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Paul Gale: Rocksteady Making TMNT: Manhattan Crisis / Rocksteady: Nope, we're not

V_Ben

Banned
Update:
Kotaku posts that Rocksteady has denied this rumour.

Original:
http://paulgalenetwork.com/home/2012/01/22/rumor-is-rocksteady-studios-next-game-teenage-mutant-ninja-turtles-manhattan-crisis/

Two days ago in this story, I said that I heard of a few rumors and rumblings going around regarding what’s next game that Rocksteady Studios is developing after their very successful duo of Batman: Arkham Asylum and Batman: Arkham City. I left it up to you to decide whether I’d even put up the story, because as I said before, this would clearly be a rumor (and one that I tried verifying its validity, but have not been able to do so just yet). You voted “What the hell…why not. We’ll take it as a rumor and not complain if it turns out false.” almost unanimously through comments and e-mails. And from my own internet searching, it’s what you wanted…

Take it for what you will, but here’s what I got:

- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Manhattan Crisis is the alleged name of the title.
- Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo are the four playable characters, each with their own varied move set and weapon of choice (sword, bo staff, sai, and nunchucku…respectively).
- Flashbacks are played as Master Splinter/Hamato Yoshi.
- Shurikens, smoke bombs, grappling hooks, and climbing foot spikes.
- Gameplay and story/stage progression similar to Batman: Arkham City.
- Classic characters such as Bebop and Rocksteady (warthog and rhinoceros), Dr. Baxter Stockman, Shredder (Oroku Saki), and Krang act as bosses and in the case of the humans-turned-mutants, you fight them in both forms throughout the story.
- The Turtle Van and Turtle Blimp will be present and with them and other gadgets, the Wii U build is expected to have touch screen controls for specific actions.
- Multiplayer is unknown.
- Graphics engine used is that of Arkham City.
- The game is expected to be more dark than slapstick, but the turtles themselves and their interactions with the Foot Clan, bosses, and story characters like April O’Neil and Casey Jones will still have comedy attached.
- Purportedly being in development for Wii U, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3.
- Careful selection of voice actors to bring the universe to life as well as Rocksteady did with their two Batman games.
- Manhattan Crisis shares a similar name to the 1991/1992 NES title, “The Manhattan Project”, but is very much its own title.



Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: The Manhattan Project

Before I ask you what your thoughts are, let me tell you why it might be real and why it might be fake.

Real:
- The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles themselves fight similarly to Batman, in that they rely primarily on martial arts expertise and a variety of weapons, rather than incredible super powers. This would lean me towards believing that the transition between Arkham City and Manhattan Crisis, from purely a control standpoint, wouldn’t be that difficult.
- The amount of bad guys, the voice actors attached to them, the story…once again, all seem pretty comparable in approach and style to Batman’s last two games.
- The terrain and environments of a night time based, poorly lit Manhattan City and its respective buildings, bad guy lairs, etc., seem from a structural standpoint, pretty easy for Rocksteady studios to create…especially after the blueprints that went into Arkham City.
- At E3 2011, shortly after awarding Batman: Arkham City with Paul Gale Network’s “Best Adventure Game of E3 2011 Award” and PGN Ninja Star Keychain, I spoke with a few team members, saying how cool I personally thought a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle game would be if done dark with a dash of comedy, following a similar model as the Batman games…by Rocksteady Studios. At least the couple of individuals that I spoke with, found the idea amusing and
ironic when I pointed out that Rocksteady is also a classic Turtles baddie.
- IDW Publishing is currently handling a new Teenage Mutuant Ninja Turtles series. What’s important about that? IDW Publishing and DC Comics (in Quarter 4, 2011) launched Star Trek/Legion of Super-Heroes, a crossover comic book that brings the two properties together…a first ever uniting, which shows that it’s possible that Rocksteady could make such a game (taking their whole DC friendship into account).


Fake:
- Plain and simple, I don’t have a source directly tied to the alleged project that can confirm its truth.
- I contacted Rocksteady Studios and got no response (which is expected in a case like this).
- Nickelodeon acquired the TV rights to do 26 episodes of a new, cgi-based TMNT series in 2012.
- Paramount Pictures and Nickelodeon are releasing a live action Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie by Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes production company in 2012/2013.
- At E3 2011, which was seven months ago, I shared this idea with a few people at Batman: Arkham Asylum’s booth. Yes, I’m using this as not only a plus for it being real but also one for being fake…because could it be “too” coincidental?
- To my understanding, Rocksteady’s next game will probably be directly DC character based…so maybe an IDW/DC comic crossover isn’t enough to make this game a possibility.


There you have it. I definitely encourage you to take it for what I’m telling you it is: A RUMOR. If indeed true, I would personally love it and make a video of myself Cowabunga’ing in my next martial arts tutorial video (see section). If fake, at least the idea that it might have been considered a possibility is enough to make me smile and think how cool it’d all look like. What do you all think? Would you buy this game for Wii U, Xbox 360, or PlayStation 3 (or PC, 3DS, PS Vita if that would be the case)? Do you think it’s real or fake? Perhaps more importantly, do you WANT it to be real? Maybe it’s not in development and Rocksteady is still in “thinking mode” of what to do next…and if your voices are positive and loud enough, in supporting such a project, they’ll go ahead and do it.

Can't overstate the word rumour enough, but every fibre of my being wants this to be true. An open world TMNT game by Rocksteady? Make it as dark as the original comics and you've got a deal. Oh my.
 

sprsk

force push the doodoo rock
Came for cryptic pictures of Paul Gale dressed as various types of turtles. Disappointed.

Would be awesome if true though.
 
I find it very hard to believe that Rocksteady would be developing a project based on an existing IP that isn't owned by WB (Nickelodeon/Viacom didn't just acquire the TV rights to TMNT - they now own the IP entirely), so I'd bet that Paul's sources on this are full of shit.
 

Stumpokapow

listen to the mad man
$20-against-$20 cash bet this is not true*, any takers?

I pay the day it is announced, you pay December 31, 2012 if it isn't. If it gets announced in 2013, you contact me and I'll pay back your money plus my payout. If it is announced in 2014 or beyond we assume this rumour is false and the announcement a coincidence.

* Terms that would count as you winning: Rocksteady is making any TMNT video game for any home console or PC. Specifically excludes handhelds. I don't care about any other details in the rumour.

Edit: Neuromancer has taken me up on the bet. Betting is now closed, thanks folks. :)
 

V_Ben

Banned
In before [Nintex] and his shattering of dreams.

Yeah, it's definitely for the next xbox.



$20-against-$20 cash bet this is not true*, any takers?

I pay the day it is announced, you pay December 31, 2012 if it isn't. If it gets announced in 2013, you contact me and I'll pay back your money plus my payout. If it is announced in 2014 or beyond we assume this rumour is false and the announcement a coincidence.

* Terms that would count as you winning: Rocksteady is making any TMNT video game for any home console or PC. Specifically excludes handhelds. I don't care about any other details in the rumour.

Damn, you seem confident :p
 

SykoTech

Member
Not a big fan of the Turtles at all, but I wouldn't mind this being true. It would be cool to see Rocksteady work their magic on other "superhero" IPs, and I'd probably be interested anyway as long as the game was great.
 

MasterShotgun

brazen editing lynx
With Rocksteady behind it, I would buy it in a fucking heartbeat. I've been dying for a good TMNT game since Turtles in Time. I hope this turns out to be real.
 

V_Ben

Banned
Here's a thought; Want a multiplayer component in the game? 4 player turtle co-op. They're all bound to be in the story content anyway if this is true.
 

Gouty

Bloodborne is shit
I mean, this isn't technically bad news and I'm sure it will be a fine game......but no Batman?




FUCK
 

SMT

this show is not Breaking Bad why is it not Breaking Bad? it should be Breaking Bad dammit Breaking Bad
It would so fit, Batman has ninja combat, and these Splinter turtles are Ninjas as well.
 

V_Ben

Banned
What was the last rumour this guy posted and how did it turn out again ?

Title fight, Sony's Smash Brothers game was his last big one. That one is pretty much a lock now I'd say, even if it doesn't end up being called that.
 
Sounds too good to be true... which is exactly how Rocksteady would handle it if they were making it.

I want to believe, but I don't think I can without a proper announcement, or some voice actor spilling the beans by accident.

I mean, this isn't technically bad news and I'm sure it will be a fine game......but no Batman?




FUCK

Halfway through the game, Batman shows up.


....Oh now this game absolutely has to happen.
 
This would be incredible. I hope it's true!

There are quite a lot of TMNT villains too: Baxter Stockman, Bebop, Rocksteady, Karai, Krang, Leatherhead, The Rat King, Tokka, Rahzar, HAVOC, the Utrons, Shredder himself... then there's side characters like Casey Jones, April O Neil, Wingnut and Screwloose, Drakos / Beserko, War etc. Then think of what you can do story-wise between each of the four turtles and their personalities... you could be fighting alongside them or saving them from trouble etc. Turtle specific missions... it'd be great...

There are a lot of forgettable characters that graced the cartoons and movies (after Turtles II it went silly), but its a rich universe and probably quite perfect in terms of what can be done with combat and story progression following Rocksteady's Batman games...

I really hope its true!
 
For emphasis: Nickelodeon, and thus Viacom, has owned the TMNT IP in its entirety - not just the TV rights, as Paul implies here - for over two years now. The odds that a WB-owned studio would be developing a game based on an IP owned by a different entertainment conglomerate are not exactly high.
 
$20-against-$20 cash bet this is not true*, any takers?

I pay the day it is announced, you pay December 31, 2012 if it isn't. If it gets announced in 2013, you contact me and I'll pay back your money plus my payout. If it is announced in 2014 or beyond we assume this rumour is false and the announcement a coincidence.

* Terms that would count as you winning: Rocksteady is making any TMNT video game for any home console or PC. Specifically excludes handhelds. I don't care about any other details in the rumour.

Sure why not.

I want this to be true so badly; plus it'd be a fun bet either way.
 

Skiesofwonder

Walruses, camels, bears, rabbits, tigers and badgers.
In before [Nintex] and his shattering of dreams.

So many hopes and dreams being built, only to be shattered.

*sigh*

And when did Stump become such a gambler? :p

though it's less gambling, and more like guaranteed money in the pocket lol
 
I find it very hard to believe that Rocksteady would be developing a project based on an existing IP that isn't owned by WB (Nickelodeon/Viacom didn't just acquire the TV rights to TMNT - they now own the IP entirely), so I'd bet that Paul's sources on this are full of shit.
Came to post this, yeah.

Besides, as much as this would be damn cool, I still want Arkham 3 more.
For emphasis: Nickelodeon, and thus Viacom, has owned the TMNT IP in its entirety - not just the TV rights, as Paul implies here - for over two years now. The odds that a WB-owned studio would be developing a game based on an IP owned by a different entertainment conglomerate are not exactly high.
Especially given that WB purchased Rocksteady as a *direct* response to the critical and commercial success of Arkham Asylum. WB picked them up to work on WB properties, and nothing but.

If they're not doing Arkham 3 next, I'd rather see Rocksteady get to do a new IP, really.
 

Kifimbo

Member
I mean, this isn't technically bad news and I'm sure it will be a fine game......but no Batman?




FUCK

Maybe Warner Bros. Montreal will work on the next Batman. Or WB Montreal is working on TMNT.

But yeah, I don't see why Paramount would licence their franchise to their rival Warner Bros.
 

mjc

Member
Sign me up. I think they deserve a bit of a breather from Batman before they tackle the next (last?) iteration of the series.
 

V_Ben

Banned
Came to post this, yeah.

Besides, as much as this would be damn cool, I still want Arkham 3 more.

I don't want Arkham 3 until the next generation of consoles. Let them give Batman a rest, and bring him back when they have more power available to do even more with him. If the story DLC for Arkham City does come to fruition though, perhaps we'll see more Batman content too...
 
Sounds good, as long as they use a different art style to the Batman games. I just know they're going to make it dark and gritty though. Not sure exactly what would work as an art style to be honest. They did one with cell-shading before I think.
 
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