Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: City at War
I’m a little foggy on the details about this story, but this game is going to be loosely based on the “City at War” storyline from the TMNT comics. I’ll have to do some research into the story, but this seems like the best storyline, if any, from the comics to influence a video game. Now, onto the plot… With the fall of Oroku Saki, the New York order of the Foot Clan has become divided and multiple factions fight for control of the city. The turtles’ family in itself has also become divided. Casey and April’s troubles have left them broken and prepared to leave the city. The turtles have been away from New York for some time at Casey’s grandmother’s farm house. When the turtles return to New York, they find what has become of the Foot since their absence. To restore peace in the city, the turtles must bring down the opposing Foot factions and make some uneasy alliances along the way. That’s the basic plot I’ve come up with so far with what I think I know about the storyline.
Now, to talk about game play… Almost always it is children that are targeted when a TMNT film or any other outlet is considered. What this game needs to be is something more serious for teens and adults. The game should focus more on stealth and other ninja tactics to be employed by the turtles. More graphic fights should be incorporated also. I’m not saying make the game rated “M,” (although that would be pretty friggin’ sweet) but push the violence a little more so us older folks can enjoy it (at least make it “Teen”). All four turtles would be featured as playable characters. The player would be able to choose which turtle they’d like to play as. This is the same option that’s been adopted by most TMNT games, but it’s most important to the player considering that this game would be free roaming. In regards to free roaming, a massive playable realm, as featured in games like Ultimate Spider-Man or GTA IV, would be available to players in this game. Arkham Asylum graphics aren’t required for this game, so they can be sacrificed for a larger playing area. However, I’d rather the graphics lean more towards the realistic than cartoon. By that I don’t mean make the turtles look more like actual turtles, but make the graphics more similar to something more realistic like GTA IV and avoid cartoon-like graphics such as the ones from Ultimate Spider-Man.
As one of the four turtles, the player would be able to go almost anywhere. With special tools and the ability to leap incredible lengths, the player will be able to scale walls and jump over rooftops as well as roam the endless sewer tunnels beneath the pavement. Make no mistake; the sewers will be a viable means of transportation. Almost every manhole cover in the city will be removable and if not, then animation will at least be available to show that the cover is bolted down. The main battle grounds of the game will be the sewers and the rooftops. Warehouses and other buildings will be accessible for special missions, but most buildings will otherwise be restricted.
In playing each turtle (each of which will faithfully have red bandanas), the player will see obvious differences in fighting styles. Other than just having different weapons, each turtle has their own style to incorporate that weapon and has different moves when not using the weapon. Weapons are not always a necessity and can be sheathed by the press of a button. In the same vein, weapons can also be drawn with the same button. Each weapon also has special moves. Raphael’s sais, in particular, can be used as throwing weapons for stealth tactics. Taking stealth into consideration, all four turtles are armed with throwing stars and smoke pellets. Throwing stars are good for hitting enemies from a distance when it is necessary to keep to the shadows. Smoke pellets make it possible to make an easy escape when caught. Smoke pellets can also be used as diversions or cover when attacking an enemy, but most enemies are not drawn to the smoke and when used in attacking the smoke blinds the player as well. The turtles can also hogtie their enemies and hang them from poles or any other high object.
Whenever a player is in the shadows he/she is invisible to all enemies, but shadows are few and far between in some cases so other cover must be found. The turtles are very good, fast climbers and are able to get very high to avoid enemies. Considering that there are four turtles and only one player, the other three turtles will come and go. During missions, the player may be joined by one, two, or all three of the other turtles. However, when the player is roaming free between missions it is not likely that any of the other turtles will accompany them. Depending on which turtle the player is controlling, the player may be paired up differently; more often than not, Leonardo is paired with Raphael and Michelangelo is paired with Donatello. Even when they are present, the other turtles are often lurking elsewhere and are often only heard. Even when roaming free it is in the best interest of the player to stick to the shadows. There are police in the game and they will come after the player if they’re spotted by a civilian. Fighting the police won’t be easy, as they are armed with guns and the turtles only have melee weapons.
Making a long story short, the player shouldn’t go out in broad daylight too often and should keep out of the streets. Small fights will occasionally break out across the city, both between rival Foot factions and random street gangs. It is in these fights that the player will get their fill of ass kicking when they aren’t doing a mission. Petty criminals can also be found throughout the city that can also be preyed upon for shits and giggles; beating up criminals also allows for more use of the hogtying aspect of the game play. As said, this game should basically be a serious TMNT game that adults can enjoy. Think of what Arkham Asylum did in the realm of Batman games and apply that idea to what I want this game to be.
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Trek’s Library
The idea behind this game is to have a fighting game featuring characters from popular fictional stories. The game will also feature a detailed storyline which will help to bring the fighting together. Trek is the master of all fiction. Traveling through various worlds of fantasy and adventure, Trek acts as the deepest influence of the great writer’s of fiction. In his castle high in the clouds above Earth, Trek keeps a library of books which act as gateways to various worlds of fantasy.
Idle, Trek’s evil twin brother, wishes for nothing more than to destroy Trek’s amassed nexus of worlds. From his lair, built in the heart of an active volcano, Idle has plotted against his brother for centuries. Idle one day makes an attack on Trek’s library (this will be the first fight in the game where Trek versus Idle). Trek is able to save some of the books from destruction, but the remaining worlds are merged in the process. Throughout the process of Trek trying to mend the damage, the inhabitants of the worlds are constantly being thrown back and forth around the universe. The line is drawn and the warring factions of the remaining worlds must fight for control of their new universe.
In the end, Trek manages to separate the worlds and repair all of the damage done by his brother. The warring factions of the game are the Heroes and the Villains respectively. The Heroes consist of 20 characters: Peter Pan (Peter Pan), Alice (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Alice Through the Looking Glass), Tarzan (Tarzan of the Apes), Sinbad the Sailor (Arabian Nights), Robin Hood (The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood), Little John (The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood), King Arthur (The Story of King Arthur and His Knights), Merlin (The Story of King Arthur and His Knights), Don Quixote (The History of Don Quixote de La Mancha), Quasimodo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame), The Scarecrow (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz), The Cowardly Lion (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz), Dorothy Gale (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz), Pinocchio (The Adventures of Pinocchio), Tang Seng (Journey to the West), VanHelsing (Dracula), Dr. Jekyll/ Mr. Hyde (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), Sherlock Holmes (The Cases of Sherlock Holmes), Jim Hawkins (Treasure Island), and Rapunzel (Rapunzel). The Villains consist of an equally opposing 20 characters: Captain James Hook (Peter Pan), The Queen of Hearts (Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland), Kerchak (Tarzan of the Apes), The Kraken (fictional monster of the sea), Prince John (The Merry Adventures of Robin), The Sheriff of Nottingham (The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood), Dragon (fictional creature), Cyclops (Arabian Nights), Ceribus (fictional monster/ guardian of Hades), Judge Frolo (The Hunchback of Notre Dame), The Wicked Witch of the West (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz), Flying Monkey (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz), Puppet Master (The Adventures of Pinocchio), Sun Wu Kong (Journey to the West), Dracula (Dracula), Frankenstein’s Monster (Frankenstein), Werewolf (fictional creature), Dr. Moriarty (The Cases of Sherlock Holmes), Long John Silver (Treasure Island), and Davy Jones (fictional pirate spirit).
The fighting style of each character will be based on influence from their story and what the character is capable of. For instance, Alice and Dorothy are just small girls, so they will be weaker and have less special moves (they might not even be featured as playable characters). In the same vein, characters like Merlin and Robin Hood that have magical powers and attuned skills will be stronger and have more special moves. The player will have 30 stages to play on in exhibition and as they play through the story: Trek’s Library, The Darling Nursery (Peter Pan), Chess Board (Alice Through the Looking Glass), Jungle Clearing (Tarzan of the Apes), Sherwood Forest (The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood), Arthur’s Court (The Story of King Arthur and His Knights), Windmill Field (The History of Don Quixote de La Mancha), The Steps of Notre Dame (The Hunchback of Notre Dame), The Bells of Notre Dame (The Hunchback of Notre Dame), Yellow-Brick Road (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz), Castle of the Wicked Witch (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz), Belly of the Beast (The Adventures of Pinocchio), Puppet Show (The Adventures of Pinocchio), The Great Wall (Journey to the West), Monk Temple (Journey to the West), Dracula’s Castle (Dracula), Baker Street (The Cases of Sherlock Holmes), Big Ben (The Cases of Sherlock Holmes), Jekyll’s Lab (Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), Treasure Island (Treasure Island), Rapunzel’s Tower (Rapunzel), The Ships Three (Peter Pan, Treasure Island, and The Flying Dutchman), Ocean Floor (realm of The Kraken), Castle Siege (The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood), Camelot (The Story of King Arthur and His Knights), Desert Isle (Arabian Nights), Victor Frankenstein’s Laboratory (Frankenstein), Ireland (Werewolf’s realm), Mouth of Hell (realm Ceribus), and New York City (last stage to be cleared when the characters break into our world).
Almost every stage will feature a point where one character can knock the other into another level. For example, when playing on the Big Ben stage one character can knock the other through the clock face onto the street below. Similarly, when playing on The Ships Three stage portals to alternate worlds are opened which characters can be thrown through to go to one of the other ships. The game will be driven as much by story as it is by its violence. Make no mistake, there will be blood. The game will probably receive a Teen or Mature rating, as the violence will be great as the characters face each other. Melee exclusive characters specifically will slash their opponents and beat them to a pulp. The game will feature a series of options for multiple players: in Exhibition, a game of up to four players fighting each other can be played; team matches can be played whether it be two players on the same team and two CPUs, two players on separate teams teamed with CPUs, or four players on two teams; players can also go online to face off against people across the globe.
As the player completes the story many times on harder difficulties, things will begin to become unlocked. There will be six unlockable characters: Bobby Pendragon and Saint Dane (when the story is beat on Normal difficulty); Edward Cullen and Jacob (when the story is beat on Hard difficulty); and Harry Potter and Voldemort (when the story is beat on legendary difficulty). One must remember however that the Hero characters will only be unlocked when the story is beat by a Hero and the Villain Characters will only be unlocked when the story is beat by a Villain (Jacob is a Villain, so players get a two-for-one when they beat the story on Hard). Along with the unlockable characters, three new stages become unlocked with them: The Flume, Forks, and Hogwarts. This game will work to bring gamers a new, original fighting game while bringing focus onto the characters to re-spark interest in classic fictional Literature.
Note: All of my TMNT images are the work of Fan Artists, so this is a shout out to those unsung heroes! Keep up the good work guys!