Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: Battle Nexus

Game Chronicles

Battle Nexus isn't quite as fun as past games or even as fun as the show itself, but it is pretty solid game overall, and is worth picking up for old times sake, or for the new fan.

Play Magazine

Even though the action is stiff, the animation poor and the controls occasionally not as responsive as I'd like, I'm able to overlook it simply because there aren't too many four-player co-op action games out there, let alone ones with platforming elements generously incorporated into the mix - but I'd never play it solo. [Oct 2004, p.77]

Next Level Gaming

It's all good until you actually have to start using your martial arts skills. Then it's a lesson in frustration.

Game Informer

There are even a few lame vehicular bonus stages thrown in for good measure, but none of the various stage types offer anything close to depth or originality. [Nov 2004, p.145]

IGN

Improves on its predecessor by including a list of groovy extras and providing each turtle with unique abilities. Battle Nexus also lets you play four-player co-op. Sadly, the shoddy controls, frustrating platform puzzles and sub par enemy AI keep Battle Nexus from succeeding.

GameZone

Nowhere near the quality of the first.

Worth Playing

The fairly sloppy control made the parts where I was actually interacting with the game less than ideal.

PSM Magazine

What ruins TMNT2 is the game's abyssmal control. [Dec 2004, p.79]

eToychest

This is a terrible, terrible game. It's hard to believe that Konami could push something out like this.

BonusStage

Most of Battle Nexus is the same thing as the last game, except this time, it’s been beaten, bruised, and bludgeoned with a rabid sturgeon repeatedly, then given a thorough colonoscopy with said sturgeon.

GamePro

Behind the flashy extras and cool license, TMNT2 remains an utterly forgettable (albeit forgivable) example of the modern gaming mediocrity. [Dec 2004, p.116]

GMR Magazine

In most ways an improvement upon its predecessor, but it's still a far cry from the awesome arcade game that came out in the late '80s...A highly mediocre experience. [Nov 2004, p.121]

Gamezilla!

It's decidedly mediocre and won't appeal to anyone but die-hard fans of the show. Bummer, dudes.

Game Over Online

Really, when all is said and done, if there was a way to just play the arcade version of TMNT without having to play through most of Battle Nexus first, then at least it would be worth it in a bargain bin.

GameSpot

Battle Nexus is more than just a step backward for this series--it's a step backward into a large chasm.

Gaming Age

Game play, while trying to recapture the essence of the old school arcade game, is excruciating, dull, and repetitive.

PSX Extreme

Really the only thing Battle Nexus has going for it is the original TMNT arcade game being included, but even that stinks because you are forced to play through a good part of the new game to unlock the 15 year old game that’s 5 times better.

1UP

It quickly degenerates into as absurd a mess as four turtles that are supposed to be ninjas with a rat for a sensei sounds like on paper. As Michelangelo might say, "cowabunga dudes, this is one gnarly game wreck."

G4 TV

If anything, Battle Nexus is a really uneven game. Some sections last two minutes, others last about 10 and culminate in a huge battle.

PSX Nation

You know Konami has screwed-up royally when a 15 year-old beat’em up wipes the floor with their current batch of Turtles games.

DarkStation

Another disappointment in the turtle's world. I can still see all the potential the series could have but unfortunately this year Konami took a step in the wrong direction.

Cheat Code Central

Gamers DO NOT GIVE A %$#@ about concept art. I understand that it's an easy extra to toss in, but does anyone in their right mind actually look forward to unlocking this useless nonsense? Do they just sit there and stare at it? Who cares?

Electronic Gaming Monthly

It's the general gameplay that's busted. Picking up an object is needlessly complex, tricky jumps seem to require more luck than skill, the camera is craptacular, boss battles are tedious, the vehicle-based levels are a joke, and the actual fighting action is bland. [Dec 2004, p.150]

GameSpy

Avoid it like the plague, and hope that if we're all in for a trilogy, the next episode sees the heroes-in-a-half-shell pursuing an adventure that's not nearly as half-baked.

Official U.S. Playstation Magazine

The original arcade TMNT may reward your perseverance - but it's not worth the pain. And that says a lot. [Nov 2004, p.132]