it offers a completely different style of play compared to my other main weapon, the Switchglaive, all while still allowing me to utilize powerful Onmyo magic.

I ended up using my Splitstaff/Switchglaive build all throughout the DLC, which took me about 12 hours total if you include some backtracking to find a trio of items required to unlock one of the missions. Spread all throughout its 10 missions are a fairly large handful of new enemy types, including giant crab yokai with Groucho Marx facial hair; gross fleshy monstrosities called Nuppeppo that have a nasty tendency to suck you up and spit you out like a nightmarish version of Kirby; nastier versions of the monkey-like Enki enemies called Kiryokis; and more small variations on other existing enemies. The crabs are pretty irritating to fight due to them being impervious to damage from the front, but the rest of the new enemy types are fun and challenging new obstacles to learn how to deal with.

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Of course the biggest challenges come in the form of the bosses. I don’t want to spoil them, but there are some great surprises in store for fans of the original Nioh, along with some super fun fights that rank up there among Nioh 2’s best boss battles to date.

If you’re a Nioh 2 superfan, one of the most enticing additions for you will no doubt be the Dream of the Demon difficulty, which essentially serves as Nioh 2’s New Game++. As you’d imagine, Dream of the Demon raises the level of all enemies, along with the gear that they drop, but it also remixes enemy locations, and introduces incredibly tough red enemies that are much stronger than your garden variety yokai. Just to illustrate how deep into Nioh 2 you have to be in order to survive Dream of the Demon, I have poured nearly 107 hours into a character who is level 159. To survive the very first mission of Dream of the Demon, I’d need to be nearly a hundred levels higher.

Disney announced during an investors call Tuesday that they will forego a domestic theatrical release of their live-action retelling of Mulan in favor of a digital debut on Disney+ on September 4, 2020. Internationally, the film will open in cinemas in regions that don’t yet have Disney+.

Mulan will premiere on Disney+ on September 4 “on a premiere access basis” for $29.99. That’s for rental, not purchase, and on top of the fee existing Disney+ customers already pay for the streaming service.

“In addition to the U.S., Mulan will be made available to Disney+ customers in Canada, New Zealand, Australia and many Western European countries,” according to THR. “In territories where it doesn’t debut on the streaming service, Mulan will be made available to cinemas.”

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“We’re looking at Mulan as a one-off, as opposed to saying there’s some new business windowing model that we’re looking at,” said Disney CEO Bob Chapek.

The media giant made the announcement while also announcing some very good news — Disney+ has passed 60.5 million subscribers — and some very bad news — the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Disney Parks saw Disney take “a $3.5 billion hit to operating income and a loss of $2 billion”  — to shareholders.

The release of Mulan had already been delayed several times this year due to the pandemic causing cinemas to close worldwide. The film was originally slated for a March 27 release before it was postponed to July 24 and then to August 21.

There had been chatter for months that Mulan could bypass theaters in favor of a digital debut. A Wall Street analyst suggested in May how Mulan debuting on Disney+ could actually help Disney stock “in a perverse way.”

Will you pay $29.99 to watch Mulan from the safety of your home? Let us know in the comments!

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Video games are made by teams of dozens, if not hundreds of people, and that means that every aspect of a given game has likely passed through many hands before it gets revealed to the public. Still, sometimes it takes an outsider to see the obvious. This was the case with the battle menu for the upcoming Yakuza: Like a Dragon, and the results are quite amusing.

Back in June, John Ricciardi–the co-founder of notable localization company 8-4–joked in a tweet that translators should change the battle menu of the eighth Yakuza game to spell SEGA. Well, as a recent behind-the-scenes video revealed, it appears that the localization team took Ricciardi’s advice.

As you can see from the two above tweets, the “More” option has changed to “Etc.,” which means it now spells the name of the game’s publisher. It’s a nice touch, and one that fits in well with the goofy, self-referential tone of the franchise.

As long-time Kiryu-heads know, Yakuza: Like A Dragon is a soft reboot of the series, and the first to feature turn-based combat. The game originally came out in Japan back in January, and the English version is schedule for a November release. It will serve as a launch title for the Xbox Series X, with a PS5 release coming sometime later.

The man with the hat is back! OK, so it’s not Indiana Jones but a different hat-wearing scientist-adventurer from a Steven Spielberg production.

Actor Sam Neill posted a nostalgic photo to social media Tuesday from behind the scenes of Jurassic World: Dominion showing the hat of his character, Dr. Alan Grant.

Neill captioned the photo, “Hello old friend” and tagged his co-stars, the filmmakers and the respective trilogies that this 2021 sequel unites.

Hello old friend. #JurassicWorld #JurassicPark ⁦@LauraDern⁩ #JeffGoldblum ⁦@BryceDHoward⁩ ⁦@prattprattpratt⁩ ⁦@amblin⁩ ⁦@colintrevorrow⁩ pic.twitter.com/UQbctvqjdx

— Sam Neill (@TwoPaddocks) August 4, 2020

Eagle-eyed fans, however, will recognize the hat not as the iconic palm leaf straw hat Grant wore in the original 1993 movie but rather the brown felt fedora Neill’s paleontologist protagonist wore in Jurassic Park III.

Directed and co-written by Colin Trevorrow, Jurassic World: Dominion unites the casts of the Jurassic World and Jurassic Park films, including Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Omar Sy, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, and Neill.

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While we’re not quite sure how Jurassic World: Dominion brings back Jurassic Park heroes Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler and Ian Malcolm, Sam Neill said the trio appear “all the way through” the film and aren’t just cameos.

Production on Jurassic World: Dominion recently resumed after shutting down in March due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Jurassic World: Dominion, which features the most animatronic dinosaurs of any film in the series, shifted its release date to June 11, 2021 due to production delays.

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