GENRE
	Fighting
	DEVELOPER
	Game Arts
	PUBLISHER
	Ubisoft
	WI-FI ENHANCED
	No
	WII EXCLUSIVE
	Yes
	EXPECTED RELEASE DATE
	September 22, 2009
	BUY NOW AT

When Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Smash Up was announced awhile back, it made quite a few waves since some of the staff that worked on Super Smash Bros. Brawl would also be working on this new title as well. Now, after playing the demo build, it's clear that this game is no substitute for Brawl.

The first thing that Brawl veterans will notice when playing Smash Up is that fighters have an actual life meter at the bottom of the screen, which is also accompanied by a number of hearts that represent the number of lives each player has. In the matches we played, we had three hearts each, and would be knocked out if all three hearts were gone. This makes killing opponents simpler, as players no longer have to knock each other off-screen to kill them, but at the same time it takes away from all of the strategy that Brawl has.

Similar to Brawl, however, is that TMNT: Smash Up has playing field-changing events as well as environmental hazards that can pop up. For example, Aaron developed quite a habit of being eaten by a crocodile on the jungle waterfall stage we played.

Regardless, there was a big problem as far as attacks are concerned. The control scheme was similar to Brawl's, with an upwards tap of the d-pad sending players into the air with a jump, and attacks were delivered with presses of the 1 and 2 buttons. Unfortunately, it was tough to tell how much damage our attacks were actually dealing. The life meter that Smash Up has is tough to see, as it's small compared to the the big flashy numbers of Brawl. Players will know that in all Smash Bros. games there is a certain amount of damage that each attack does, and that it is all visible. A life bar simply isn't as informative as numbers are.

Playing Smash Up was like playing a less-featured and less-complicated Smash Bros. Hopefully they will make the damage system more visible and informative in time for the game's release. The good news is that the game's visuals are great, and the cast from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is all here, so players can choose whether to duke it out with April, Shredder, or even Splinter. Yet what it all ultimately comes down to is if you are a TMNT fan, you'll probably enjoy the game regardless. If you are looking for a game to replace Brawl, however, this isn't it, and you probably wont find a replacement until the next Smash Bros.